Vanilla Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

Summertime. Otherwise known on our back deck as popsicle season. Icy treats go fast around here - like multiple times a day fast. I can't really blame the little blue-tongued bandits. Popsicles are awesome. They're nice to look at, fun to eat, sweet, cold, refreshing, satisfying, and thirst-quenching all in one cute little party of a package. The red, white, and blue ones scream 4th of July.

Of course the astronomical sugar content and food dyes in most grocery store brands leave something to be desired, but who needs them anyway? Assuming you have a freezer in the vicinity, homemade popsicles are just about the easiest thing in the world to make with kids. 

Fruit juices and purees, frozen bananas, lemonade, coconut milk and yogurt, preferably chunked up with plenty of fresh fruit, all make for amazing popsicles with less than half the parental guilt (as evidenced by my own personal and totally unscientific study) of grocery store brands. So go ahead. Embrace the stick this summer. Bonus points if you serve these red, white, and bluish frozen yogurt pops for the 4th of July.

We opted to use Stoneyfield Organic Greek Fat Free Yogurt but low fat or full fat plain Greek yogurt would work well too.

Despite what my little ham of a son would lead you to believe, Stoneyfield did not sponsor this post. I paid for my own yogurt fair and square, though I do admit to using a coupon to cover part of the cost of the Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave we're going to talk about in a minute.

I like to use agave here rather than honey because of its thinner, runnier consistency. The agave swirls into the yogurt effortlessly for uniform sweetness throughout the pops. We used Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave and pure vanilla extract since that's what I had on hand. If you are so inclined you could save yourself a step, skip the vanilla and use Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Vanilla Blue Agave Syrup instead of plain.

Vanilla Berry Frozen Yogurt Pops

16 ounces plain Greek yogurt
4-6 tbsp Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave
2 tsp real vanilla extract
1&1/2 cups raspberries and/or blackberries, fresh or frozen

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and 2-3 tbsp of the agave, depending on how sweet you like your pops. At this point the yogurt should taste slightly sweeter than you want it. The flavor will mellow once it's frozen. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mash the berries with a fork. Stop when you still have some chunks of whole berry and plenty of bright, colorful juice. Stir in the remaining 2-3 tbsp agave.

In popsicle molds (or paper cups if you don't have popsicle molds) layer the yogurt and berry mixtures, starting and ending with yogurt. Use a chopstick or anything with a slim, long handle to gently swirl the yogurt and berries together in the mold. Insert the sticks and freeze for at least 4 hours and up to several days.

To release the pops from the mold, run them under cool to lukewarm water for about 30 seconds and gently wiggle out of the mold.

Makes 5 large pops.

Happy 4th!

Fruit Salad with Vanilla-Lime Dressing

School's out, summer is in full swing and the KC kitchen staff is more eager than ever to get to work.

I, on the other hand, am readjusting to the amped up summer house volume and the sheer exhaustion of fielding ceaseless requests to paint, set up the sprinkler, help practice piano, go to the park, walk to the library, recall the Spanish word for prairie (pradera, by the way), host a spelling bee, make popsicles, make worksheets, make popcorn, make playdough, put on a puppet show, demonstrate a proper cartwheel, and the dreaded...can we plug in the glue gun?

With the day spiraling into hot glue territory, it's time to act. Fast. So what's quick, simple, can be made from stuff you already have sitting on your kitchen counter and irresistibly enticing to a swarm of sunscreen-slathered, half-dressed ragamuffins armed with a glue gun?

Fruit freaking salad, baby.

Fruit Salad with Vanilla-Lime Dressing
inspired by The Pioneer Woman

For the dressing

1 cup granulated sugar
2 limes, zest and juice
1 cup water
1 & 1/2 tsp good vanilla extract (or the caviar of one fresh vanilla bean)

For the salad

1/2 medium peeled, pineapple, cored and chopped into chunks
1/2 small cantaloupe, rind removed, seeded and chopped into chunks
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
2 cups grapes, halved
1/2 pint blueberries
1/2 pint raspberries
1 handful fresh mint leaves

To make the dressing, combine the sugar, lime zest, juice, water and vanilla in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stirring until all of the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool.

You'll be relieved to know that preparing a fruit salad requires no advanced training. Wash, peel, core, and slice fruit as necessary and put it all in a bowl. Use whatever fruit you have. Enlist your glue gun-wielding kitchen staff and go to it.

