My Fourth of July

I had a great time with family over at our house to celebrate the Fourth of July!  The whole day was filed with great people and delicious food...what could possibly be better?  The girls even started their day off with a red, white, and blue breakfast of oatmeal with blueberries and strawberries.  Celebratory food doesn't have to be unhealthy, and best of all, they LOVED it!

I'm not a huge fan of thematic decorations because I don't have room to store them in between uses, so they would just be wasteful paper products to be thrown away at the end of the night.  If we have a lot of non-family guests, I might get some because it is kind of expected.  Luckily my family knows me well enough to not be surprised.  Instead, I let the food, drinks, and fun be the background.  We set up the backyard for everyone to have a great time. 

During the summer, I love any excuse to break out my Margaritaville Mixed Drink Maker.  This has become a party must-have for me.  You load it with cranberry juice, sour mix, and orange juice.  Then you can add tequila, rum or vodka.  The machine has a library of drinks that can be made at the push of a button.  It's the perfect un-manned bar!  

We started the party off with a taste test of chips and dips, some were organic and some were the conventional chips I grew up on.  

We paired them with two versions of french onion dip.  One was the dip of my husband's childhood made of sour cream and the Lipton Onion Soup mix.  The second version was made by me from scratch using organic onions from our local farm.  Let's just say there was no competition.  :)  The third dip was one from my childhood and is a simple cottage cheese dip we eat with nacho cheese chips.

We decided to do classic burgers, so my husband set out a selection of mix-ins so people could customize their burgers.  I did fail because I didn't get any pictures of the actual finished burgers, but they were great!  I also served my Perfect Party Potato Salad as a side along with a big bowl of strawberries and blueberries, as well as a vegetable tray of cherry tomatoes, celery, and carrot sticks with my Classic Ranch Dressing.  Apparently I enjoyed the drink machine early on because I forgot to take pictures of any of that!  :)

Of course we had farm fresh burger toppings to be enjoyed by all.  :)

The personal highlight for me was the dessert.  I was lucky enough to grow up with a peach tree in my backyard and be able to enjoy fresh-picked peaches throughout the summer.  We put them on everything and had a freezer full by the end of the season.  But once you have a peach right off the tree, nothing you can buy from a store even comes close.  For that reason, no one in my family had bought peaches since we moved from my childhood home in the late 1990's.  Recently, one of my farms brought in peaches from a local organic farm, and they were the closest thing to our old peaches I had tried.  I decided to have a simple dessert of peaches and ice cream, just like the good old days.  It sure was a delicious flash back!

So there you have it.  I hope you enjoyed seeing the way my family celebrated the Fourth of July.  I'd love to hear the highlights from your day as well!

Fourth Birthday Party!

A few weeks ago, my oldest baby turned 4.  I can't believe how fast time flies!  Given our love of food and cooking, we decided to have a pizza-making party at my local Young Chef's Academy.  It was our first time visiting this establishment, and I was so impressed!  

The kitchen was bright and colorful, adding to the fun for the kids.  They were all set up when we arrived and I took a quick look around.

We set up the food for the adults.  We brought in sandwiches, fruit, veggies, biscotti, and mini desserts. 

The prep counter was set up with chef hats and crayons for the kids to decorate with.  Each of them had a great time drawing and customizing their own hat.

The various pizza toppings were all set out and ready for the hungry kids to add to their pizzas.

After some fun and silliness, the cooking began!  Each child got to help measure the ingredients for the pizza dough - and I didn't have to worry about cleaning up the mess!  :)

They used "magic" to skip the rising step of the dough making, and allowed the kids to get right to work.  Each child got an equal-sized portion and began kneading away.

The chef instructors went around and shaped the dough into a variety fun shapes like mermaids, butterflies, bunnies, snakes, cars, etc.  The kids LOVED that part!

Next, the toppings came out and the kids were let loose to top however they wanted.  

 While the pizzas were baking, it was time to decorate the cupcakes.  In lieu of a sheet cake, we opted to let each child decorate their own dessert.  

The kids all devoured their hard work.  :)

The finished desserts!  Everyone sang to the birthday girl, and they all enjoyed their creations.  The adults were able to relax and have fun watching their kids cook.  It was such a great experience.  I hope to find an activity just as fun for her next birthday!

Fresh Idea - Let The Little Ones Help!

Does this sound familiar?  You get home from picking up your CSA box or visiting your local farm/farmers market, and you are overwhelmed with the amount of produce that needs to be cleaned and prepped for the week to come.  It's not like the stuff comes shrink-wrapped from a store shelf!  At least I feel that way every time I come home with my veggies!  It is so easy to have the kids go play or distract them with something else so you can get through all that work as quickly as possible, but don't do it!  It's amazing what little kids can do!

My daughter has been helping me with my weekly produce prep since she turned three.  She is great at helping with herbs like parsley, cilantro, and basil.  She also loves taking the tops off cherry tomatoes and shucking corn!  Sure the process goes a lot slower than if I did it on my own, but it has so many advantages!  It is a wonderful time to talk and learn together.  She gets very excited about the vegetables and is more willing to try them when she has a hand in preparing them.

Even though you have so much to do (and never enough time to do it in), give your young children the chance to be involved in the kitchen.  It will end up being a cherished memory for the both of you!

Friday's Food for Thought

Victory over the picky-eater!

Parents often talk about their children being picky eaters and how hard it is to make different foods for everyone in their household.  I have to say, there is an easy way around that problem...don't be a short-order cook!  Make one meal for everyone.  That's it!  There will be a few times where your children will push you and not want to eat what you have prepared.  Resist the urge to give them something else.  If they are hungry enough, they will eat.  Worst case scenario, they will wake up very hungry for breakfast.  But that is OK.  They will not suffer or have lasting emotional scars from this.  They will simply learn the consequences if they choose not to eat the family meal.  Parents often choose the path of least resistance as a way to get through the day (believe me, I completely understand the urge!).  But if you are willing to put in a little more effort in the short run, your life will get much easier much faster.