I met
Michelle Stern at
BlogHer Food last October and we hit it off. I especially enjoyed chatting school lunch reform. She was on the White House lawn to be part of the launch of
Chefs Move to Schools. Michelle worked to get salad bars in her districts’ schools, she volunteers in the cafeteria, and has blogged about her experiences on her blog
What’s Cooking With Kids. She’s a mom, a chef, and owns her own certified green cooking school for kids. And I thought I was busy!
Michelle asked me to review her new cookbook:
The Whole Family Cookbook and I happily volunteered. My son is little, but he is majorly enthusiastic about kitchen activities. It started when he wanted to just watch what I was doing on the stove and now he wants to stir, pour, and taste.
When I was trying to decide which recipe to make for my family. The cookbook is designed by used with your kids and each recipe includes step-by-step instructions on where to include kids of various ages. I have to be honest and say that this time I really didn’t include my son in preparing this recipe. He has helped me make cupcakes before, but this time he briefly investigated what I was doing and then ran off to play with my husband on the couch. What can you do?
It starts with our favorite foods
I used daiya in place of cheese
Crumbled up the cooked bacon
Added the apple
After I baked it — looks cool, doesn’t it?
Ready to serve
A piece for my son
It went fast!
A-B-C Frittata from The Whole Family Cookbook by Michelle Stern
10 eggs
1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated (I used shredded daiya, a dairy-free “cheese”)
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 apples, Fuji or Gala (I used only one apple, but use two)
1 tablespoon butter (I used olive oil)
Prehead over to 450 degrees. Crack 8 eggs into a bowl. Separate two remaining eggs and add whites to the bowl. Beat eggs. Add half of the cheese and the salt and pepper to the egg mixture. Cook bacon then let it cool. Peel and core an apple. Slice thin. Melt butter in skillet. Add egg mixture, crumble bacon over egg mixture. Add apple slices in a circular pattern. Add the rest of the cheese on top. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from pan.
(I modified the recipe. First, daiya is great, but not when it’s over-used. I used less and only baked it in. I didn’t want any on top. Second, I used only one apple because I was feeling lazy. Use two apples. Third, I don’t have an oven-proof skillet so I used a casserole dish. Lastly, I skipped the butter and went with olive oil due to our dairy issues.)
It was a huge hit with my husband and my son. But we did have enough left over to send some in our lunches!
***Giveaway***
I have an extra copy of The Whole Family Cookbook. If you would like to win the copy, comment below about your escapades in the kitchen with little ones!
This would be a great book to use to cook with my little cousin
this book sounds great! my baby is only 8 months old, but i can't wait til she is old enough to start helping in the kitchen – right now, she's at the grabbing stage so if i'm holding her while doing anything in the kitchen, her version of 'helping' is to try and grab whatever she can reach and put it in her mouth…
Last time I attempted cooking with a little one we made chocolate chip cookies and he was only interested in pouring in the chips. He ran off to watch tv for most of it and then told me that my cookies weren't as good as his mom's. Cooking with kids…can be a challenge.
My kids love to help in the kitchen, especially with muffins, cookies, pancakes, and French toast (all gluten free, of course!). However, sometimes I sneak into the kitchen to cook without them. It does take longer, because we talk about what each ingredient is, where it comes from ,how we measure it, why we are using it. It's messier, because as much a possible I let them measure everything, dump in everything, and mix. It takes more energy than cooking on my own, and cooking is a stress reliever for me–I love to cook! So sometimes, we cook together and have fun making a mess while we learn about food. And other times, I just work on my own to make great food for them to eat.
Love cooking w/my kids!! We like to experiment w/new things from diff. countries at times. I also like it when the kids find a recipe photo they like and ask to try. I think my favorite thing to do is make sugar cookies, though. They are involved in so many parts of the process =)
That looks great! I'm working evenings so I don't get to make dinner anymore. I could make a fancy breakfast instead! My kiddos love baking with me…homemade graham crackers are a fave!
Would love to have this cookbook!
Lisa
That looks like a great breakfast for dinner dish.
My daughter loves to watch me in the kitchen, stir and pour things in. She also wants to see what's happening on the stove, which makes me nervous because she's only 2. She and my son helped my husband with make your own pizza night for a few weeks and they loved it.
My 18-month-old and I made cookies together recently. It was our first cooking project where I really let him help. I measured each ingredient and then let him pour them into the bowl and stir. He really enjoyed it and was very focused!
Mine isn't a "little one" anymore. At 6'2" he's a 17 year old eating machine! I've been lucky that he hasn't had any food allergies or issues and is not a picky eater. It's been a slow process to get him in the kitchen with me, but now he helps all the time. One big incentive for him to come cook with me is the "binder". I have a big binder with all of his favorite recipes. In order to get a copy of the recipe for his own binder when he moves out, he has to help me make the recipe and then make it once on his own. So far he's got a few copies and we keep adding new ones!