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Have you had a chance to see Kung Fu Panda yet? We did the first week the movie was out, and I was very impressed. Not only did my children enjoy it, but I loved the characters, the story and the animation. It’s the best thing DreamWorks has done in years.

All the noodle and bun eating made me hungry and gave me a great idea for a Kung Fu Panda inspired meal - dim sum!

Eat In, Take Out, or Make It At Home

We like to drive into Denver on the weekends for dim sum at the Empress Seafood Restaurant. We were going to stop by on Father’s Day, but we woke up too late and my husband wanted to watch the US  Open on TV. So we headed over to our nearest Asian Market to pick up lobster for dinner, and noticed they had dim sum take out. We got sticky rice in lotus leaves, shrimp balls, and sesame seed dumplings with sweet bean paste.

We also picked up half a roasted duck since Lucie wanted to try it. Delicious, but greasy as to be expected. (Lucie is eating a sesame seed dumpling in the picture, and has pieces of duck on her plate.)

When we got home we also steamed up some Chinese beef buns that we had in the freezer. What a feast!

If you don’t have an Asian grocery with take out dim sum, try making your own at home. It isn’t as hard as you think thanks to Sunset magazine.

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While summer reading programs are wonderful, it does mean a parental time commitment. Not only are you helping your child with book selections and tracking what they are reading (and for how long), but you’re making time - and using up gas - to take them to the library or bookstore.

One way to get their reading done with a minimum of hassle is to invest in a subscription to a good children’s magazine. Not only do kids love getting mail, but it comes straight to your mailbox.

One terrific children’s magazine is Ladybug, from the Cricket Magazine group. Ladybug is for children ages three to six who aren’t reading on their own yet. Each issue is 40 pages and filled with stories and poems to read aloud and share with your child. They’ll also enjoy looking at the gorgeous illustrations on their own.

Each issue features activities, games, songs, appearances by characters Molly and Emmett, and a removable four-page activity section with craft ideas. You can also check out the Cricket for Kids website for additional activities, projects, and book suggestions. There’s even recipes like this one for Blueberry Pile-Up.

The annual subscription price is $33.95 for nine issues. While this seems like a lot, Ladybug has no outside advertising and is supported by reader subscriptions.

If you have younger children, check out Babybug magazine. If you have older children, the Cricket Magazine Group has numerous award winning children’s magazines covering a variety of interests.

(And thanks to The Parent Bloggers Network and the Cricket Magazine Group for the sample subscription.)

Have you seen the August 2007 issue of Food & Wine magazine? In it Emeril Lagasse cooks easy, vegetable and fruit-loaded dishes with his children like Apple Pie Granita and E.J.’s Vegetable Noodle Soup.

Also check out their article, Star Chefs the Next Generation. Writer Sara Dickerman talks to America’s youngest foodies, the winners of their Ultimate Kid Cook Contest.

Catherine Ralston’s recipe for Spotted Porcupine Cookies was an obvious favorite. She’s 11 and won a grand prize. But I liked Alexander Donowitz’s recipe (below) because my kids love beets, too. Alexander also won a grand prize and he’s ONLY 6! He’s been cooking since he’s 2.

If that doesn’t inspire your young chef, I don’t know what will.

Beet and Cheddar Risotto
TOTAL TIME: 30 MIN
SERVES: 4

Ingredients :

1. 1 medium beet, peeled and quartered (I used a bunch of little beets that I guesstimated to be about the same quantity)
2. 2 cups loosely packed beet greens, stems trimmed
3. 2 cups water
4. 2 cups vegetable broth
5. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6. 1 medium onion, minced
7. 1 cup arborio rice
8. 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups)
9. Salt and freshly ground pepper
10. Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for serving

Directions:

1. Place the beet(s) in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the beet greens and pulse until finely chopped.
2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water and vegetable broth to a simmer.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until softened, 3 minutes.
4. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
5. Stir in the beets and beet greens and cook for 1 minute.
6. Add the broth to the large saucepan, 1 cup at a time, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the liquid is nearly absorbed between additions, 20 minutes.
7. Add the cheddar; season with salt and pepper.
8. Cook, stirring until the risotto is creamy and thick, 3 minutes longer. Serve in deep bowls, passing the Parmigiano-Reggiano on the side.

