White House Hosts Kids Kitchen for Easter

At 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Easter was all about... get ready... kids in the kitchen. Okay, there may have been an egg roll and some food dye. But with the theme "Let's Go Play!" that emphasized physical activity and healthy eating habits, the Kids Kitchen activity station really took the cake.

White House executive chef Cris Comerford demoed healthy recipes for kids, and celebrity chef Jose Andres was accompanied by his daughters for a hands-on demonstration of gazpacho and mini olive pancakes.

Kids who attended the event donned presidential paper toques and made fruit lollipops.

Complete coverage of this exceptional event can be found only at Obama Foodorama. Pictures courtesy Obama Foodorama.

No, Thank YOU!

Awwww. Two of the best thank you notes I've ever received. My favorite part was that after Natalie gave me the card, she quickly took it back to add "it was the most fun party ever!".

And how about Alexandra's note. Is it cuter that she signed it "with cooking skills," or that she may be the first 8 year old ever to illustrate an immersion blender? And by the way, we did "do it again". Alex celebrated her last 2 birthdays cooking with Kitchen Kid!

Cooking: Not Just for Mom & Dad

Still looking for more reasons to get cooking with your kids???

Our friends at gastrokid.com posted a great Top Ten today. (Perhaps the introduction to their forthcoming book?)

My favorite is right in-line with Michelle Obama's remark last week.

1. Feed Them Perfect Produce
Buy the best, ripe, in-season, local produce you can find, whether at a grocery store or farmer's market. Asparagus in spring to teach your kids the essential less of eating seasonally and locally. Strawberries in summer. Apples in fall. Citrus in winter.

Perfection. Perfection. Perfection...

Read the rest of Gastrokid's Top Ten here.

Cute as a Caterpillar

Kitchen Kid was delighted to be a part of the Storyopolis community on Saturday! The delightfully inviting bookstore is a perfect place to curl up with good children's book or enjoy their wonderful weekly activities including story hour, yoga, and chess! Check out the staff's favorite reads each month and meet the Storyopolans themselves.


A special thanks to Theresa for organizing our terrific Very Hungry Caterpillar event! We were thrilled to see over 30 children designing chef hats, munching on just-made caterpillar snacks, and decorating butterfly treats that were ever so sweet!

Click here to download a copy of our Hungry Caterpillar and Beautiful Butterfly Recipes!!!

Not to Be Picky...

The other day I was reading Oliver's Fruit Salad to hungry tot-chefs in my Kindergarten Books-for-Cooks class at Franklin Elementary School. The story is about a boy named Oliver, who -- having recently helped his grandpa harvest juicy grapes and delicate pears from a backyard garden -- refuses to eat the fruit his mom serves for breakfast. Nothing from a can, thank you very much. No jams either. And please, no juice. So off Oliver and his mom go to the supermarket, where they ooh and ahh at fresh fruit from pineapples and melons to oranges and apples. At home, mom empties the grocery bags onto the kitchen table.

"Now," said Mom. "You can eat an apple. Or a pear. Or a plum.
It's not in a jar or a can. It's all fresh, so help yourself."
Oliver shook his head. "No thank you," he said.
"I just helped Grandpa. I didn't eat any of the fruit. I don't like fruit."

Sound familiar? Sure. The very particular mandates and quid-pro-quos of a picky eater.

Perhaps you know one. Perhaps she prefers her noodles plain with a touch of butter and as much cheese as you'll allow -- NO SAUCE, EVER! She likely prefers her carrots raw and PLEASE DON'T LET THEM TOUCH THE CHICKEN FINGERS! Perhaps she'll begrudgingly eat her peas, but ONLY with a side of promise… of chocolate decadence cupcakes and vanilla ice cream. Your picky eater might even prefer, in fact DEMAND, frozen dino nuggets over your labor intensive, free range, organic, perfectly cooked famous chicken dish.

That afternoon I asked the kids in my class if they happened to know any "picky eaters" like Oliver. Lacey -- who just last week meticulously removed every trace of vegetable from her Wild Things Bagel Creature -- thoroughly contemplated the question with a scrunched up forehead and proclaimed, "I've heard that word before but I can't remember what it means."

Yeah, right. I bet you've heard it. And I bet you know exactly what it means.

