Highfield Hall Cooks!

Little Dumplings and Monsters Under the Stove

Not the Tots! Although an argument could be made for dumplings (the proof is in the photos)—that's what we made this week. Before we go any further, however, you need to see how we started class. I was doing some prep on the counter and turned around to see this:

It was catching, too, because when I looked over at Roberto he'd joined in:

Once we got the bowls off our heads and exchanged them for fresh ones, we started the dough for our Chinese Veggie dumplings. It was an easy dough, just flour and water and lots of elbow grease. Little Sean doesn't say much, but the boy makes a mean dough. And he does it all by himself. He won't hear of getting any help. The kids cut up cabbage, tofu, and scallions and mixed it with sesame oil, soy sauce, and fresh ginger. I made them a simple sesame oil and soy sauce with toasted sesame seeds. We put the dumplings on the stove to boil

and got busy making batter for fortune cookies. When those were going in the oven the dumplings were coming off the stove.

I wasn't the least bit surprised that the dumplings would be a hard sell for these kids, but every now and then I like to challenge them. Abigail was dead set against trying the dumplings, but hey, guess what?! She tried them. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd….she liked them!

Sean was a big fan too

 

He seemed especially fond of the sauce and drizzled it onto his dumplings with a spoon before finally giving up and throwing the dumplings right into the sauce bowl and finally scooping them straight into his mouth. My other two friends, Ella and Roberto, were less sure about this strange new food, but I'm hoping they gave it a try once they got home. (Or that at least their parents enjoyed the fruits of their nascent Asian culinary skills.) I'm not sure what Reilly would have thought of the dumplings if she'd been in class, but I know she wouldn't have hesitated to let me know! We missed seeing her this week and can't wait for her to come back next Thursday.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of the fortune cookies because we were rushing to get them out of the oven and folded before their parents arrived, but they each took home three or four cookies tied up in a cellophane bag with colorful ribbon as a special Mother's Day gift. The fortunes all celebrated mom with, "I love you," "Happy Mother's Day," and "You're the Best!"

Oh, and you'll all be happy to know that there are no longer any monsters under the stove. Roberto and I chased them right out the door. I'm relieved about that (as is Roberto!) because I'm sure the house ghosts wouldn't appreciate monsters invading their territory.

 

Chocolate Pasta

I know, I know. You're thinking I've gone off my rocker now. If it makes you feel any better, the chocolate pasta isn't even really bad for you. I mean, it's got a fraction of the calories of steak cake. Honest! I'm willing to admit that I got a little obsessive about chocolate pasta after I read something online about it. I even bought some wildly expensive hazelnut (gianduja) chocolate from Valrhona because a) Valrhona, and b) Hazelnut chocolate. That's it, really. No other reason. Well, that and I love trying some off-the-wall recipes because food is all about the fun. Yes, yes, we HAVE to eat, but we don't have to eat the way we do. We don't have to make it such a production, such a sensory delight. And yet, we do. Because it makes us feel good.

Chocolate pasta is weird and wacky and kids are all about that. It's like a trip to a wild and wonderful candy factory, only better—they have their parents' permission! What more could a kid ask for?

Two of my classes this week were lucky enough to make chocolate noodles. The Young Epicureans, who, by the way, I was delighted to see again because, just look at these faces, were the first:

They are happy to be there and I feel privileged to spend this time with them. It's like taking a trip back in time; only I don't have to go through the teenage angst thing again, I just get to enjoy them enjoying each other and their night out creating something beautiful and tasty. A keen observer may be noticing right now that the pasta they're enjoying isn't chocolate. I did make them do a batch of regular noodles first. We kept it simple and added some roasted red peppers, fresh basil, parmesan, and sundried tomatoes.

And then we indulged in some fantastic chocolate ravioli with hazelnut chocolate filling.

I'm not sure they even realized it, but they learned to make pastry cream that night and were treated to some of the best chocolate in the world.

For my Sunday Kids Café class I had originally intended to do the chocolate ravioli again, maybe with a nice strawberry banana sauce, but realized on Friday night that the whole operation would be too much for them, so I stepped it down a notch and went for fettuccine.

They made a nice, light chocolate sauce and cut some fresh fruit to decorate their plates. Xavier created a beautiful plate.

