Local Edition, Saturday Fun

It is the last day of April and a beautiful Spring day. Today in Lawrence there are many wonderful activities to do and things to see, all of which will get you outside. As usual we are going to the Downtown Farmers Market to see what has come up. We also need a few more lettuce plants. If you are not able to make it downtown today you are in luck as several weekday markets open this week.
Check out the webpage for the Downtown Farmers Market for more details about the Tuesday and Thursday markets that open this week.
There is also a market opening this Thursday at Cottins Hardware from 4-6:30, 1832 Mass.
If you are not able to make any of these markets you still have the option of pick your own. We recently visited Pendleton's Country Market for pick your own asparagus and it was a treat. The paper recently did an article covering the local pick your own farms. Check it out for all of the information you need.

There are many opportunities now for fresh, local food so check them out!

Playing With Our Food

We finally made it to pick asparagus! It was so much fun to pull our food straight from the ground. Tonight we will make soup from the beautiful stalks because the girls snapped them up quite a bit in their enjoyment. If you live in the Lawrence/KC Metro area you really should head down to Pendleton's Country Market and either pick-your-own or purchase some already picked.

Our ride to the picking field

Measuring before picking

Putting sticks in the basket

Let me just say that if you do any kind of pick-your-own with children make sure it is not during a time when they are still trying to grow new plants. Your less than two year old will not understand about measuring the food before picking. Our local farms have an end of season free for all that we will be sure to attend next time.

April 28 How Green is Your Food Revolution?

I am really excited about the second season of ABC's Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. This week there was no show so they had a Twitter Party instead. Jamie challenged all to come up with a great smoothie recipe with the winner to receive an autographed cookbook from him. The feed went wild with recipes; some in 140 characters and others with links. Like other party-goers I began to crave a good smoothie after hearing all of the wonderful ideas. While at the store I stocked up on spinach so we could make our favorite smoothie, a Green Monster. After the party I came across a local Kansas City Blogger who recommended apple for her green smoothie. We might add that as well.

Wordless Wednesday, Parfait on the Patio

Parfait on the Patio

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Audrey's daddy's birthday. He is now 34. When he was a young man he ate anything he could prepare that was quick and tasty, regardless of nutritional value. After I came on the scene he continued to eat that way because I was a bad cook. That is no secret to those who know me. There were several times I tried to cook and failed in very spectacular ways. I am still teased about a meat loaf in which I forgot to add the egg.

After Audrey was born I started taking her to the local Farmers Market. It was mostly something to do with my time because I was awake anyway. We wandered around talking to anyone who would stop and let Audrey pet the dogs. Just by accident I bought some nutritious food. Sometimes we even consumed it.

Fast forward to the summer Maurene was born and a blessed 7 weeks spent in Detroit Lakes, MN with my in-laws. They can cook. And they started to teach Audrey. When we returned home I vowed to continue cooking with Audrey. I am glad this was not one of those ideas that falls by the wayside when times get tough. Here we are, almost two years later and still cooking.

This post is dedicated to Audrey and Maurene's daddy on the anniversary of his birth.

(We plan to make some cupcakes before dinner)

Audrey cooking with her daddy.

What's for Breakfast?

We have all heard that breakfast is the most important meal. So, with all of that pressure, how do you get your children to eat a healthy most important meal?!

Yeah, I am doing all I can as well but some mornings are a challenge. The easiest meal to get the girls to eat is cereal. In order to make the best of a boring meal I like to invite the girls to add fruit to their bowls. They love the additions and enjoy being able to do it themselves.

The girls found the cereal!

I put milk in a toddler-sized container

Yummy additions

How do you encourage your family to eat this important meal?

Muffin Tin Monday

Audrey keeps asking if today is Monday. It took me a bit to realize that she was wanting to have Muffin Tin Monday meals. There is no harm in having food in muffin tins all the time but I  like the fact that she gets so excited about this meal. The fun part is that we almost always have a very similar menu.

I have no idea where those grapes went.

Audrey's finished product.

Please check out the other wonderful Muffin Tin Monday Meals at the Muffin Tin Mom's website.

