Category: Kids in the Kitchen

Farmers’ Market Fun: Homemade Fruit Leather and Apple Chips

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Farmers Markets are fantastic this time of year, featuring the last of the summer fruits (think berries, peaches, and plums) and the first of the fall harvest (apples!). To celebrate the end of summer, we headed to the market on a warm Sunday morning, then brought our bounty home to turn it into delicious fruit leather and other snacks.

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Bonus: The following recipes are perfect for packing in your kids’ lunch boxes for school.

For our first batch, Travis and I used peaches. He was so proud helping me peel the skin from 4 large peaches (parents, use discretion on whether or not your child needs help with this tool).

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I sliced the peaches and Travis was in charge of transfering them to the blender, so proud to do so!

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We added 2 tablespoons agave nectar and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. It was Travis’s very important job to be the taste tester, and I asked him if it needed either more agave or lemon. Nope, just right!

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Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap. Bake at 170 degrees F for 4 hours, leaving the door of the oven cracked open just slightly (this step made me slightly nervous, but I guess it can be done!).

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Cut into slices (leave the plastic wrap on for easy backing) and store in an air-tight container.

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To prepare an apple chip version, we pureed 5 apples (cored but not peeled) with 1/2 cup water until smooth. Note: next time I would use less water.

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Pour into a 13×9-inch baking dish lined with plastic wrap. Again, bake at 170 degrees F for 4 to 5 hours, leaving the door cracked. Because I used too much water, our apples turned out more like another fruit leather, not true apple chips. But still yummy!

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Don’t stop there! Try strawberry fruit leather in late summer, or pear fruit leather as autumn arrives. For the strawberry version, use 4 cups strawberries in place of the peaches. We had to give this one a full 6 hours in the oven!

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The pear version ended up being our best and favorite! For this one, I used 3 pears and cooked for 4 and 1/2 hours.

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Cold Peanutty Pasta

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I love getting my little chef into the kitchen for each month’s recipe from High Five magazine, and this month featured a perfect summer pasta, meant to be eaten cold or at room temperature. The recipe was a great chance to hone skills including whisking and chopping with a butter knife. Plus, we got to use neat ingredients like fresh ginger root! Here’s my chef, excited to start.

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Adults, cook 8 ounces spaghetti according to package directions. Reserve about 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain the remaining pasta water and rinse the spaghetti well with cold water. Set aside.

Meanwhile, have your little chef help you combine the following in a bowl:

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

2 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sugar

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Add about 6 tablespoons reserved pasta water to the mixture, and whisk until combined. If the sauce is still thick, add another tablespoon or two of the water.

Travis was so excited to try his hand at a butter knife for the next step. I cut a cucumber into rounds, and let him cut each round into quarters.

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In a large bowl, combine the cooked pasta, chopped cucumbers, 1/2 cup chopped peanuts, and the peanut sauce, tossing well to coat.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Note: To make the recipe nut-free, simply omit the chopped peanuts and use all tahini in place of the chunky peanut butter.

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S’more Brownies

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Want s’more fun with summer’s favorite trio of chocolate, graham cracker, and marshmallows? In addition to our s’more energy bites (which have all been gobbled up), we made these easy s’more brownies. Hint: the recipe starts with a mix!

Mix together one package of your favorite vegan brownie mix according to package directions. Spread half of the batter into the bottom of a 9×9-inch baking dish.

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Top evenly with graham cracker pieces, then spread with the remaining batter.

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Sprinkle the top with Dandies mini marshmallows – the more the gooier! You’ll notice that Travis was too busy licking the batter from the bowl to help sprinkle on the marshmallows.

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Bake according to package directions.

If brownies aren’t your favorite, try this twist on the s’more trio:

Layer chocolate pudding, broken graham cracker pieces, and mini Dandies marshmallows in a glass. Repeat the layers, and top with a final layer of pudding. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (this will help the graham cracker pieces soften).

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Red, White, and Blue Berry Shortcakes

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It’s not Independence Day until we make a flag-colored recipe from High 5 magazine! To wit, see our recipes in the past for Flags for Breakfast or Red, White, and Blue Nachos.

This year’s candidate: easy shortcakes in the colors of the American flag. We made a few vegan substitutions from High 5’s original recipe, but stayed true to the spirit of the dish.

Instead of refrigerated biscuit dough, purchase frozen pie shells (such as Wholly Wholesome) or make your favorite pie dough recipe. Use a star-shaped cookie cutter to make 12 stars from the crust (you’ll have to re-roll your scraps a few times to have enough dough).

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Travis loved playing with extra dough!

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Place the stars on a baking sheet, brush with about 1 tablespoon Earth Balance butter, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes; cool completely.

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Meanwhile, combine 2 cups blueberries, 2 cups raspberries, and 2 tablespoons agave nectar in a bowl. Set aside.

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Rather than make our own yogurt cream from scratch, we purchased a can of SoyaToo whipped cream. (Note: there are vegan substitutes that whip up like dairy cream, but I didn’t have enough time to plan in advance and order online).

To assemble each dessert, place one star on a plate, along with a heaping spoonful of berries.

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Add a dollop of whipped cream to taste, and enjoy!

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Patriotic Popsicles

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Need a red-white-and-blue snack for this Fourth of July – or any day this summer? These adorable popsicles fit the bill!

