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Nathan and Lucie are big fans of the Man in Black. So for Christmas, I got them The Johnny Cash Children’s Album. I recently loaded it on the computer so I could copy it for Nathan’s use. Since he’s only six and is really bad about putting his CDs away, we make him copies of music he likes. This way, if he scratches the copy, it’s no big deal. We have the original safe in it’s case, and the music stored in the computer as a back up.

I started listening to The Johnny Cash Children’s Album and liked it more than the kids did. Unlike his gospel stuff, it’s not cheesy at all. The songs are really quite nice, especially his duet with June Carter Cash called, "I Got a Boy And His Name Is John."

This got me thinking about Johnny’s appearances on Sesame Street. I had heard he was on the program, but after doing a search on YouTube, I found out that he was on twice - once in the ’70s and once in the ’80s or ’90s. (YouTube is a great resource if you’re looking for old Sesame Street spots. I especially like the one when Robert DeNiro explains acting to Elmo and turns into a cabbage.)

Johnny Cash on Sesame Street

"Nasty Dan" with Oscar the Grouch (sang on the The Johnny Cash Children’s Album)

"Don’t Take Your Ones To Town" along with Big Bird

After the shakeup with Melanie being fired, they’re trying all kinds of different things at  Sprout. One of them is the Sprout Diner campaign on healthy eating and cooking.

I like the idea of using children’s favorite cartoon characters to encourage them to eat healthy. Much better than getting them to buy toys and eat sugary cereals. The recipes are very creative, like Angelina’s Ballet Slippers (stuffed peppers) and Barney’s Purple Hummus Dip (you use beets to color the hummus).

Each recipe lists:

• ingredients
• equipment needed
• how preschoolers can help do the cooking
• nutritional information

There’s also a link to KidsHealth and a way to send the recipe via an electronic recipe card.

Finally the site features interactive games, printables, and a make your own placemat activity. So make a dinner reservation at the Sprout Diner today!

About four years ago I made a SpongeBob cake for Nathan using directions from the Nickelodeon website (this was before Wilton came out with their Spongebob pan). But I haven’t been on the Nickelodeon or Nick, Jr. website since then for recipes. So I pleasantly surprised at all the recipes and food related activities I found recently at Nick, Jr. like:

• Recipes by Show
• Kids & Nutrition - expert advice, printables, activities and tools to help you encourage healthy eating
• Cake Finder - character cakes and cupcakes (I love the Wonder Pets cupcakes - too cute!)
• Do-Together Videos - step by step videos for cooking with your kids
• Cooking with Kids - fun recipes to do together
• Family Recipes

I’m extremely impressed on the emphasis Nick, Jr. has placed on nutrition and family cooking. There are lots of great activities for you and your young chef to try. And while you may say it’s to sell their shows and toys, I know some kids who are very motivated by their favorite cartoon characters. If Dora says to eat your veggies, they will!

SpongeBob’s Krabby Patties
Serves 8

Ingredients:

1. 2 tbsp. finely chopped onion
2. 2 tbsp. finely chopped celery
3. 4-6 tbsp. vegetable oil
4. 1 tsp. thyme 1 lb. frozen imitation crabmeat, (defrosted and finely chopped in a food processor)
5. 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
6. 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
7. 2 tbsp. mayonnaise (plus 1 cup for dipping sauce)
8. 2 eggs, lightly beaten
9. Salt and pepper (to taste)
10. 3 tbsp. ketchup (for dipping sauce)

Directions:

1. Sauté the onions and celery in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the thyme, lower the heat, and cook until the onions are translucent.
2. In a large bowl combine the crabmeat, sautéed onions and celery, bread crumbs, Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, egg, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.
3. Shape into rounds by using a small ice cream scoop, then gently pat flat.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Working in batches (2 to 3 crab cakes at a time) place the crab cakes in a skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. You may need to add more oil for the second and third batches.
5. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Transfer the crab cakes to the baking pan and bake for 10 minutes. The crab cakes can be kept in a warm oven for approximately 30 minutes, or they may be reheated at serving time. Serve with a kid-friendly dipping sauce. Mix 1 cup of mayonnaise with 3 tablespoons of ketchup.

Technorati tags: cooking with children, recipes, family cooking, Nick Jr., nutrition, picky eaters, cupcakes, birthday cakes

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Star Trek season premier. The TV show originally appeared on NBC, and has been going on in some form - movies, television, cartoons, comic books, novels, websites, and so - ever since.

Why not share your love for all things Star Trek with your kids? After all, Star Trek teaches an appreciation for science fiction and science fact like astronomy, physics, engineering and all the other sciences that have gone into exploration and space flight.

The series showed appreciation for cultural diversity with its Vulcan philosophy of IDIC - Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. Most importantly, the Star Trek expressed the hope that humanity did destroy itself, but matured and found peace, and went on to explore the galaxy to find new life and new civilizations.

HOPE - this is the lasting legacy that Gene Roddenberry gave us. Thanks sir, may you live long and prosper!

TV Activities:

First, TV Land is celebrating Star Trek with a 40th Anniversary prime time salute tonight. TV Land will showcase four of the most talked about and best remembered episodes from the series, including the show’s premiere and the historic episode featuring TV’s first interracial kiss from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET/PT before the show joins the TV Land roster beginning November 17, 2006. In November, TVLand.com’s new broadband media player will stream full-length episodes of Star Trek, which have previously not been available for free on the Web.

