Kim Dannies: Lifestyle & Adventure writing

Cooking Up A Mid-Winter Break
February 23, 2006

Cook up some fun in the kitchen during the school mid-winter break. Start by surprising your kids with a feast of crepes served with fresh berries and whipped cream for breakfast. They’ll love chocolate nutella, peanut butter, sliced apples or applesauce, bananas, and maple syrup on them, too! Crepe batter can be made two days ahead or crepes can be cooked ahead and stored for up to three days. Whip together 2 eggs, 2 cups flour, 2 cups milk, and 2 teaspoons of oil with a whisk, the batter is runny. Heat a non-stick skillet and add 2 tablespoons of batter and spread thinly; cook, flip, stack. Repeat process several times to make multiple crepes; serves 4.

For lunch, how about a grilled peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich? Kids can customize their creation by adding chocolate chips or potato chips for extra crunch and giggles. Lightly butter 2 whole wheat slices of bread per child and place face down on a hot grill. Spread peanut butter, drizzle honey, and add sliced bananas on one slice. Top with the other slice when it is nicely browned. This yummy sandwich will ooze with flavor and is perfect with a glass of cold milk and baby carrots.

For the evening meal there is nothing more fun to make for dinner than homemade pasta. Come on, someone you know has a hand crank pasta machine stuffed into the back of a cabinet somewhere (e-mail your pals and you’ll find one easily). Making the pasta dough is easy. Wash little hands and then set each child up at their own station with a medium sized bowl. Into each bowl add 1 cup of flour. Next, have your chefs make a “well” in the center of the flour by pushing it back to create an opening the size of a tennis ball. Into the well add one egg yolk (save the whites for macaroons), 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of water. Let the kids gently mix the ingredients by hand to form a sticky dough. You may need to add a bit more water or flour to achieve this goal. When dough is formed, collect separate balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet and get everyone cleaned up. (Each ball of dough equals a serving.)

Next, set up the pasta machine up and start cranking. The gluten in the flour must be worked so each section of dough passes through the press 6-8 times with gradually more pressure. This is achieved by setting the rollers closer together every third time the dough passes through. Kids love the repetition of this process and become expert at it quickly. Just remember to dust the dough with a bit of flour and fold it in half each time it goes through until about the 7th time. At this stage let it pass through a tight roller for a final stretch and layer each section of dough separated by a piece of plastic wrap.

Decide on the cut setting for the pasta, I think fettuccine cooks up best. Start cutting-- it takes two people, and place cut pasta on the backs of chairs or over a balanced yard stick to dry. Fill a large wide mouthed pot with water and boil. Add pasta and cook 3 minutes, it will rise in the pot when it’s ready. Serve it with butter and kosher salt or your child’s favorite sauce. Be sure to save some of the pasta for a quiet dinner for yourself, later, when your little gourmets have gone to bed.