Pour the cooled dressing over the top of the fruit and toss everything together gently. Or if your staff has a case of the pickies, leave the dressing on the side and use it as a dip instead. Garnish the whole beautiful mess with mint leaves.

Don't forget to destroy the glue gun while their slurping the last of the juice from their bowls.

Spring on a Plate (Burrata with Simple Greens and Snap Peas)

The loveliest spring days call for the simplest of suppers.

The unseasonably mild winter was marvelous. The part where it lasted until May, less so. We're finally seeing the sun again. We're pulling out cushions for the patio furniture, scraping bird poop off the swing set, and wiping off the grimy window screens that never seem to make it down for winter. Spring, it's safe to say, has finally sprung here in the great Midwest.

Almost a year ago, the KC kids sampled Burrata for the first time in a mozzarella cheese-off. Despite a staunch vocal majority in favor of string cheese, Looly was swept off her feet by the Burrata. I have always liked that kid, so I've been keeping it in constant rotation strictly for her benefit. The fact that she never eats more than an ounce and I'm left to lick the plate has very little to do with it.

In celebration of Looly and Burrata enthusiasts everywhere, for the fans of chirping cardinals, lilac-scented breezes, humming lawn mowers in the distance and lazy days spent thumbing through cooking magazines outdoors on sun-warmed cushions, a most perfectly delightful spring supper.

So go ahead, pour yourself a cold glass of rosé. Let the kids sip spritzers of fruit juice and seltzer or agua fresca while they work. It'll only take a minute.

Fresh snap peas. A few greens. Slice a loaf of good bread and my friends, dinner is served. Because on days like this, you shouldn't part with the sunshine any longer than absolutely necessary.

Burrata with Simple Greens and Snap Peas
adapted from Bon Appetit

8 ounces sugar snap peas
4 cups baby greens (spinach, arugula, watercress, romaine, you name it)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
zest of 1 medium lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
kosher salt or sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large ball burrata cheese (about 1 lb)

Arrange your children around a shady outdoor table and have them pull the strings off the snap peas and trim the ends. If you can't drum up some kids, you're going to have to do this part yourself. Sorry.

Cut the peapods in half lengthwise or use your fingers to pry them apart, which turns out to be another fine task for the shorties in your life.

Combine the peapods, greens, mint, and basil in a large salad bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice and zest. Season well with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the greens and toss gently to coat the leaves.

Now the fun part. This is a job for your favorite child...you know the one that never rolls their eyes, puts their dirty clothes in the hamper without being reminded, never forgets to flush the toilet, and has yet to utter the phrase "that's not fair." Yeah, I don't have one of those either. Work with what you've got. In any event, somebody needs to tear open the ball of burrata onto a platter. Let them make a real mess of it, it's going to get all prettied up with greens anyway.

The other less fortunate helpers can use their clean hands to scoop salad onto the platter around and atop the cheese. Slice some bread and tuck in. Taste spring. On a plate.

Grampy's Magic Bars

Recognize these guys?

They were a welcome and familiar site on my grandmother's kitchen table back in the early 80's. Magic Bars. Could there be a more enticing treat for a gaggle of sweets-loving granddaughters? I think not. Grammyarta, as she was known, tended to agree.

Last week my dad, known as Grampy by many these days, celebrated his 76th birthday. Sadly, hundreds of miles away, we didn't get to spend the day with him, but we did whip him up a batch of Magic Bars. Happy birthday, Dad!

That's a good-looking 76, don't you think?!

Of course, the Magic Bars of yore were topped with chopped walnuts and sometimes, if we were really lucky, pecans. These days we avoid tree nuts here at Casa Kid Cultivation but guess what we don't avoid?

Pretzels. And pepitas. The two work together to deliver all the crunchy, salty, meaty flavor of nuts...without the nuts! So gather the troops and let the kids take the lead. This is the ultimate easy-peasy kid-friendly, grampy-approved recipe.

Grampy's Magic Bars
adapted from Eagle Brand

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 & 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chocolate chips
1 & 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pretzels
1/2 cup pepitas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray.

Put your graham crackers (I used about 7 ounces, or 1/2 a regular-sized 14.4 ounce box) in a large zip-top bag and let the kids bang the heck out of it with a rolling pin or baseball bat until you have crumbs.

Once you have crumbs, pour the melted butter directly into the zip-top bag, reseal, and mash the butter around into the crumbs until it's all combined.

Press the butter-crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Here's a trick. If you're careful, you can dump the crumbs into the pan, turn the plastic bag inside out and, placing your hand into what used to be the outside, use the messy, buttery inside of the bag to press down the crumbs like so. 

