C-3PO Pancakes

Santa brought my boys the A Star Wars Cookbook last year, and they have been having a blast with it! So far every recipe we've tried has been good, but I think our favorite has to be the C-3PO Pancakes. Yum. I think they would eat these almost every morning, alternating only with Princess Leia Danish Dos (that's right, they are rolls shaped like Leia's hair).

Not only does the cookbook have good recipes, the photos are particularly inspired. Princess Leia shooting her gun over a pile of Danish Dos, Han Solo squirting ketchup out of the Millennium Falcon onto one of his Han-Burgers. Fun! Buy the book for the pictures, keep it for the recipes! Your Star Wars fans will be ecstatic.

The boys think these look like C-3PO's eyes...

C-3PO Pancakes
Makes 8 pancakes

5 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cans (8 1/4-ounces each) pineapple rings
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
butter and maple syrup for serving

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Put the butter in a small saucepan and switch on the heat to low. When the butter has melted, turn off the heat. Let the butter cool slightly (5 minutes).

Meanwhile, open the cans of pineapple. Drain off the juice from the cans into the sink. Set aside.

Put the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon until well mixed.

Break the eggs into a medium bowl. Add the milk and 4 tablespoons of the melted butter. Whisk until well mixed. Slowly whisk in the flour mixture until well blended.

With a pastry brush, lightly brush some of the remaining melted butter in a large skillet. Set the skillet on the stove and switch on the heat to medium-high.

Fill a 1/3-cup measuring cup with batter. When the skillet is hot, after 1 minute or so, pour in the batter. Cook the pancake until golden underneath and bubbles burst on the top, about 3 minutes.

Place 1 pineapple ring in the center of each pancake. Using a spatula, carefully flip the pancake. Cook until golden brown on the second side, about 2 minutes longer. Transfer the pancake to a baking sheet. Using pot holders, put the sheet in the oven. Repeat until all pancakes are cooked, then serve warm with butter and maple syrup.

Make Your Own Pizza!

H-Bomb had a friend over after school yesterday. I thought it'd be fun for them to make their own pizzas. I pulled some Marinara sauce out of the freezer, and decided to use my Artisan bread dough for the pizza crust.


All I had to do was assemble the ingredients, roll out the dough, watch the boys assemble their own pizzas and bake!


The boys, ages 4, 6 and 7, had so much fun, and the two older ones each finished eating their entire pizza!



Make Your Own Pizzas

Cornmeal
Artisan bread dough
Marinara sauce
pizza toppings:
pepperoni
shredded cheese
mushrooms
green peppers
anything you want!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Gather pizza toppings. I put them in separate small bowls for easy access. Sprinkle a few baking sheets with cornmeal, in circles roughly the size of your pizzas.

I used a peach-size lump of bread dough for each pizza, shaped it into a ball with floured hands, let it rest, then used a rolling pin (and my hands) to roll it out to pizza size. Placed each round of dough on the cornmeal, and let the boys go at it with toppings.

I baked each tray of pizzas at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

H-Bomb's Bagel Faces

This is another cute recipe from H-Bomb's new cookbook: Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up. I let him look through the book on his own, helping him figure out what the recipes are, and then he picks one. Each recipe has a pictorial version so young kids can follow the recipe themselves.

This is a very healthy snack, or even a yummy dinner. H-Bomb was excited to help me at the grocery store, picking out different vegetables he loves, to use for his Bagel Faces.


Bagel Faces
* marks the ingredients H-Bomb chose at the store

*1 medium-long, thin carrot, sliced into thin rounds (H-Bomb also wanted a mini carrot for a nose)
*tiny cherry tomatoes, whole or sliced in half
black olives, sliced
*1 small bell pepper, any color, thinly sliced
*alfalfa sprouts
*1 very small cucumber, sliced into thin rounds

1 small container whipped cream cheese, room temperature (easier for kids to spread)
1 or 2 bagels, cut in half

Other possibilities:
grated carrot (rather than sliced)
grated beets
*toasted sunflower seeds
minced chives


1. Arrange the vegetables in small bowls on a table.
2. Spread cream cheese on the bagel halves.
3. Decorate and eat!




Sawed Off ate half of his bagel with cream cheese, and then decided to make a face on his with cucumbers and green peppers. I believe he was inspired by Picasso:

H-Bomb's Popovers

Last year for Christmas, I finally remembered to give H-Bomb the cookbook I'd had stashed in the cupboard for several years: Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes: A Cookbook for Preschoolers & Up. He's now in Kindergarten, and I know that he could have handled these recipes two years ago, but two years ago, Sawed Off was still an infant. I was tired.

Now that I have more energy, and Sawed Off will turn three soon, I am excited to welcome both of my boys into the kitchen. This morning, H-Bomb came up to me with his cookbook, proclaiming that he wanted to "make something" today. We thumbed through the recipes, and he decided on Bagel Faces and Homemade Lemon-Lime Soda Pop. However, when he discovered we would have to go to the store first for ingredients, he changed his mind and chose to make the Popovers for breakfast. (we'll make bagel faces and lemon-lime soda very soon!)

The Pretend Soup cookbook is designed primarily for children, with picture-guided recipes (along with a regular recipe for the adult helpers). The measurements are simple, and the pictures are easy to follow. As with anything new, let your child take the lead while gently encouraging them, and don't worry about a mess. Of course be cautious with the oven, etc.

For this recipe, I cracked the eggs (my eyes were half-open) and measured things. H-Bomb did everything else, from buttering the muffin tin and dumping in ingredients to scooping in the popover dough. I slid them in and out of the oven. When it's not a school morning and there isn't any sort of rush, I will let him crack the eggs and measure, while I sit back and enjoy my coffee. Soon he will be a pro.

H-Bomb was so proud and excited about his popovers, he wants to invite everyone he knows over for breakfast to share this special treat. He ate his with strawberry jam, no butter. These little things would be a treat anytime, from breakfast to dinner and beyond.


Popovers
Yield: 1 dozen

about 2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
extra butter, jam, or maple syrup for the popovers

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and melt butter.

2. Brush the insides of 12 muffin cups with melted butter.

3. Break eggs into the mixing bowl.

4. Add milk and beat well with a whisk.

5. Add flour and salt and whisk until reasonably blended--it doesn't have to be perfect.

6. Use a 1/4-cup measure with a handle to pour batter into each muffin cup They should be one-half to two-thirds full.

7. Bake 30 minutes without opening the oven.

8. Remove the muffins from the pan and prick with a fork to let the steam escape. Spread with butter and/or jam, and eat! (They also taste great dipped in maple syrup. They're not bad plain, either).