Yummy Green Pasta

It is Monday and time for The Kids Cook Monday! Be sure to follow the movement on Twitter and Facebook to get great tips for picky eaters.

Here is our post for the week:

I got the idea to puree edamame for pasta sauce from Michelle Stern when she was recipe testing for her new cookbook, The Whole Family Cookbook (like how I threw in a plug for our fav new cookbook? Click the link to purchase so Aud and family can earn a few pennies for new cookbooks). The recipe, sadly, did not make the final cut for the book but we love the idea anyway. And the girls get to use the food processor, enough said.

Audrey and Maurene's Tasks:

1. Help gather ingredients
2. Fight over who gets to measure and add ingredients
3. Operate the food processor
4. (Mo only) Help cook the pasta

Mom's Tasks:

1. Assist the girls
2. Cook pasta with Mo

We added a little chicken broth and prepared basil pesto for taste and served it with whole grain pasta. Edamame is great because it retains that vibrant green color. The girls will actually eat this dish even though it is made with something green. I like to keep a bag of frozen edamame around for nights when I don't want to make a heavy meal. 

Workin' the food processor

Yummy!

April 24 Happy Easter!

You will be shocked to learn that Audrey and Maurene colored eggs for Easter. Yeah, I know, everyone else did as well. Audrey was old enough to help last year but this is the first time Maurene was able to participate. We were fortunate enough to have Nana and Papa come to visit for the holiday weekend and they helped led the egg dying activities. Maurene was fascinated by the dyes and kept trying to get the eggs in quick! I believe more than one egg made a crash landing in the dye cup. Here are some pictures. Sorry about the shadows, we set up some photography equipment and left it up during the egg dying fun.

What is your family planning to do with the hard boiled eggs? Audrey tried one cut in half with a little salt for lunch but she was not impressed. We would love tips and ideas for great ways to enjoy a hard boiled egg.

April 23 Can I Have Your Pudding?

We went to the bookstore as a family the other day. Everyone grabbed a book they needed. Audrey had to have a new Tinkerbell book and Mo got a book about Halloween. I am not sure what daddy bought but I do know what I picked up (click the link to order your copy so Audrey gets credit):

It was a requirement. I promise. We have already made a few recipes out of it and it is another staple on the cookbook shelf. I pureed a can of chick peas the other day and have been looking for recipes to use them in. One I came across that sounded good is called Grandma Betty's Cornflake and Cheese Pudding. Other than white bean puree it calls for Wheaties, eggs, and cottage cheese and a few other ingredients. We added some frozen fruit for extra flavor. Wow! Can I have some more please? The girls and I enjoyed it best served cold with milk on top.

Audrey and Maurene's Tasks:

1. Crush the cereal
2. Help measure and add ingredients
3. Stir
4. Pour into baking dish

Mom's Tasks:

1. Gather ingredients
2. Assist girls
3. Bake

This gets an A+ for healthy and yummy. I actually hid some in the fridge so the girls would not eat it all and I could have the last serving.

Crushing cereal on the run

April 22 Earth Day Pizzas!

The best thing to do on Earth Day is to make homemade pizza and stay home with family! You conserve money and carbon. Maurene helped make a Hawaiian and a Pepperoni pizza for her Nana and Papa Jim. When she noticed that food prep was going on she ran into the kitchen and climbed up into the chair. Fortunately for everyone I had planned on help with the pizzas. Audrey was too busy talking to Nana and Papa to help.

Maurene's Tasks:

1. Help spread the sauce
2. Place meat and cheese on top

Mom's Tasks:

1. Gather ingredients
2. Assist Mo
3. Bake pizzas

We added a big salad and fresh fruit to the homemade pizzas and they were amazing. We did not make the crust this time because we wanted to have more time to visit with family. However, it so simple to make the Food Processor Pizza Dough that you should try it yourself.

April 21 Pasta in Disguise

The girls are average toddlers and would rather eat bread, pasta, and crackers as opposed to almost anything. Maurene does have a serious addiction to bananas and Audrey loves her daddy's cherry flavored yogurt but mostly they want mac'n cheese. And hot dogs. You know I try, right? Every day we have fresh fruit and different colored vegetables so that they can make healthy choices. This is what I get for my trouble:

You are making what?!