There. I just saved you a hand washing. You're welcome.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk in an even layer over the graham crackers.

Scatter the chocolate chips over the milk.

Add the pretzels and pepitas...

Then the coconut. Did I mention this is the perfect kid-driven recipe?

Pop them in the oven for 22-25 minutes until lightly browned. 

 Let them cool then cut into bars. Send them to your dad or grampy for his birthday.

 But make sure you save a few for yourselves.

Churros with Chocolate Sauce

Somebody start building the ark.

Thunder. Lightning. Floods. School cancelled. Bombs, shooting, and lock down all over the television. Sometimes you just have to bury your head in cinnamon sugar and whip up the churros. File this one under #distractionbydeepfrying.

Churros with Chocolate Sauce
adapted from Yum Food and Fun for Kids

For the churros
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 & 1/3 cups granulated sugar, divided
4 tbsp canola oil plus 2 quarts for frying
2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the chocolate sauce
4 ounces high quality chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream

Combine 2 cups of water, salt, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 4 tbsp oil in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once the mixture boils, pull it off the heat. Stir in the flour until the dough pulls together and cools slightly. 

Scoop the dough into a pastry bag. If you have a lovely star shaped tip, this is the time to use it. Your churros will be extra lovely and have that characteristic striated look. If you don't have a star tip, or like me, you do have a star tip but can't seem to find it amidst the kitchen drawer chaos, just go ahead and snip the tip off the bag. Round churros taste super too, trust me.

 Pour 2 quarts of canola oil into a deep pot and heat to 375 degrees.

Carefully pipe strips of dough into the hot oil. Turn and fry until golden brown, about one minute. Drain on paper towels.

In a bowl or zip top plastic bag, combine the remaining sugar and cinnamon. While the churros are still warm, add them to the cinnamon sugar mixture and toss or shake to coat.

 Serve with chocolate sauce (below).

To make the chocolate sauce, combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30 second intervals until chocolate is melted and pliable. Whisk the chocolate into the cream until thick and delicious. Serve alongside hot churros.

What chocolate?

Strawberry Sparkle Juice

Amidst my cookbook habit and penchant for Pinterest recipes, sometimes I need to take a step back and remember what this blog is all about. Food is always on my brain. I love trying out new recipes and sharing old family favorites here on Kid Cultivation. I get all worked up over taking a truly decent food photograph. But really, truly, when it all comes down to it, the reason this blog exists is because of three inquisitive, discerning, droll little beings, none more than 4 feet tall.

Bean received this sweet cookbook for her birthday last month. And it is a cute book, conveniently partitioned into age-based sections with varying degrees of recipe complexity and likelihood of flesh wounds and third degree burns. She was immediately drawn to a cheery pink fruity beverage and wanted to make it. Now.

And here's the ugly truth. I didn't want to make it. 

All it involved was hulling and crushing strawberries to a pulp, pouring in some orange juice, a splash of seltzer and stirring. Any reasonable and not otherwise occupied parent, I'm sure, would have succumbed immediately to the sweet request which came complete with a please and a smile. But it was the witching hour...homework to be done, laundry to be folded, dinner to be made, piano to be practiced, lunchboxes to be unpacked, washed, and repacked. I didn't feel like splattering strawberry juice all over the counters.

But I did. I fought my very grown-up (and totally not fun) urge to pull out the blender and whip it up in 20 seconds for her and instead pulled out the bowls, measuring cups and potato masher. And of course she loved every second of it. Sometimes practical and efficient are not the words of the day. Sometimes we just need to make a mess. Thanks for the reminder, Bean.

Hulling some berries

Strawberry Sparkle Juice
adapted from Cook School

2 cups fresh, ripe strawberries
1 cup orange juice
1 cup seltzer (or plain water for the bubble-averse)

Rinse the berries and place in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to grind them to a pulp.

Use a sieve to strain the strawberry juice into a pitcher or second bowl.

 Pour in the orange juice and seltzer (or water). Stir gently and pour into glasses. Drink her down!

Once I got over myself, Bean's project turned out to be the perfect after school activity. I mean, just check out Roo's enthusiasm.

Forget two thumbs up, that's two arms and two legs up!! They were so excited and pleased with themselves for doing it all on their own. Totally worth the 15 minutes of mashing and washing dishes.

Go ahead. Make the mess. Your kids will thank you.