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Well here’s something really yummy for your kids to make.  It’s not really Summer food  - more hearty and wholesome - but if you put some cream on top, who cares if it’s seasonal.   Its Dizzy Dee’s 5 Minute Chocolate Cake.  In 5 minutes it will bring back so many childhood memories of having your favorite food at home.  And it is so easy no one could mess up - all you need to do is mix all the ingredients into a mug and microwave - easy, fun and guess what?  It’s tastes yummy too!

We tried it at home and it was a great success.  We used an extra large mug to help little hands avoid spillage disaster during stirring.

Here’s what you need:

4 Tablespoons cake flour
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cocoa
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons milk
3 Tablespoons oil
1 Mug

Instructions:

Mix flour, sugar and cocoa. Spoon in one egg. Pour in milk and oil and mix well. Put in microwave for 3 minutes on maximum power (1,000 wat) Wait until it stops rising and sets in the mug. Tip contents out of mug and into saucer and enjoy!

I love play dough!  I love to play with play dough.  I just couldn’t wait until Emily was old enough that I could buy tons of different colors and sit at the kitchen table with her for hours.  I have to admit that one of my favorite things about play dough is the smell.  Doesn’t it make you want to eat it?  Can we blame our kids for putting in their mouths?

We found this great article from Family Fun that has 10 different edible play dough recipes!  Jello, Kool Aid, Peanut Butter, Oatmeal - all play dough, all edible.

The article states that this play dough is great for kids who are in pre-school and tempted to eat their art supplies.  But since I am um…. quite a bit older than pre-school and I have been tempted to eat my art supplies I would say these recipes are great for everyone.  Emily and I are certainly going to experiment with these.  She is just getting interested in cooking so these will be so fun to do together when we can both enjoy the results (and I can enjoy my secret desire to eat my play dough.)

I was walking round my kitchen the other day wondering what to make for dinner when my mind wandered back to a great holiday we had in Spain a few years ago.  Part of the enjoyment of that trip was the eating and drinking (isn’t every holiday full of that) especially the little gems you get at the Tapas Bars.  Part of the Tapas menu is always a Spanish Tortilla.  Having talked to several Spanish friends and experimented on some occasions I think I’ve discovered how to make it.  Its actually very easy as long as you choose good ingredients.  Anyway here it is so have a go.  And Viva Espana.

Ingredients:

6 potatoes
1 small sweet onion
4 eggs
Half cup of milk
Olive oil
1 clove garlic
a pinch oregano
a pinch thyme
Salt to taste

1. Heat 1 cup of olive oil in a wide sauce pan.  Slice the potatoes thinly and evenly and place them carefully, so as not to splash the oil, into the pan.
2. Chop up the onion and add to the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes.  Try to turn the potatoes as they cook so as not brown them too much.
3. Beat the eggs together with the milk and spices in a wide bowl. 
4. Take the potatoes out of the pan with a draining ladle and set them aside to cool.
5. Then mix the potatoes together with the egg blend int he bowl. 
6. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in the wide sauce pan then pour in the mixture.  Swirl the pan a bit to ensure that the egg mix starts to set evenly.  Cook on a low gas for 8-10 minutes.
7. This is the tricky bit.  Turn off the gas, allow to cool then flip the tortilla over onto a plate.  Put the upside down tortilla back in the pan and cook for a further couple of minutes to ensure that tortilla gets fully cooked.  
8. Put the totilla on a plate and let cool.  They say the best tortillas are eaten the next day.  Enjoy.
    

How about a pizza for the your 4th of July American celebration - but with a twist.  This is a pizza pie the shows the right colors: red, white and blue.  But the best part is that made of fruit and cream!  Its easy and fun and your American girl can have her own American celebration.

Here’s what you need:

Ingredients:
1 pint Strawberries, hulled and halved
1 pint Blueberries
1 tablespoon Sugar,
1 teaspoon Sugar, divided
4 Pizza Crusts (6″ size), homemade or store-bought
1 1/2 cup Whipped topping, thawed

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Combine strawberries, blueberries, 1 teaspoon of the sugar and the brandy. Sprinkle pizza crust with the remaining sugar.

Bake 6-8 minutes on baking sheet; cool slightly. Fill with crust with strawberries. Serve with a big dollop of whipped topping.

Here’s a recipe that is tasty and nutritious….and gets kids to eat greens. What do you think?

1 and half cups: Whole wheat corkscrew dry pasta
3 cups: Broccoli, frozen, chopped
1 10oz can of low fat cream of broccoli soup, condensed
Half cup: Skim milk
2 tbs: Plain bread crumbs
Quarter tsp: Salt-free seasoning blend

1 - Preheat oven to 350F
2 - Cook pasta according to packet instructions
3 - Place frozen broccoli in microwave safe and oven proof dish and cook for 2 minutes on high
4 - Coarsely chop the cooked broccoli
5 - Mix the soup and skim milk, and add the chopped broccoli
6 - Add the cooked pasta and mix. Top with bread crumbs and seasoning
7 - Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until headed through

Refreshing, tangy, cold and flavorful!! Now there is nothing better than that on a sweltering Summer day. This is a simple to make (just mix together) lovely juice ice crem drink for the hot afternons. Something of a treat but something the kids can help make themselves. Try it - you’ll love it; great for a hot weekend coming up!

Half cup of fat-free vanilla ice cream

Half cup of orange juice

1 orange, peeled and frozen

1 tsp of orange zest (optional)

Directions: Place all the ingredients together in a blender and enjoy!

Here’s a fun recipe that is very quick to make and full of fruit.  Great for the readers in the family!!

Preparation time: just 10 minutes - easy!

What you need:

1 Granny Smith apple

1tbp peanut butter

3tbp golden or black raisins

2tbp dried, sweetened cranberries

1 small bunch of fresh chives or parsley (optional garnish)

1-Cut apple into four quarters, starting at the stem.

2-Remove the core by cutting away to leave a flat surface on the apple quarter. (Be careful not to cut too much of the edible portion of the apple away).

3-Drop and slightly spread the peanut butter on the apple quarters.

4-Mix together the raisins and dried cranberries then sprinkle on the peanut butter.

5-Cut chives into one inch pieces and garnish.

Then why not put them together: Chocolate Risotto! It may sound strange but I can tell you from personal experience that it is yummy.  I found this recipe when I was looking for something different to make for dessert.  In our household we have a liking for Italian food and sweet things; this combines both.  You may have had creamed rice before and this just gives an added twist to that dish.  A twist that everyone loves - chocolate.  When making it, the only things you need ot watch out for are to ensure you use semi-sweet chocolate and that you take the time to properly stir in the heavy cream at the end.  Other than that it is pretty straight forward.  Here goes:

1 cup risotto rice

2 1/2 cups whole milk

3 ozs semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces

2 tbs butter

1/4 cup sugar

pinch of ground cinnamon

4 tbs heavy cream

fresh raspberries and chocolate caraque to decorate

chocolate sauce, to serve

1 - Put rice in non-stick pan.  Add milk and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer slowly for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is very soft.

2 - Stir in the chocolate, butter and sugar.  Cook, stirring all the time over very gentle heat for 1-2 minutes, until the chocolate has melted.

3 - Remove from heat and stir in the cinnamon and heavy cream.  Cover pan and let stand for a few minutes.

4 - Spoon risotto into individual dishes and decorate with raspberries and chocolate caraque.  Serve with chocolate sauce.