Playdate Special: Baking Camp, Pretzels!

Summertime, and the living is easy... and not so hot here. Kids are playing well and happily but are looking for something else to do, other than the obvious water-based fun. The solution was: Baking . It took me a while to decide exactly what we would make and bake, but the idea of preparing dough in the backyard seemed to me a nice one. Or, at least, a neat one: Crumbles and flour are all so very welcome to fall on the patio floor.
But what to make? Cookies were too sweet. Bread? Nope. Brownies? No way they would not be convinced of eating lunch.
After consulting some of my books I found out one recipe that was looking infallible. Nobody wants to see kids frustrated with an vague result. And what could be more fun than preparing your own pretzel?

The project looked irresistible: besides the basic recipe, the Preschoolers and Pre-Ks would shape the pretzel and sprinkle with their favorite top. On the side, three types of dip (salmon cream cheese, bruschetta and cilantro cream) would provide the other needed nutrition while a summer drink and some slices of cucumber would guarantee that also the moms would love the playdate.
The basic recipe for the pretzel is from Emeril Lagasse.  I know that his baking recipes work wonders. I also tried a variation with wholemeal flour that didn't work so fine.  It didn't raise enough and its texture was not looking or feeling right.

What follows here are some steps to steps of how to prepare the "bakery" so that the kids will enjoy the process and eat them all!

1. On the night before the playdate, put all ingredients on the counter, and read the basic recipe again to make sure that nothing is missing. Add to the list ingredients that might work to coat the pretzels. Here we used poppy seeds, sesame seeds, grated Parmesan cheese and kosher salt.
2. About 3 hours before prep time, mix the dough and let it raise.
3. In the meantime make sure you have all the necessary gadgets available: Rolling pin, egg whisker, mixing bowls, pastry brush, ruler or pastry mat, a clean surface that they can roll the dough.
4. Check that everything is lined up before inviting them to start. Right before going to the working table or counter, remember them to wash their hands well.
5. Preheat the oven.
6. Reserve tools and ingredients for each part of the process: first dough to be flattened, than the measuring and cutting part, then shaping them, painting them with egg. Positioning the pretzel on the baking sheet might be tricky, so it's better to do it  before egg-painting and sprinkling. The sprinkling time is at the very last moment to finish.
7. After removing from the oven, let the pretzels cool down a little bit, to avoid the complaint that "Mama it is too hot to eat".
8. Enjoy your own pretzel while kids are proud to eat their own work of art dipped in their favorite spread.

Tips and Gadgets: Cindy's Cheese Crackers

The first batch of cheese crackers just came out of the oven. And it's almost finished. This posting is just to share with you this great recipe from Fix Me a Snack, by Cindy.
This Friday we had the ideal time to bake them.  One kid was at arts camp and the other here at  our own improvised baking camp. The little baker helped me to measure the flours, sprinkle the salt, stretch the dough. His review was simple when he had the first mini cracker: "Hmmm, Hmmm! Yum". The second one,  when arrived at home, who loves cheese crackers of all shapes and colors  just said: "These are the best in the world".

I am specially cautious when baking,  so I followed this recipe by the book. I just changed the salt and cheese types. I had kosher salt in my pantry and instead of Sharp Cheddar I used  Monterey Jack cheese. Also, I had fun doing them in another shape, and they turned just perfect, next time I will do the pastry more like paper thin. The whole process is so well written that even a impatient baker - like me- will do it with no trouble.  Thank you Cindy for sharing your cracker Nirvana!

Playdate Special: Eggs for a Shakshuka

Eggs always fascinate my culinary curiosity. And when they are the stars of the dish - and not just a supporting actors- they really provoke my courage to experiment.  That's exactly the case with the Israeli shakshuka. The first and last time I tried this ideal brunch meal was in the same place. The charm and mystery of the shakshuka once again called me to investigate its origin: North African, for sure. And I also read somewhere that the name comes from the Hebrew verb "to shake". And at the restaurant Hendale (something like cute), hidden in between flower greenhouses and crops of organic strawberry, shakshuka is really memorable. It is au gratin with some Romanian Cashkeval cheese and lots of fresh spinach. So good that I never even tried to order it from another place.
And I was so pleased with it that I dared to bring it to a playdate. Kids were not impressed by its looks, but ended up calling it "yummy" instead of initial sincere "yucky". I served it with another staple of the Israeli restaurant, the baked yam. Darienne approved it and even not being a big fan of eggs, she agreed that so many things happen on the dish that eggs get somehow a second -role.
With you, another inspired Israeli recipe, a free interpretation of what I tasted at Hendale.

Shakshuka with Spinach and Cheese Crust

As eggs play the main role of the dish, I use my favorite large brown eggs. Mostly I love to bring the happiness of  free range chickens, well fed with Omega-3, to my table. And my experience shows that the best the egg, the yummier the result.

1/2 cup yellow bell peppers, julienned
1/2 cup orange peppers, julienned1/2 cup red bell peppers, julienned
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups tomato diced in tomato juice (canned) , your home-made tomato sauce or your favorite tomato pasta sauce
Fresh or dried herbs such as basil, marjoram, thyme or parsley (choose your favorite)
4 to 5 eggs
2 cups Popeye Sauce or you may use your favorite jar of Alfredo sauce and add spinach to it with a blender
Salt to taste (if you use the tomato sauce it wont probably be necessary)
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Paprika, to taste (optional)
Parmesan and mozzarela cheese, to cover

Coat a large oven-proof skillet with olive oil. On a medium-high heat, add onions and bell peppers. When they are almost brown add tomatoes from a can or your favorite tomato sauce. When boiling, lower the heat and add each egg at a time in one of the sides of the pan. When whites start to become white, cover with a generous stream of green sauce (Popeye or made of spinach and alfredo). Add cheese and transfer it to the oven on the broil mode. Broil on low up to when the cheese melts and forms a crust. Enjoy it with pitta bread or baked za'átar yams.