Some had enough time to sneak in a few forkfuls before their parents arrived. Others took it to go and shared it with their families. I've been advised that chocolate fettuccine is best served hot, so if you ever get a wild hair and crank out some of your own chocolate noodles eat them fresh out of the pot.

So that's it! A great week in the Highfield kitchen. You might think we are all aboard the Crazy Train with steak cake, fruit pizza, and chocolate pasta, and at this point you'd be well advised to not even bother asking what comes next. I mean after chocolate ravioli and fettuccini, there's no telling what could happen. Vanilla bean spaghetti? Five-spice fusilli? (Anybody else thinking about "The Fusilli Jerry" Seinfeld episode right now? Happens to me every time I hear the word fusilli. Anybody? Just me? Yeah, well, go ahead and Google fusilli and see what comes up.)

See you all next class!

Is That Fruit on Your Pizza?

How lucky am I that all my Tots have returned for Session 2?! Luckier still that we've added another little guy to our ranks. We were all pleased to meet Roberto, whose cuteness factor is off the charts. Just look at him.

He was extremely excited about cooking and didn't hesitate to take a spot at the prep table when his dad dropped him off last Thursday morning. My brazen announcement that the day's fare would be Fruit Pizza was met with a chorus of, "What? Fruit PIZZA?!" They could hardly believe their ears.

We started out with the crust, a healthier version of the typical short dough used for this kind of recipe. Instead of tons of butter and sugar, we used a little of those things, because life would be so very very boring without them, but also added oats, nuts, and grated apple to the mix. The kids did a pretty great job mixing their dough and rolling it out.

And while they baked we made a sauce of ricotta and cream cheese, vanilla bean, and orange zest, and cut our fruit.

Believe it or not, I've seen improvement in their skills, and I was particularly impressed by their increased confidence. Just look at Abigail's focus! A mini chefsir for sure. Some of the Tots were especially hungry that day (um…Ella and Reilly!) and ate about 10 pounds of fruit before we even got a chance to put it on the pizza. Sean spent his time experimenting, as he often does. He started our first session by putting his pecans right into the pancake batter when we made German Oven Pancakes. Every week he tries something new. This week he smooshed all of his fruit with his hands and piled it high on his finished pizza.

Roberto made a beautiful pizza.

But his dad never got to see it, because by the time he got there he had eaten all the fruit off the top! I'm betting that Roberto's pizza wasn't the only one whose fruit was gone before it got home. Perhaps I should have called them Looted Fruit Pizzas instead?

 

Hola Horchata!

Have you ever had Horchata? No? Don't worry, it's not contagious! (Although it might be slightly addictive.) It's a traditional Mexican drink that goes well with spicy food, in theory because it acts as an antidote to the heat left behind by the capsaicins in hot peppers. I haven't tested that theory in the same way the guys at Mythbusters tested their various remedies for hot chili peppers, but it's a sound enough theory and last Sunday we made Bean and Cheese Quesadillas in the Kids Café class with real jalapenos in our salsa, so I thought Horchata (or-CHA-tah) would be a great accompaniment. Because we've only got two hours in class I started it for them before they got there. Not for the impatient among us, Horchata is essentially rice milk flavored and sweetened with cinnamon and sugar, and it's a project (albeit an incredibly simple one) that takes a minimum of several hours as the rice "steeps" in cool water, creating a milky liquid.

Every week I spend a lot of time planning how I will present the ingredients to the children. While I typically pre-measure most of the ingredients for my Tots 'n Pans, this group requires a challenging mix of ingredients they can measure for themselves and ingredients I measure for them. When I get it right things run smoothly and the kids get the most enjoyment out of their lesson. Aesthetically, I think it's important to at least display fruits, vegetables, and legumes in their most whole forms. Knowing what an ingredient looks like before it's sliced or diced helps kids make an important connection to their food. 

This week we had lots of wonderful, fresh ingredients to work with

The kids couldn't believe they'd be making their own tortillas, but they jumped right in, enthusiastically creating small balls of dough that they would later shape and cook. Of course, rolling tortillas is always a challenge, and what we ended up with in this class more closely resembled East Indian Naan, but the process was authentic—mixing, resting, and rolling the dough by hand—and the flavor was wonderful.

If you look closely you can see paper towels on each child's cutting board—that's the dough resting.

