Hey Young Chefs!
I interviewed Lisa Wagner, Author of Cool World Cooking: Fun and Tasty Recipes for Kids (affiliate link). Lisa Wagner is a freelance writer, graphic designer, and creative consultant who loves to cook, eat great food, travel, and listen to music. She worked extensively in the travel industry marketing and creating promotional material for various northern resorts, which included writing about food. She is the founder of the Books In the Woods program and also conducts walking and historical tours in the Twin Cities. She loves to cook with fresh, local, and organically grown ingredients. In the summer, she grows many of her own vegetables and herbs. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and has two sons, who also love to cook. Dinner is always the highlight of the day; the family cooks together, eat together and enjoys sharing cooking adventures at home and on the road.
“A Tisket A Tasket What’s Inside My Basket?”
Today’s secret ingredient is… Chile de Arbol. Let’s talk about Chile de Arbol. Here is my recipe for “Chile de Arbol Salsa.”
Ingredients:
10 chiles de Arbol, seeds and ribs removed
2 cloves garlic
1/4 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
2 15 oz. cans whole tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Blend all ingredients together in a food processor or blender.
“Food Passport!”
In this segment, your food passport will take you around the world. We’ll explore a country’s food and culture, and I will give you a recipe to try. Today’s food passport takes you to “Cambodia.”
Here is a recipe for an “Amok.” This is steamed white fish with a coconut sauce that is wrapped in a banana leaf. It is a national Cambodian dish that is delish!
Ingredients:
1 lb any white fish, cut into small chunks
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 lrg. can coconut milk
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. sugar
1 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 tbsp. ginger paste
2 tbsp. lemongrass paste
2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 banana leaf the size of your plate, washed and dried or aluminum foil
Directions:
In a bowl, season fish with salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, Mix remaining ingredients except banana leaf. Pour coconut sauce into a sauce pan and simmer on low until thickened. Pour half of thickened coconut sauce on top of fish. Mix well. Spread leaf out on flat surface. Pour a little fish onto the center of banana leaf or aluminum foil. Fold both sides towards the center, overlapping. Tuck flaps under. Steam for 1 hour. Five minutes before done, add remaining coconut sauce inside a banana leaf or aluminum foil. Serve with rice.
“Spice Detective!”
Today we’re investigating… “Allspice.” Here is a recipe for “Banana Corn Cakes.”
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
1 pkg. Martha White Buttermilk Cornbread & Muffin Mix
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. allspice
Directions:
In a large bowl, mix bananas, milk, and egg. Add mix, brown sugar, and allspice and mix thoroughly. Heat non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Pour batter, in 1/4 cup portions, into the skillet. Cook until bubbles form and then gently flip over. Cook for 1 minute more. Remove from skillet and place on a plate, stacking cakes. Serves 6-8.
“Snacktivity Time”
It’s Snacktivity Time! Here, I give you fun easy breezy snack ideas. Today’s Snacktivity is… “Perfect Omelet.”
Ingredients:
Non-stick cooking spray
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp. milk
1/4 c. shredded cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a bowl, beat eggs with milk. Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray. Over medium-low to medium heat in a non-stick pan, pour the egg mixture. When the liquid begins to solidify, pull the eggs in from the edges and tilt the pan around to allow more egg into the empty space. When the omelet no longer has enough liquid to fill empty spaces, turn the heat to low. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and cheese. Let cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Make sure the omelet is not brown on the bottom. Gently fold omelet in half and plate. Serves 1.
“Creative Cuisine”
This is my recipe for “Stovetop to Oven Steak.” I love this delicious, juicy steak.
Ingredients:
2 6-oz. sirloin strip steaks, bone-in
2 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. truffle salt or sea salt
1 tsp. pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a cast-iron skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of the steaks. Sear steaks on both sides until caramelized with brown color. Place skillet in the oven and cook for 9-10 minutes for medium steaks. Serves 2.
Here’s another “Creative Cuisine” idea. Here’s a recipe for “Steak, Potato, and Veggie Strata.” This is strata is a great use of leftovers.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. leftover steak, cubed
1/2 c. cubed cook potatoes
1/2 c. leftover veggies
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. Creole seasoning
1 tsp. sea salt
6 eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
8 slices wheat sandwich bread, torn into pieces
1/4 c. bread crumbs
1/2 c. chèvre, crumbled
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large, oven-safe skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add steak, potatoes, veggies, garlic, Creole seasoning, and salt. Mix and sauté for 5-7 minutes or until warmed through. Turn heat off. Add bread to pan. In a large bowl, combine egg and milk, and whisk well. Pour egg mixture on top of bread. Push bread down and submerge all pieces of bread. Sprinkle bread crumbs and chèvre crumbles on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm. Serves 4-6.
“Cookin’ Crafts!”
Here is a fun kitchen-related craft. Today’s cookin’ craft is how to make a “Food Passport.”
Supplies:
1 piece of blank paper
Writing utensil
Instructions:
Step 1: Holding the paper in the portrait position, fold the paper in half from top to bottom.
Step 2: Fold paper in half again from side to side.
Step 3: Fold the paper in half one more time from top to bottom.
Step 4: Open paper up until it is only folded in half. Very carefully, starting at the fold, rip or cut a slit from the top of the fold to the middle of the paper where the creased lines intersect.
Step 5: Open the paper and fold it in half lengthwise. Push the sides in until you see a diamond form. Continue pushing until paper flattens.
Step 6: Fold paper in half and you have a six-page book made out of a single sheet of paper.
Step 7: Decorate the cover to look like a passport. Each time you visit a restaurant or cook food from another country, write down the name of the country, the food, and give yourself a stamp or a sticker. Now you have a food passport!
That’s all for this week! Join me on Monday, August 26, 2013, to listen to an interview with White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses!
Bon Appetit, Kid Chef Eliana