But it wasn’t as simple as we had hoped. So, for round two, I’m thinking about freezing the exact proportion of fruit in a Ziploc for easy release. We could freeze them individually on a cookie sheets but that seems like too much trouble for something that will be blended. And we will be experimenting with adding milk vs juice. Stay tuned.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Working on the Secret to A Fast Smoothie!
But it wasn’t as simple as we had hoped. So, for round two, I’m thinking about freezing the exact proportion of fruit in a Ziploc for easy release. We could freeze them individually on a cookie sheets but that seems like too much trouble for something that will be blended. And we will be experimenting with adding milk vs juice. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Play With Your Food: A Tale of Two Play Kitchens!
I wanted to share two really great play kitchens from two of my friends. What I love about both of them is that you don't need a lot of bells and whistles or electronics to inspire imaginations and creative play.
Kitchen #1: The DIY Play Kitchen from Nicola
As far as the lasting popularity of play kitchens with Nicola's kids, she told me, "We had a $20 used plastic cook set for our daughter, which I bought for outside use when she was a toddler. But it was such a popular item with all the kids, and one with such staying power (at 4 she was still loving it, as was her 1 year old brother), that I wanted one for inside with a nicer aesthetic. We are too frugal to buy a new wood one, so enter our yard sale find." Here's the link to her original post!
So, if you are feeling inspired about making your own play kitchen from a shelf, from a box, from a table...check out this DIY Play Kitchen Roundup link at Ohdeedoh.com full of photos of many different, inspiring DIY play kitchens made by creative moms and dads.
Kitchen #2: Little I's Simple Play Kitchen
So, do you have a play kitchen? Did you make it or buy it? Would love to hear your thoughts or even see a photo!
Monday, August 24, 2009
One Minute Monday Morning Breakfast Sandwich!
When I was in high school, I used to carpool with a friend whose mom made her a homemade“Egg McMuffin” breakfast sandwich. I was so jealous as she ate that in the car on the way to school.
Enjoy!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Fruit Flowers On A Stick: A How To Guide
You may remember my mystery tools that I recently posted. Well they are fruit and vegetable carving tools. You can see that most of them are slicers and cutters that create ripples or edges. The one unusual in the upper left tools is a spiral cutter. It handcranks into the fruit or veggie and creates two interlocking spirals- like a corkscrew! I actually only used the spiral cutter and my flower shaped cookie cutters for this particular project.
And the tools came with this book, The Art of Garnishing by Jerry Crowley, which has all sorts of examples. I haven't tried making the watermelon whales but I am considering it!
So, how did I create these? Well, I used a combination of the spiral cutting and two cookie cutters. I cut a small piece of melon rind for the base of each stick to keep the fruit from sliding. If you don't have this tool, you don't need to make the spirals. Just put a tiny piece of melon rind to keep things from sliding. I read that someone recommended gum drops. It doesn't work and made a huge sticky mess. The gumdrops absorbed the fruit moisture ( yuck) and got the skewer all gummy.
I used a variety of fruits: strawberries, pineapple, watermelon, kiwi and honeydew melon. The watermelon was pretty ripe (maybe overly) and delicate. It wasn’t ideal for the flower cutouts.
Pineapple words well because it is firm and stays in place on the skewer. I also chose fruits that would not brown- so apples or bananas! Apples and bananas brown due to enzymatic reactions- this can be slowed with the addition of acid like lemon juice but I didn’t want to interfere with taste.
The kiwi was very easy to cut and worked very well. Just slice and use the cutter- no peeling!
Fruit Flower #1
To create these flowers, I purposely used the pineapple as a base support over the spiral. I knew it wouldn’t slide and would hold up the delicate watermelon. Then I layered a kiwi and a strawberry.
Here's the top view. You can position the flowers to alternate and show each petal.
Fruit Flower #2
For this flower, I adapted to a problem I was having. I kept breaking a petal on the watermelon cutout. So, decided to use that to my advantage and prop it upright on the stick, right where the missing petal was. Voila!
And to create the bowl, I sliced a tiny bit from the bottom of the half cut melon so it wouldn’t wobble. I then used a pairing knife and hand cut a little scalloping edge. I realized I could cut out the rind and expose the pink flesh for a litte contrast- totally by accident. It looked great. You can see the honeydew melon on the left where I drilled the spirals!
And so for the final assembly, I arranged the skewers into the watermelon base and it turned out great! I have heard of others using cabbage as a good base as well. This is the perfect treat for a baby shower, birthday party etc. You can get indulgent by chocolate dipping the fruits if you like.
And what did we do with the fruit scraps? Saved them for some smoothies in the Vitamix!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
22 New Food-spirations On A Stick
All of the entries were delicious and unique and we had to showcase each entry since they were so fabulous. We'll list them below by two categories while indicating the winners: sweet and savory!
The Savory Food On A Stick Entries
The Sweet Food On A Stick Entries