Strawberry Lemonade
LCC kids discovered this yummy and refreshing recipe made with local strawberries last summer. You can try it at home. Hurry! the strawberries won't last for much longer. Last summer the kids made a batch to share with their families for one of our special gatherings. We encourage you to make a batch to gift to someone, because we found that it was that much sweeter when we shared it!
Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1 cup water (for simple syrup)
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 8 lemons)
2-3 cups cold water 1
-2 cups fresh strawberries cut in half
Directions
Step one: make the simple syrup by combining one cup sugar and one cup water in a saucepan. Simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and allow it to cool. When syrup is cool place in a jar for use later in the lemonade.
Step two: juice those lemons!! Squeeze out as much as you can. Too good to not get it all!
Step three: combine your simple syrup, fresh squeezed lemon juice and water to a big jar or pitcher. Start with 2 cups of water and if the lemonade seems to tart add a bit more water til your taste buds agree with the flavor!
Step four: add the fresh cut berries to the finished lemonade. So beautiful!
Time to taste the yummy lemonade!
MMMMM! It’s so delish and refreshing on a hot summer day.
Roasted Asparagus
Roasted asparagus!
It's spring. Asparagus is a special treat. LCC kiddos gobble this seasonal delicacy. Kids can help wash, cut, and coat asparagus in olive oil. Grilling is best left to the grown ups! Thankfully it needs 3 minutes of grilling before its green shade brightens and can still hold its crispiness. It is a fabulous side dish or quick snack.
Ingredients:
1 lb. asparagus
Olive oil
Salt
Instructions:
Wash and trim, breaking off the hard end and leaving the tender stalk.
Brush with salt and olive oil.
Cook on a grill (a pancake griddle works too!) for a few minutes or roast in a 400° oven 5-9 minutes until tender.
Enjoy!
Roasted French Fries
Little hands can be big help with making these yummy roasted french fries. LCC cooker extraordinaire, Angela, shares her recipe and tips with a little science experiment you can try too!
Let’s Wash potatoes!
Potatoes grow in the soil underground. They need to be washed. You can scrub with a brush or small cloth, then rinse, and pat dry. There are many types of potatoes russets, red, golden, sweet, and even purple potatoes. Many kids like French Fries. We roast fries with a little olive oil for a special treat!
To make our LCC Roasted French Fries, you will need:
4 medium russet potatoes, washed and patted dry
Olive oil Sea salt
1 Tb Rosemary
Preheat oven to 400°. With a sharp knife cut one side of the potato to make a flat side. Leaving a little skin at the top and bottom.
Cut 3 more sides
Now slice the potato lengthwise. Decide how wide you want the fries cut.
Use your helper!
Your helper can cut the potato slice into fries using a krinkle or straight cutting knife.
Soak fries in cold water with 1 tsp salt and splash of vinegar for 20 minutes.
Drain potatoes and pat fries dry.
Spray baking pan with olive oil.
Arrange fries evenly on pan.
Brush lightly with olive oil.
Sprinkle a small amount of seasalt and rosemary.
Turn over after 10 minutes.
Cook until crispy and golden brown 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!
Sweet potatoes or Carrots make great fries, too!
Fun science experiment! The potato starch at the bottom of the bowl will have a solid /liquid consistency when the excess water is poured off. Potato starch makes a fun ooblek goop. If the remainder of the bowl does not yield enough for kiddos (mine didn't) 2 cups of potato starch mixed with 1 cup of water makes a wonder filled batch of goop. It is fun to play with a gooey liquid and solid substance. Hours of fun! P.S. it glows in the dark!!! .
Homemade Butter - Some Scrumptious Science!
I love butter! It is one of the most delicious things I can think of. I do a lot of baking and I always use butter. But did you know that you can make your own butter at home? It’s true! And it’s science!
This experiment requires only two ingredients.
Yup! That’s it. Just two! You will need:
- Heavy whipping cream
- Glass Jar with a lid
The first step is pouring the cream in the jar. Fill about half way full. Get your lid on nice and tight. Don’t forget or you will have MESS!
Now here’s where the fun and the science begin. Somehow the heavy cream has to turn into butter, right? But how? Should you ask it nicely? Give it a little smooch? NO! You have to shake it up! And shake and shake and shake and shake...
Magical things are beginning to happen!
The cream started out liquid and white. Take a couple peeks inside the jar as you shake. Do you see any changes happening? What about the sound in the jar? And what about the color?
After about 10 minutes of shaking you should notice a separation between the solid butter and the liquid left in the bottom. That liquid is called buttermilk. It’s really light and sweet. Give it a taste! Pour the butter milk off and put your fresh butter in a dish. That’s it. BUTTER!
I added a pinch of salt and some maple syrup to my butter. Other additions could include honey or brown sugar. Be adventurous! Sit back and nibble some toast topped with your scrumptious science!
Xoxo Sara Tall
Manitou Island Energy Balls
LCC kids love these little yummy energy treats. Only 6 ingredients and no baking and kids will have fun rolling the balls.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup dates (cover in boiling water if very dry, then drain water before using)
2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 cup quick oats
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tb cocoa powder
Instructions:
Blend all ingredients in a Cuisinart or stir by hand in a large bowl. Roll into bite size balls. Roll in coconut, cocoa powder or eat plain. Enjoy! Refrigerate any leftovers in a sealed container for later. This recipe is open to substitutions feel free to mix in any nuts or seeds you have!