First up was using a small cookie cutter on slices of melon. Ideally, we would have used a small star for truly star-spangled popsicles, but a heart was just as cute.

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Travis was so proud of the shapes he made! Cut out enough so you have 2 watermelon slices per popsicle mold, and add to your molds.

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Fill the molds nearly all the way with lemonade, then top off with a few fresh blueberries.

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Freeze completely before serving. Ha, he seems to be asking, “Hey Mom, how do I get to the fruit?”

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Tuna Boats

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There was a very cute recipe in our summer issue of Ranger Rick Jr., for a sandwich in the form of a sail boat. The recipe called for tuna salad, and happily there are multiple choices on the market for vegan tuna these days. Using a can of Loma Linda Blue fishless tuna, we were ready to set sail!

First we mixed up a batch of basic tuna salad: 1 can of vegan tuna, 1/4 cup Earth Balance mayonnaise, and 1 chopped celery stalk.

Divide the tuna salad evenly among 2 hot dog buns (or 1 sub roll cut in half).

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Cut carrot sticks that are about 5 inches tall and stand upright in the tuna salad. Tear off two leaves of romaine lettuce and poke two slits in each lettuce leaf; slide onto the sails.

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Sail away!

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Mini Blueberry Pies

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What is it about miniature foods that just makes them taste so much better? Kids will love getting hands-on with this mini pie recipe from High Five magazine.

We had to do an extra step since there aren’t any mini vegan graham cracker pie crusts on the market (that I know of). You could purchase the graham cracker crust from Wholly Wholesome and make one big blueberry pie, but that defeats the whole point, now doesn’t it?

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To make our crusts, we combined the following in a large bowl:

1 and 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (such as Kinnikinnick S’moreables)

1/3 cup sugar

6 tablespoons melted Earth Balance butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Press the mixture into muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes, until set. Set aside.

To prepare the filling, we turned back to our High Five. First, we measured together the following:

1 teaspoon flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed orange juice

1 cup fresh blueberries

Squeezing the orange juice was especially fun!

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Spoon the blueberry filling over the crusts.

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To prepare the topping, combine the following:

2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon melted Earth Balance butter

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the blueberry filling. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

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Scoop out your mini pies and transfer to plates to serve. Or – why not! – just dig in with a big spoon and have a snack right out of the pan!

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ABC Quesadillas

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Quesadilla are a great way to involve kids with cooking and feeling like they have real control over the ingredients, as in this easy recipe from High Five magazine. Made to order, these A(vocado), B(acon or bean) and C(heese) quesadillas are sure to please!

First, Travis helped spray 4 small flour tortillas with cooking spray, and place on a baking sheet.

Next up was slicing an avocado (adults: pit and peel it ahead of time). A blunt butter knife will go right through the soft avocado flesh, making this an easy first slice for kids.

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To assemble the quesadillas, Travis sprinkled on his own Daiya cheddar:

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Then we topped them with the avocado slices and either black beans:

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Or vegan bacon (which I had cooked and chopped ahead of time).

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Yum: extra bacon!

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Top each one with a second tortilla, pressing down slightly. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes and cut into quarters to serve.

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Chocolate Empanadas

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Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, here’s a messy flour-filled project that will have your little chef loving time in the kitchen!

Ingredients:

For the dough:

  • 2 and 1/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 8 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
  • 1 Ener-G egg
  • 1/2 cup milk

For the filling:

  • Chocolate-hazelnut butter, warmed*
  1. To prepare the dough, combine the flour, salt, and cocoa powder in a large bowl.Empanada (1)
  2. Add the butter in small pieces, and mix into the four mixture with your fingers until it looks like cornmeal. I was so proud of my son for getting his hands right in there!Empanada (2)
  3. Add the Ener-G egg and milk, stirring until a soft dough forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
  4. Divide the dough into 16 portions, and roll into balls.Empanada (3)
  5. Working with one portion at a time (cover the remaining dough with plastic wrap), roll out into a 6-inch circle. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the chocolate hazelnut butter into the center. Rub water gently around the edges of the dough with water and fold in half, pressing to seal. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and repeat with the remaining dough. Here’s my son having a blast with his play portion as I worked!Empanada (4)
  6. Use a fork to crimp the edges of the empanadas, then bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.Empanada (5)

These are best served warm!

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*For the best results, order a vegan Nutella from a retailer like Vegan Essentials. I didn’t have time for an online order, but chocolate hazelnut spread from Justin’s peanut butter company (widely available) worked in a pinch.

Juicy Blueberry Smoothie

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This month’s recipe offering from High Five magazine involved lots of fun equipment. Juicers and blenders and spoons, oh my!

Ingredients:

  • 1 orange
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries
  • 1 cup white grape juice
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • Plain non-dairy yogurt
  1. Adults, cut the orange in half, and then help your child squeeze on a juicer to extract 1/4 cup fresh orange juice – definitely my son’s favorite step!Blueberry Smoothie (1)
  2. Combine the orange juice in a blender with the blueberries, white grape juice, water, and cinnamon. Process until blended.Blueberry Smoothie (3)
  3. Pour the smoothie into cups. If desired, spoon a dollop of non-dairy yogurt on top just before serving.

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