Mystery dinner?

Mystery dinner?

So THIS is what the Kids are up to when I’m not home to cook. I saw this mystery meal after downloading the photos on my camera; the home-cooked fare I missed going to see the Stones. Kids cooking for themselves. Nice job, guys:     Mind if I steal the...
Bannocks – gluten free, vegetarian oat cakes

Bannocks – gluten free, vegetarian oat cakes

It’s been an oatmeal kind of autumn around here – there’s something about the cooler weather that calls out for the warmth and earthiness of hot oats, don’t you think? Recently I was having a taste flashback to the bannocks we used to eat when...
Oatmeal muffin magic and recipes for happiness

Oatmeal muffin magic and recipes for happiness

You certainly have a recipe for a perfect roasted chicken or chocolate chip cookies – for some dish that makes you and your family smile – but have you ever considered your recipe for happiness? It’s a little bit harder to describe, hmm? That’s...

Learn to scramble eggs with California Kid Kitchen

Some families watch baseball, others lean toward Survivor or X Factor . . . we watch cooking competitions. Next Food Network Star, Top Chef, and Iron Chef all reign supreme around our house, and sometimes while we’re walking pup we challenge each other to come...
Cooking with children

Cooking with children

Since I’ve been blogging here I’ve loved getting to know so many of you from the comments and email you frequently send. I didn’t realize until last week, though, how far you all come to visit. It was exciting to see from this cool new blog counter I...
Grilled pizza how-to

Grilled pizza how-to

Jack Prelutsky’s pizza poem made me hungry! Since I’m thinking about pizza I thought I should let you in on the secrets of one thing I do really, really well – handmade barbecued pizza.

A Pizza the Size of the Sun

A Pizza the Size of the Sun

A chocolate-marshmallow-toffee dessert pizza inspired by Jack Prelutsky’s poem “A Pizza the Size of the Sun.” A post in honor of National Poetry Month.

Thanksgiving dinner in a roll

Thanksgiving dinner in a roll

A complete Thanksgiving feast rolled up in flatbread and served to thirty 6th graders – portable, healthy, fun to eat, inexpensive, and delicious.

Traditionally Halloween

Traditionally Halloween

What are the traditions – new or old – you do at this time every year? For me, the process of creating and carrying on traditions is one of the most challenging aspects of parenting for me, in part because my energies and interests don’t always match what the calendar and drugstore displays tell me it’s time to do. We’ve made some progress, though; click to hear how.

Applesauce puffs in the wetlands

Applesauce puffs in the wetlands

Students learn about food webs and food chains in the Watsonville Wetlands, and I remember that feeding kids’ bodies is just as important as feeding their minds. Includes a simple, kid-friendly recipe for Applesauce Puffs.

Homemade soft pretzels

Homemade soft pretzels

Too lazy to go to the grocery and get a box of frozen soft pretzels, we spent an afternoon experimenting with making them from scratch. It turns out homemade soft pretzels are not at all difficult and totally delicious – epecially when you spend the afternoon making them with your son. Come take a peek at our day and get the recipe to try yourself.