That's because it seems like "picky eater" has become a variety of diet. There are vegetarians, vegans, locavores, and now, picky eaters. Google “picky eater” and you’ll get results from the Mayo Clinic, support groups for adult picky eaters, tips from youth nutritionists, and endless books on Amazon.com. I talk to plenty of moms each day who tell me right off the bat, "my son is a VERY picky eater" and then divulge the numerous ways Jonny shows-off his habit as if it were a badge of honor.

Since when did being a picky eater become a legitimate way to describe someone's food habits? Are we too accepting of this ‘condition’? Do parents enable the behavior by becoming the preferred caterer for the Picky Eater Club? And if kids aren't picky at age 2 or 3, what makes them outrageously picky by 5?

Take Felix here. Happily chowing down on guacamole straight from his backyard avocado tree. Will it be just a matter of months before he utters his very first complete sentence, which also just happens to be "YUCK! I WON'T EAT THAT!! I HATE GREEN FOODS!"

I’m not suggesting children everywhere should be happy eating tuna casserole for dessert and Brussels sprouts from their lunch box. But I do think at some point we crossed the line in how we view and embrace children’s eating habits. Picky eating is very likely an acceptable phase in a toddler’s development. Sometime after the age of 2 or 3 kids may even decide the foods they once loved, often the very same food their parents eat -- Indian curries, snap peas, goat cheese – now make them kick and scream and gag at the table -- even foods they've never even tried. But by the time the child is going to school, picky eating should become a diet meant to be broken.

I bring this all up, because I recently came across The Yummy Mummy. She doesn't hold back, and she's pretty hilarious. A few months back she posted a piece at Imperfect Parent, the dead-on, sarcastic, "The 10 Ways to Have Your Very Own Picky Eater". At Number 10:

Remind your kid what a problem eater he is. Kids love that. In fact, tell him in front of guests. Call him “picky”, fussy”, “difficult at dinner time” or say things like, “He’s like this because he’s adopted,” and my personal favorite, “He’s just like his father,” and then, roll your eyes dramatically. You will only have to label him a few times before he sullenly looks at his plate of food, pushes it away and demands to be hand-fed McDonald's French fries.

If this works, you can go the next step and tell him he is “bad” or “a demon seed” and remind him that he was an “accident”.

You can read the rest of the article and learn how to create your very own picky eater, here.

Okay, so back to Oliver and his fruit salad. As the title suggests, the story ends with Mom, Grandpa, and Oliver slicing and dicing all sorts of wonderful fruit for fruit salad. And of course, a surprised Oliver proclaims, "I like fruit salad!" And after three helpings... "YUMMY!" he says.

So I asked the kids in my class if there was a moral to this story. Without any prompting, 5 year-old Lacey, the prime contender for the picky eater club, perked right up: "It's like when you don't like a food, but your mom makes you try it. And then you actually like it after all, but you don't want your parents to know. So you make a face."

Hmmm.... just what I thought.

The best ways to wean a picky eater?
1. Cook with your kids. Get them involved in the process and they’ll crave the product.
2. Offer choice. Choice is empowering, so give your kids options rather than forceful mandates.
3. Choose healthy, colorful ingredients with tasty preparations.
Think roasting, homemade vinaigrettes, stir-fries, and veggie-art.
4. Set a good example. Why would your daughter ever eat tofu if you won’t try it either? Still picky? Dr. Sears offers loads more tips here.

Valentine's Cooking Fun!

As promised, we cooked up lots of love yesterday at Harper Lane! Nearly 40 children spent their afternoon in Harper Lane's delightful courtyard, making Valentine's luv bunnies, dipping fresh strawberries in decadent dark chocolate, and decorating adorable chef hats.

Harper Lane recently launched their online store, so if this rainy deluge is keeping you inside, why not do a little online shopping? After all, your tot-chef will have to trade his apron for more proper clothes at some point...!

It's not too late to cook something special with your sweetheart! Download our Valentine's recipes for Luv Bunnies and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries. For inspiration... enjoy these photos from yesterday's event!

Felix with his chocolate strawberry pop.

a very proud chef

decorating chef hats

Making chocolate covered strawberries with Chef Kate and Chef Seth

a luv bunny










All photos courtesy of Harper Lane. Thanks Stacey and Ryan!

Love Bites... and tastes so good

Join Kitchen Kid and Harper Lane for a fun and delicious workshop! We'll be decorating chef hats and cooking up Valentine's treats!