 

And there's Rachel, mixing her salsa. A few squished beans, some cheese, and a little time over the fire later and we had some wonderful quesadillas festooned with sour cream and avocado. The horchata was a resounding success, although some of us learned that sometimes more of a good thing—in this case, cinnamon—is  just, well…not so good!

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

We're all super excited that Highfield Hall will be hosting a children's cooking and gardening program this summer. Produce from our brand new, 1100 square foot kitchen garden will be incorporated into the curriculum, and while I'm sure we will be able to grow a lot of beautiful herbs and vegetables I know we won't be able to sustain our cooking programs solely on our gardening efforts. That's why I was thrilled to learn that Coonamessett Farm, one of my favorite places on the Cape, has decided to introduce Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to their farming program this season.

I first learned about CSA back in 1998 when I was doing research for Bitter Harvest (Routledge, 2000), and in the spring/summer of 1999 my husband and I found a farm that allowed us to do a full work share, which meant that if we worked a certain number of hours each week on the organic farm we'd chosen we would get a full share of produce (the value was about $600 for the season) in exchange for our work. It was a great deal back then for two struggling foodies. We worked hard for about eight hours a week and in exchange for our labor we got a delightfully fresh, wide variety of organic produce, some of which we were trying for the first time. That year we were introduced to kabocha squash, garlic scapes, and tatsoi lettuce among other things, and because you don't get to choose your produce, we had to learn to be creative with what we got. We learned some invaluable lessons that year—not the least of which was that organic farming is incredibly labor-intensive and we walked away from that adventure with a much greater respect for farming than we'd ever had.

Luckily for the lazy time-challenged among us, Coonamessett Farm isn't doing work shares, instead, customers buy a share—about 8 pounds of produce plus flowers, herbs, or berries, depending upon availability, each week for 12 weeks (all for $300!) and pick it up on a scheduled day at a scheduled time. Easy! And so popular, the farm's CSA program is already full.

It will be very exciting for us to be growing our own produce *and* enjoying the efforts of Coonamessett Farm. Not only will the children be learning about a wide variety of locally available produce, but they'll be getting to eat it at its peak of flavor, aroma, and natural beauty. I, for one, am looking forward to a fantastic summer season at Highfield Hall!

For more information about our summer programs for children ages 5 to 13, click here. Registrations are being taken now and can be made online.

Did You Know There’s a Clean Up Song?

Sheesh, I didn't! Apparently I missed the memo on that one, but these kids know it and we even used it this week to clean up between making frosting and putting it on the cakes, so to whomever created the Clean Up Song, my hat is off, my gratitude is unbridled. The prep table was spotless. The jimmies were stacked precariously neatly at one end, and I was even asked to move my coffee mug so they could clean under it. Now that's something to write home about!

I love these kids and feel incredibly fortunate that my life path led me to Highfield's door and gave me the opportunity to do this work.  I enjoy going to work and I leave happier than when I went in. These Tots n' Pans had a great time and to celebrate the end of a fun, oftentimes very funny, session we did what any great chef would do, we made cake!

Along the way bowls were licked

Untitled from Highfield Chef on Vimeo.

Hands were washed

(Many times, in fact!)

Conversations were had
Tots n Pans Chit Chat from Highfield Chef on Vimeo.

And jimmies and colored sugar sprinkles were abused in ways that would strike fear in the heart of any parent hoping for a peaceful afternoon.

The cakes were supremely well-executed, don't you think?

The best part of the day was seeing these smiling faces!

Yes! from Highfield Chef on Vimeo.

I'll see you all in a couple of weeks at the start of the next session!

Steak Cake and Baked Potato Ice Cream

"What, who?" you might ask. Well you're not alone because that's pretty much what the kids said too. "Are we making a cake out of meat?! WHAT?! HELP!"

 

No meat cakes here, but cake that was to look like meat. And ice cream made to look like baked potatoes. Why? Because I'm a little nutty like that. And because I let them talk me out of my original plan to make a full meal and sit down to eat it together. Last week when I asked what they wanted to make for the last class of the session they all yelled out, in unison, as if they'd practiced it a thousand and one times, "CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!" So cake it was, but their penance for not going along with the grand plan was that it had to resemble a meal. Steak cake and baked potato ice cream seemed like a logical choice. In actual fact, although I am a strong proponent of local, organic, sustainable, nutritious foods I'm also a big fan of letting loose a little bit and just having fun sometimes. Kids like cake. There's no reason for them not to enjoy some good, homemade cake every now and then. Will seemed to think it was a fine idea.