Web Activities:

Visit some cool websites with your kids (Thanks to the Delphos Herald for pointing some of these out):

• Startrek.com — The official Star Trek website
• TrekGuide — The definitive guide to every episode ever. Also find an intricate map of the Star Trek galaxy. Lot of Star Trek merchandise for sale at this huge site as well. Also a Star Trek news section and message boards.
• Star Trek Quotes — Who doesn’t want to live long and prosper or be beamed up by Scotty? But what about the more obscure Star Trek quotes. One fan claims to have the definitive collections. From the original series to the feature films, there are hundreds of quotes to peruse. There’s also Star Trek humor, a fan forum and links to more sites.
• StarWrecked — So you’d rather be making fun of Trekkies than reading about how the show got its start. Here’s a site that pokes fun at the show and its followers. See fixed photos, read jokes and “reworked” biographies. Also find some trivia, computer screen savers and wallpaper.
• BBC News - The BBC has a wonderful section on their website covering the Seattle conference, a picture gallery, a discussion of the definitive Star Trek, an interactive Star Trek timeline, fan films and clips, Star Trek through the eyes of a devoted fan, video clips, and Brent Spiner’s (Data) memories of working on ST:NG and the movies.
• More Star Trek 40th Anniversary news at Google

Museum Activities:

For you folks fortunate to live in Seattle, Planet Expo and Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum will present the 40th anniversary celebration for the show. This site shows all the information for that event including celebrity photo and autograph opportunities, a champagne toast at the top of the Space Needle, museum tours and more. Dress up, bring the kids and have fun!

If you don’t live in Seattle, visit a space or science museum to celebrate Star Trek’s 40th anniversary.

Cooking Activities:

Finally, make a yummy Vulcan Apple Pastry. According to Voyager’s chef Nelix, in his The Star Trek Cookbook, Vulcans adore these as a quickie hot breakfast treat, or at room temperature, as a school lunch box treat.

Nelix says that these are great afternoon snacks if your kids have to go from school to practice or an after-school activity. And they’re great for parents on the go or college students between classes or labs. Geez, that Mr. Nelix really knows how us 21st century Americans are always eating on the run.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Jesse Jackson reads from the Dr. Seuss classic Green Eggs and Ham on the 1991 season premier of Saturday Night Live. (The video isn’t great, but the audio is classic SNL.)

Here’s a method for making Dr. Seuss’s famous dish from Meg of Too Many Chefs that actually sounds tasty, looks yummy, and doesn’t involve food coloring.

Green Eggs and Ham
Picture courtesy of Meg of Too Many Chefs, too.

1. Take one small zucchini and scrub it well.
2. Slice it in rounds or chunks and toss it in a microwave safe bowl.
3. Cover the bowl with a saucer or plastic wrap and microwave on high for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, you can steam the zucchini in a pan.)
4. Put the zucchini in a blender or food processor and zap it until you have a smooth puree.
5. Add one egg and zap again until it’s all frothy and bubbly.
6. Melt a little butter in a small frying pan and when it’s bubbling pour in the egg and zucchini mixture.
7. Cook over a medium flame until the egg has solidified. You may find that there is a certain amount of water that just will not incorporate in the eggs.
8. Serve over a a slice of ham and watch your child gobble up an entire zucchini without realising it.

Technorati tags: Jesse Jackson, Saturday Night Live, Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss, recipes, eggs, cooking, breakfast

Back in October 2005, my satellite TV provider changed the PBS Kids channel into PBS Kids Sprout, the 24-hour channel for preschoolers. I wrote about it in "Sprout Update" on my personal blog, A Mama’s Rant, since it was a topic of discussion among my friends. (I was pro Sprout since it was a lifesaver when staying up all night with a then sick Lucie.)

This week I’ve gotten over 25 40 comments and thousands of hits per day on this post. Why? Because Melanie Martinez, the host of "The Good Night Show" made two comedy videos seven years ago that spoofed teen abstinence public service ads and featured jokes about vibrators and sex acts. Melanie was subsequently fired by PBS after she told her producers about the videos last week.

I find it interesting that someone commented on my blog back on July 11 about the video and sarcastically called Melanie a "nice roll model." Was her outing - and the comments around it - the reason for her firing? Still it makes no sense since PBS’s Sesame Street has featured some other "nice roll models" like Robin Williams, Johnny Cash, and Richard Pryor who all have admitted to drug problems, and other stars like Susan Sarandon, Robert DeNiro and Glenn Close who’ve all done adult work in their film careers.

PBS released this explanation of the reasons for firing her. In the meanwhile, a Save Melanie Petition has been started as well as the BringBackMel blog with links to news stories and the PBS Ombudsman. The Philadelphia Inquirer has been covering this story as well in Sprout Grows Sillier (towards the end) and Videos Lead to Firing of Children’s Show Host.

My feelings? PBS is extremely hypocritical considering that, as the Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

"In 2004, actress Alison Bartlett, who plays veterinarian Gina Jefferson on Sesame Street, appeared semi-nude in a love scene on The Sopranos. At the time, Sesame Street’s executive producer said the Sopranos role was not a conflict."

But I think it’s more sinister than Melanie being fired for work she did seven years ago. I have a strong feeling that she was pregnant and this was her producers’ excuse for firing her instead of working around her pregnancy. I could be COMPLETELY WRONG (gawd, I hope so) but lately she had been looking a little plumper around her face and neck and she had a bit of a tummy bump. Her jacket seemed recut to be looser. Also, the recent addition of the puppet character, Star, seemed a way to conceal her tummy as well.

Melanie has not been interviewed in the press yet about her firing, so only time will tell if I’m right or not.

(May 3, 2006 file photo in Paulsboro, N.J. Associated Press)

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