Who: Curious young cooks of all ages
What: Valentine's Day Cooking Workshop
When: After the Farmers' Market on Sunday, February 8 at 12 noon
Where: Harper Lane, the adorable children's boutique at 2665 Main Street, Santa Monica
Why: Forget conversation hearts and doily cards, this Valentine's Day your littlest chef will win your heart with Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries and Luv-Bunny Snacks.

Dexter v. the "Other" 4-Year Old

Before you get too excited about New York Times' dining editor Pete Wells' new magazine column, "Cooking with Dexter" -- the culinary adventure of his 4-year old foodie son -- be sure to read Larissa Phillips' fabulously funny and dead-on response, available on her blog, Mothership Meals and Satellite Saucers.

An honest reminder that Growing Up Gourmet isn't always as easy as it sounds.

(But nevertheless, worth trying... Larissa's son allegedly ate arugula last night.)

Make a New Year's Kitchen Resolution!!!

For many kids, New Year’s Eve means chowing down on pizza and soda while watching movies with the babysitter.

But my childhood tradition on December 31st was very different. For me, New Year’s Eve meant driving 2 hours into New York City to shop at the specialty market, Zabars. It meant donning my fanciest dress-up clothes, costume jewelry, and experimenting with Mom’s make-up. New Year’s Eve had little to do with balls dropping or resolutions, but had everything to do with my favorite, once-a-year gourmet goodies from the Upper Westside “Epicurian Emporium”. We’re talking imported caviar on fancy rye toasts, smoked salmon with dill and marinated mushrooms, pickled herring, cured black olives, and (shhh) a few sips of champagne. Earlier in the day, I’d carefully prepare a hand-drawn menu of the evenings’ specialties and help my mom polish our proper silver and fine china. For our tiny crew (me, my mom, our dog Penny, and my stuffed animals) this was a very fancy occasion.

Admittedly I wasn’t the first child with such extravagant tastes (a six-year old in one of our after-school cooking classes lists escargot as her favorite food!). But today we tend to hear more about childhood obesity and picky eaters than kids who gorge on fancy fare.

Most American kids could use a few lessons on expanding their palate (and I don’t mean force feeding sushi to fish-hating first-graders). With busy schedules and over-worked parents, the temptation to serve chicken fingers instead of homemade pot-pie and frozen French fries as opposed to baked sweet potatoes is too great for many families. Family mealtime as Norman Rockwell would recognize it has become a long-forgotten American pastime. And in turn we are raising a generation of picky eaters who think peaches come from cans and have little interest in eating a nutritionally balanced meal.

The solution? Cook with your kids. It has been proven time and again that kids who help out in the kitchen are much more likely to become adventurous eaters. Kids with culinary instruction not only cultivate a more diverse palate, but also experience increased self-confidence, discover the important role nutrition plays in our physical and emotional wellbeing, and build the foundation for healthy life-long skills. Here are some other great reasons to cook with your kids.

In the spirit of the New Year, there’s no better time to change the way your family eats. This January, resolve to cook dinner with your family one night a week. If families that eat dinner together raise smarter, safer, and more secure kids, we can only imagine what will happen when families start cooking together! Regardless of your culinary prowess, or your tolerance for mess, this shouldn’t be as daunting as it sounds.

Here’s the plan:
Join me in making a New Year’s Kitchen Resolution! Commit to a Family Kitchen one night each week when soccer practice and PTO meetings won’t have you eating in the car. Earlier in the week, decide on a menu theme (Greek? Comfort food? No-silverware-required finger foods?) and plan and shop for the meal. On the night of Family Kitchen, make sure each family member lends a hand. Remember, this meal is much more about the process than the product. So take time, have fun, and enjoy your too-crowded kitchen. There are appropriate kitchen tasks for every family member, young and old.

With a happier, healthier family, Family Kitchen is one New Year’s resolution you’ll be grateful for well into spring. And maybe by next January when your kids watch the ball drop, they’ll trade roasted vegetables and baked salmon for those infamous chicken fingers and boxed mac and cheese.

Video Insight: Edible Schoolyard

If you've ever wondered how Alice Waters' Schoolyard really works, watch these kids transform seeds into dinner.



Read the full story that appeared in edutopia, or visit the Edible Schoolyard's website, here.