I’ve been given the chance to do an email interview with Silvana Nardone, the editor of Every Day With Rachael Ray magazine. Silvana is a mother of a nine-year old and a one-year-old. And she would love to discuss great kid-friendly recipes and how cooking with your kids can be a wonderful bonding experience.

Are you a fan of Rachel Ray and her magazine or show? Or just need some kid feeding and cooking advice? Either way, send me a question or two for Silvana, and I’ll pass it on to her. Then I feature both your question and her response (and credit you!) when I post the interview.

Interested? Then email your question, name (the way you’d like it to appear in public) and website link (if you have one) to readablefeast@gmail.com by Monday, June 4.

Have you seen the May 2007 issue of Martha Stewart Living, their "Our First Color Issue"? The Spectrum of Sweetness article inspired me to write about learning about color with food. So this week and next, I’ll be picking family-friendly recipes, books, and activities around colors.

White Food
This month, FamilyFun.com featured April Fools’ Prank Food recipes for dishes that look like one thing, but taste like another. This recipe is white (pastry and pudding) with added dashes of color.

Chicken Not-Pie
Bigger kids can help with assembly and younger children can chop up the candy.

Ingredients:

1. 1 (4 1/2-inch) aluminum foil potpie tin 1 refrigerated piecrust (most 15-ounce packages contain 2 crusts, enough for 6 of our pies)
2. Aluminum foil
3. 1 egg (makes enough for 6 pies)
4. 2 tablespoons water
5. 1 (3.4-ounce) box instant vanilla or white-chocolate pudding (1 box makes enough for 3 pies)
6. 1 yellow and 2 orange Starburst candies
7. 1 green Chewy Jolly Rancher candy or green Tootsie Roll candy (we found the green Starburst candies to be too pale)
8. 1 banana (makes enough for 6 pies)
9. 1 to 2 dried apple rings or a 4-ounce bar of white chocolate (1 bar is enough for 6 pies)

Directions:

1. Bake the crust: Heat the oven to 450°. Unroll or unfold a piecrust on your work surface. Using the upside-down potpie tin as a guide, cut a circle of dough about 1/2 inch larger than the tin. (If you’re making more than one potpie, simply cut another circle from the dough. Reroll the scraps to cut out a third.) Crumple a piece of aluminum foil into a 1 1/2-inch ball and set it in the potpie tin. Cover it with a layer of foil to create a smooth mound, then lay the circle of dough on top. (A)
2. Now press the tines of a fork around the edge of the dough to crimp it, then use the fork to gently poke a few holes in the crust. (B)
3. Beat the egg with the water, then brush the mixture over the dough.
4. Set the pie tin on a baking sheet and bake the crust for about 10 minutes. Let it cool completely.
5. Make the filling: Prepare the pudding according to the package directions and refrigerate until serving time.
6. Create the faux chicken and vegetables: To make the Starburst or Tootsie Roll candies easier to work with, place them unwrapped on a paper plate and warm them in the microwave just until they’re slightly softened, about 12 to 15 seconds. (The Jolly Rancher candies will soften from the warmth of your hands.) Once you’ve shaped them, lay the candies on waxed paper or a paper plate, set apart from each other so they won’t stick together.
7. Corn kernels: Roll the yellow candy between your hands or on a clean work surface to create a 4-inch-long rope, then use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut the rope into 1/4-inch pieces. With your fingers, form each piece into a kernel by flattening one end and pinching the other.
8. Chicken: Use kitchen shears or a knife to cut the apple rings into 1/2-inch-wide pieces. If you’re using white chocolate, chop or break it into roughly 1/2-inch-wide pieces.
9. Peas: Roll the green candy into a 5-inch-long rope. Cut the rope into 1/4-inch pieces, then roll each piece into a ball.
10. Potatoes: Peel the banana, slice off three 1/4-inch-thick pieces, then cut each piece into small cubes.
11. Cubed carrots: Cut each orange candy into 4 squares.
12. Assemble the pie: Just before serving time, spoon about 2/3 cup of the pudding into the pie tin.
13. Add the candies and the fruit to the pudding, then set the piecrust on top.

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