They have really made progress over the last several months. Audrey loves and will steal my Green Monster Smoothie. Maurene accidentally ate a piece of lettuce the other day and did not even notice (now to get her to do it on purpose). When I am wearing thin I will resort to hiding the taste of things like whole wheat pasta with Fauxfredo sauce so they will eat it, sans complaints. The sauce is healthy but tastes like decadent cheese. Mo still loves to cook the pasta with me, even if it is whole wheat.

April 20 It Does Matter How You Slice It

I have tried to get the girls to eat sweet potatoes several times with no luck. I tried mashed, oven fried, and baked. Nothing took until I borrow a friend's fancy mandolin. It makes the most beautiful waffle cuts. I cut some little sweet potatoes and asked Audrey to help me prep them for cooking. Since I was making a small amount for the girls I gave her a small baking stone and let her toss them in EVOO. This is how she decided to go about it:

After we baked in the oven at 350°F for 20 minutes and then let them cool. The girls enjoyed theirs with ketchup, just like daddy. Have you found a cool trick to entice your children to try a new food? We would love to hear.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Audrey, Mo and I are trying to garden more this year. Anything would be more as we did not get a garden in last year. The problem we are having this year is that some of our bunch are inexperienced at gardening and the rest are bad at it. I won't say which.

We found a super cute blog post about making a garden out of pallets so we snag one listed as free for the taking behind the office; purchased the supplies; and hit the Farmers Market for plants. Here is what we have so far:

We hope to fill the rest of the slots with more herbs soon. The lettuce is good and it is fun having it right there to pick. Have you decided to grow anything this year? You can garden easily in smaller containers even if you do not have a yard. We would love to hear your plans and please post pictures on Facebook.

Everything Mom and Baby: Recipe of the Day for Toddlers-BananaNini Muffins

Found this recipe and fabulous website. Had to share! We will give it a try soon and let you know.

Everything Mom and Baby: Recipe of the Day for Toddlers-BananaNini Muffins

April 18 Muffin Tin Monday, Yay!

We did it! Finally! Things have been so busy, Chez Audrey that we have had a hard time getting to the things we love. After talking with some other moms (thanks Aprile and Heather!) I realized it was all about priorities. So here is ours:

Her choice of foods

She was concerned that we forgot the orange

Great American Bake Sale

Learning to bake.

Audrey and family have signed up to raise money for Share Our Strength through the Great American Bake Sale. This summer we plan to bake as many muffins as we can and (hopefully!) sell them all to raise $200 for this wonderful cause. What we need are great muffin recipes. Sweet or savory, but make them kid-friendly, please! I know we have a few good recipes but I believe we may need to bake upwards of 100 muffins to raise the money we need. Hmm, we need to take into account cost of goods sold when tallying, so make that 150 muffins! We can do it; will you help? Send us your recipes, inthekitchenwithaudrey@gmail.com

April 17 So When is Mother's Day?

*Editors Note:
This is a special guest post from our dear friends Denise and Victoria. We are so excited to share this post with you.*

It's an honor to be a guest blogger on In The Kitchen With Audrey. We have gotten to know Audrey (and family) and are excited to now be cooking with our own daughter, Victoria. I started a small business out of our home called That’s A Wrap and Kris asked me about coming up with a basket for mother’s day.

Mother’s Day Breakfast Basket, $25.00:

Pancake mix, seedless blackberry syrup (local), sparkling juice and a fun whisk…oh, we also throw in a few hugs and kisses candy just for fun - what mother doesn’t like chocolate?

Dads can help their kids make this breakfast and serve it in bed. Add fresh fruit, turkey bacon or sausage, a handmade card, flowers and you have a happy mother.

My husband Larry helped our daughter Victoria make this breakfast the other day. She had fun pouring everything in the bowl and mixing it with the fun giraffe whisk. Victoria also helped wash and cut up fresh fruit. Then Larry took over and cooked the pancakes along with some sausage.

April 16 Local Edition - Pics

Here we go

Plants from Pendleton's

Our friends at KAWR