To save time I shaped the ice cream the day before and put it in the deep freeze so it wouldn't turn to goo when it was time to roll it in cocoa and powdered sugar. I also made a simple marshmallow fondant in advance because it has to sit overnight before it's rolled out. So when we gathered around the table in the kitchen this week the first order of business was to make cake batter. Once the cakes were in the oven it was time for frosting (you'd think that with fondant the frosting would be unnecessary, but it actually holds the fondant on the cake).

All the cakes looked perfect when they emerged from the hot oven, but they were, not surprisingly, HOT, and we were running short on time, so we cooled them in the refrigerator while we rolled the ice cream in cocoa "dirt."

That whole deep freeze plan worked for the most part, but some of us have smokin' hot chocolate hands!

A couple of the kids had extra energy, so I gave them the job of whipping the cream to put on their potatoes in lieu of sour cream. Guess what?! Whipping cream is hard!

The part where we had to roll the fondant to look like a cooked T-bone steak is where things got a little interesting. Cases in point:

I know, I know, but really, people, it's the journey that counts. And we had a fabulous trip!

See you next session!!

 

 

 

Boo Yah!

Soft granola bars were the day's fare and since there were so many ingredients involved I premeasured everything and lined up the mise en place cups in front of each cutting board. "Which ones are the oats," I asked? Abigail pointed, and I said, "That's exactly right!"  She looked at me in disbelief and then exclaimed, "Boo yah!" (with a full fist pump, I might add!) Abigail is also responsible for "chefsir," which persists to this very day. She's a hoot. They all are, in fact. Just look at them….

…Ella's a messy little granola monster…

…Abigail has taken the "look Ma, no hands!" approach to cutting fruit, and…

…Reilly has this cooking thing down so well she can do it with her eyes closed.

Sean, on the other hand, has got to be up to something, don't you think?!

Our granola bars were made with cranberries and walnuts, were browned to golden perfection, and were highly complimented by several of our self-appointed Highfield tasters. Um yeah, and the kids liked them too! While they were cooking we put together a quick fruit and yogurt parfait. I jazzed up the vanilla yogurt with a little orange and lemon zest and even bruléed some of the parfaits that had bananas on top. The torch is always a big hit with the kids because it's so dramatic.

Here's the final product:

Everyone got to take home three or four sizeable bars and I was left with some beautiful flour drawings and a lovely chorus of "I love yous" from the children.

 

Only one more class in this session, but I'm looking forward to seeing all of these little guys in my next session, beginning right after April vacation.

 

Kids Café Spices it up South of the Border Style

Who would have thought these 12 kids would dive right into tamale making like old pros?  Chicken tamales with roasted poblanos, no less. Well, okay, only two kids actually used the poblanos, but they all used chile powder (in varying amounts) and not one of them flinched when I told them we were wrapping the whole gooey mess in cornhusks. After they wrapped and tied the first one I thought they'd all lose interest and we'd have to move on to the next recipe, but surprisingly, most of them continued filling, wrapping, and tying until they'd completed at least three tamales. When they were all done we gathered them up and put them in the steamer to cook.

While they were cooking we enjoyed making, and drinking, Mexican hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon, vanilla, and a pinch of chile powder. Everyone liked it and a couple of them even said it was the best hot chocolate they'd ever had.

At the end of class we had a little extra time while we waited for the tamales to finish cooking, so we tried our hands at making cornhusk dolls. It was a first for me too, but I think we did a pretty good job!

A Cooking Birthday Party!

We'd been talking about the possibility of doing cooking birthday parties at Highfield for a while when Amy emailed to ask if we would host a party for her daughter, Allison, who is in my Kids Café class. Her timing couldn't have been more perfect so I set about planning the party for the little chef. Each of the partygoers received a personalized hat and apron

and got to make their own hand thrown pizza (everything was made from scratch, from the dough to the sauce) with fresh mozzarella and fresh basil.

The girls ate their pizza in the kitchen.

And then later made frosting and decorated the cakes they'd baked at the beginning of the party.

In the end, Allison said it was the most fun birthday she'd ever had—which was saying something since Saturday she celebrated her 9^th birthday! Happy Birthday Allison!

Note: If you would like more information about children's birthday parties at Highfield Hall please contact Janet Totten.