Travis opened up his new Raddish Kids box tonight. This month’s theme? Family date night! The kit was intended to overlap with Valentine’s Day, and quite cleverly; these days, Valentine’s is more about the kids than just the grown-ups! But we received our box too late for the holiday, so were happy to settle in for a family cooking night here later in the month.
As with all Raddish recipes, I loved that even my pre-reader could help gather the ingredients, based on the bold, bright pictures.
First, we prepared the topping (a gremolata, I recognized, although that wasn’t specified). Travis got to help with big boy steps! Together, we chopped a bunch of parsley. Two tablespoons went into a bowl.
Next he grated the zest from one lemon; that joined the parsley in the bowl.
I smashed three garlic cloves for him, and he carefully peeled back the white paper.
Then we got to use this month’s keepsake: a garlic minced. I’d never seen one quite like this before that rocks back and forth, and to be honest, I found that it didn’t mince a clove as well as a knife. But for kids, it’s great, since no knife is required. The recipe card also featured a run-down of all the ways to mince garlic.
As he worked, we read the facts about garlic and its history of medicinal use on the recipe card. “Is lemon good for me?” he asked after. “Is parsley going to keep me strong?” I love that he already has an understanding of the connection between what we eat and our health.
Next up, we heated 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add 3 tablespoons panko and the minced garlic; cook for 4 minutes, until lightly browned.
Add the garlic mixture to the parsley mixture, along with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan sprinkles.
Next up we trimmed 1 pound green beans, using scissors to snip off the pointy ends.
(Note: For all of these advanced kitchen skills, Travis loved helping for a moment or two, and then preferred to watch me finish. I recommend the same if you also have a young chef, but big kids can take on more ownership of the recipe).
We cooked the green beans in a pot of boiling, salted water for 7 minutes, which was the recipe card’s suggestion for medium tenderness. Drain the green beans in a colander, then transfer to a bowl; drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil, and sprinkle with the gremolata.
Proud chef! This is actually his happy face saying “Garlic!” though it looks like a grimace. He devoured every last green bean, and the grown-ups, too!