Angela's Ginger Lemon Scones
Simple recipe for yummy scones that will make your whole house smell delicious!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
1 Tb baking powder
1 pinch of salt
4 Tablespoons butter at room temperature
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2 Tb lemon juice
1 tsp ginger
3 Tb chia seeds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, measure flour, baking powder, ginger, and chia seeds. Cut in butter.
In a small bowl, whisk sugar, egg, lemon juice, and milk.
Fold wet ingredients into a large bowl.
Mix and drop small scoops onto a baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes, and enjoy!
Making Carrot Fries on Tasty Tuesday
One of our LCC Kitchen favorites - Carrot Fries! These are so simple to make and kids can help by peeling the carrots, choosing what herbs and spices to add, and painting the carrots with oil for baking.
Ingredients:
#1 carrot sticks (slice baby carrots in half lengthwise)
2 TB olive oil
1 pinch pink or kosher sea salt
Spice (thyme, herb blend, chili powder, Italian herbs, cinnamon, curry, or tarragon are some great spices that work great!)
First smell your spices and together choose how to flavor your carrots. Preheat oven to 400°
Mix your salt, spices and olive oil in a small bowl. Lightly spray baking sheet with oil. Arrange carrots in a single layer. Using a pastry brush paint the carrots.
Cook for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn carrots over. Return to oven for 15- 30 minutes. Some prefer them simply roasted while others prefer a longer cooking time and the carrot fries become carmelized. Serve as a snack or a side dish. Enjoy!
Oh Me! Oh My! We love Angela's Burrito Pie
This simple recipe is an all time kid favorite at LCC. Check our website for Angela’s salsa recipe if you want to add something delicious to go with it.
Angela-la-la’s Burrito Pie Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
6 tortillas (more if they are smaller, more if you are cooking for more than 3-4 people)
12 oz. cheddar cheese
2 c. cooked black beans (canned or soaked or cooked)
1/4 c. salsa
Pinch of cumin, chili powder, salt free herb blend, Himalayan sea salt
Puree black beans, salsa, and spices
Spread bean dip onto 1 tortilla
Add a layer of cheese, top with another tortilla
Toast on a pancake griddle or skillet.
Flip when the bottom tortilla is crunchy (the top tortilla starts to curl up around then edges)
Cut into 6 wedges.
Enjoy with your family! Serve with your favorite crunchy vegetables, roasted carrots, salad, and/ salsa. Here is the link for Angela’s Salsa recipe: https://bit.ly/2x2QhDI
Angela uses Food for Life rice tortillas at school. Any tortilla works! We use colby jack or white cheddar cheese. Feel free to adjust the recipe according to have you have on hand.
Angela's Pizza Recipe
A rainy day (or any day!) is a great time to make your own pizza. This recipe is from our own extraordinary cooker, Angela-la, is an LCC classic and offers some alternatives if you don’t have the ingredients to make your own dough. Post your pizza making and pizza party photos in the comments and/or tag us in your posts! We’d love to see your creations.
Materials need
2 cups of warm water (at least 110 degrees)
1 Tb olive oil
1 pinch of salt
1 Tb yeast
5 cps of flour
2 cups pizza sauce (we add extra Italian herbs to make our sauce extra flavorful)
16 oz mozzarella, shredded
Your favorite toppings!
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, and yeast. Add olive oil and water. Stir, stir, stir. Coat your hands and your helper’s hands in olive oil and knead the dough. The dough should be a little sticky. You can also knead in a little water if it is too dry or flour if it is too wet. Sprinkle flour on your workspace so your dough doesn’t stick to your counter.
Spray a pizza pan or baking pan with oil. Often we “paint” the pan with a pastry brush and a splash of olive oil.
Roll out the crust in the pan to your desired thickness. I roll it thinner at school. Poke with a fork. I like to invite kids to make a pattern. It can be simple as making rows. Set the dough someplace warm for 8 minutes. Check it out…it will rise!
Place dough in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Once it is partially cooked, remove from the oven. Pizza crust and pan will be hot! Let it cool to keep your little helper safe. While the crust cools, prepare your pizza toppings and set them aside. Get some extra spoons to spread the sauce around.
Once the crust is cool, drop pizza sauce onto the crust. Encourage your helper to cover the whole crust.
Next, my favorite part, sprinkle the mozzarella all over. Arrange and sprinkle toppings. Cook in oven for 12-18 minutes. Enjoy with your family!
*La La's notes:
In February, we tried broccoli on pizza. (The idea emerged from play one morning in our common's house area) Many kids tried it and some loved it! I highly recommend broccoli, sweet peppers, red onion, and feta).
I love spinach on pizza! To get it to cook as fast as a pizza lightly spray or brush spinach with olive oil.
Pitas, english muffins, bagels, french bread, and naan bread can be used as pizza crust, too!
This dough can easily be shaped into individual size pizzas so everyone can make their favorite. Any extra pizzas can be frozen for later. It is fun to make small snack size pizzas with a variety of toppings, too!