Petite Criticism is No Small Thing for Kid Food Critic

Kids are known for their honesty, especially about food. "Gross..."; "{gasp} it had peas in it"; "OMG the best ever!!!"; "too hot/spicy/salty/green/peppery/insert any other adjective that could possibly ever be used to describe food".

So it's no surprise a 12-year old food critic has jump-started his professional calling, dishing out praise and neighs on New York's culinary scene.

The New York Times has the full story of this young foodie critic, here.

The Ruth Reichl's and Jonathan Gold's of the world better watch out...

Lessons in Gnocchi and Life

I spent the last 2 weeks eating my way through Paris, France and Piedmont, Italy. From steak tartare and moulles frites to fresh Genovese pesto and melt-in-your-mouth Barolo braised lamb, we ate some of the best meals of our lives. The trip was a gastronomic delight.

When we arrived at our rustic agriturismo (a working farm turned bed-and-breakfast) just outside of Alba, Italy, our hostess-extraordinaire met us with hands covered in flour. Alessandra -- inn-keeper, mother of 3 (including an 11-month old), cook, goat-milker, jam-maker, and wife to accordion playing, wine making, farm managing husband, Batista -- was busy making fresh gnocchi to feed nearly 60 people that evening. (Their family serves an 8 course dinner to hungry locals 4 nights a week, featuring cheeses, jams, eggs, meats, vegetables and wine, all straight from their farm. Dinner often begins with several antipasti dishes, followed by multiple pasta and meat courses, and after sipping the farm's own grappa, ends with Batista leading the guests in song and dance well after midnight.)

Make fresh gnocchi in a beautiful Italian farmhouse with an experienced cook? I was only too happy to help.
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With my hands now covered in flour, and through my poor Italian and her excellent English, Alessandra and I managed to discuss the things most important to us both: food and family. When I told her that I made my living teaching children to cook, she didn't understand. And it wasn't the language barrier.

"You mean like a nanny?" (Nope.)

"Well, why would you need to teach kids to cook?"

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I didn't need to give her my usual talk on the benefits of kids' cooking. We had a different misunderstanding. Though home to Slow Food, and the University of Gastronomic Sciences, in Italy, kid's cooking classes are a pretty foreign concept.

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"Why wouldn't the parents and grandparents simply teach their kids to cook?"

It was true. Hadn't recipes and techniques been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years in Italy and elsewhere? Why had so many parents in America misplaced the know-how, or ran out of the time, to pass down one of life's most important skill sets?

You can blame it on McDonald's or the microwave, 12-hour work days or Applebees. While I don't have the answer, I may have the solution. A lot of American families are busy, hungry, and kitchen-challenged. And yet the children's culinary market continues to grow. By encouraging this impassioned surge of interest that so many children have shown in the kitchen, and by indulging them in culinary lessons, we might just be changing the way the next generation thinks about food. I say, let's give kids the framework to appreciate the joy of feeding their family! Let's teach them to saute, shell a bean, and make soup from scratch! Let's make gnocchi!

And in 20 years these kids' kids might just learn to cook alongside their mom and dad. Just as Carolina and little Giovanni do at Casa Scaparone.

Me-Oh-MY Minestrone

This quick minestrone is a perfect Saturday afternoon kitchen adventure. Even the youngest chefs can exercise ownership and make choices about what they are eating -- a very powerful concept indeed!

On the stove, heat 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth with a can of diced tomatoes. Season with herbs like rosemary or oregano, if desired. On the counter, place heaping bowls of delicious "toppings" like frozen corn, kidney beans, alphabet pasta or orzo, shredded carrots, green peas, tofu cubes, spinach leaves, and Parmesan cheese. Invite your tot-chef to top their bowl of broth with the yummy vegetables. Children will help themselves to their favorites, and may even be motivated to try something new. With a little encouragement, I've seen the most hesitant bean-eater be enthusiastic about stirring in at least 1 bean! Top with a little Parmesan and a touch of olive oil to make the soup sophisticated enough for mom and dad. Make floating “croutons” by cutting-out fun shapes of whole-grain bread with cookie cutters. Brush the bread with olive oil and bake until crispy.

Your kids will love this simple cooking adventure, perfect for a winter's day. You’ll love knowing their bellies are full of healthy nutrients. And the whole family will love spending time together in the kitchen!