This year Hanukkah starts on December 12, and I’m excited that we can have potato pancakes (latkes) now that my daughter Lucie is no longer allergic to eggs. We’re not Jewish, but the kids learn about Hanukkah at school as part of the Core Knowledge curriculum. (They learn about various Christmas traditions and Kwanzaa as well.)

However, I grew up celebrating Hanukkah since my father was Jewish. Luckily for my family, my French Catholic mother wholeheartedly embraced Jewish cooking. The woman’s chopped liver and chicken soup were to die for! I grew up eating blintzes, gefilte fish, and bagel and lox along with potato pancakes, so Jewish food is one of my favorite cuisines.

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Sometimes I come across “high end” recipes for grown ups that would be a lot of fun for kids. This sushi dish featured in the Denver Post is one of them. Now before you go, “My kids HATE fish!” this is vegetable sushi. It’s colorful, easy to make, healthy,and you get to dip it. (What kid doesn’t love dipping things?) If you have the patience, get the kids to help you chop veggies, mix the sauce, and assemble the sushi. My husband and kids enjoy making sushi together. Me? I enjoy eating it!

Vegetable Bouquets with Spicy Dipping Sauce
By Diane Carman, makes 25-30

Many regular supermarkets have all the Asian ingredients you’ll need from daikon radish to sushi nori (dried seaweed). If not, maybe there is an Asian grocery store near you. We love visiting our local Asian market and as a mom you’ll love their prices on meat, fish, spices, and produce.

Ingredients:

1. 1 carrot, scraped
2. 1/2   mango, not too ripe, peeled
3. 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
4. 1 small daikon radish, scraped (if you can’t find daikon radish, substitute jicama, which is mild tasting and very crunchy )
5. 1/2   red bell pepper
6. 1 package of Sushi nori (seaweed)

Dipping Sauce:

1. 1/4 cup soy sauce
2. 1 teaspoon sugar
3. 1/2 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar or worcestershire sauce
4. 1 teaspoon Chinese sesame oil
5. 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Chinese chili oil, or to taste

Directions:

1. Cut carrot, mango, cucumber, radish and bell pepper into thin julienne pieces about 2 inches long. Blanch carrot pieces in boiling water for about 30 seconds, drain and run under cold water to stop cooking.
2. Bundle 2 pieces of each vegetable and one piece of mango and wrap in a 1-inch-wide by 4-inch-long piece of sushi nori, moistening the end with water to secure the bouquet.
3. Sauce: Stir ingredients together in small bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste.
4. Arrange on a platter and serve as an appetizer with dipping sauce.

Children’s Books About Sushi

Believe it or not there are few books for kids on sushi. Check these out:

• First Book of Sushi for ages four to eight
• Sushi for Kids: A Children’s Introduction to Japan’s Favorite Food for ages seven to 10
• Squeamish About Sushi: And Other Food Adventures in Japan for kids and adults

I’m attending a special mommy blogger event next week in Southern California put on by the kind folks at Sony. We’ll be trying out Sony Digital imaging products and services including trying out the Sony Cybershot DSCW170, Sony Alpha DSLRA350 Digital SLR Camera, and the Sony HDR-SR11 10MP 60GB High Definition Hard Drive Handycam Camcorder with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom. Fancy! We’ll also be meeting with photography expert Me Ra Koh, and from shooting pictures on the beaches of La Jolla.

I’m excited but nervous. It’s been years since I took a photography course. Let’s just say it was before digital cameras were invented and I spent more time in the darkroom printing pictures than I did taking them. My experience with digital cameras is limited. Like most folks, I just point, shoot, download, crop and post/email. So I’m glad that I have a copy of Photographing Your Family: And All the Kids and Friends and Animals Who Wander Through Too to read on the plane thanks to the folks at National Geographic.

What I liked about Photographing Your Family is that Joel Sartore, a National Geographic magazine photographer and father of three, reviews the basics like composition, key elements and light. Then he shares his secrets for photographing your family by going through his own family albums and explaining what he did to get the shot. You will also learn the best ways to print, display, and store your work, and tips on choosing equipment. I was especially interested in the chapter on the digital darkroom where he explains how to use software programs like Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 to alter and improve your photographs.

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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.

Elizabeth Kennedy at About.com’s Children’s Books is recommending the Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook as “one of the most visually appealing cookbooks [she has] ever seen.”

Simply in Season Children’s Cookbook is an imaginative, active way to invite kids of all ages – especially 6 to 12 year olds – to get in touch with real food, to see where it comes from, to take responsibility for preparing it, and to have fun in the process.

With summer farmer’s markets in full swing, this is a great time to use such a cookbook. Another great resource is the Internet, of course, and one great website for summertime recipes comes from the National Watermelon Promotion Board. They have some great kid friendly and healthy, seasonal recipes. Here’s a small sample.

Watermelon Banana Split
A healthy twist to an old favorite – serves four

Ingredients:

1. 2 bananas
2. 1 medium watermelon
3. 1 cup fresh blueberries
4. 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
5. 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
6. 1/4 cup caramel fruit dip
7. 1/4 cup honey roasted almonds

Instructions:

Peel bananas and cut in half lengthwise then cut each piece in half. For each serving, lay 2 banana pieces against sides of shallow dish. Using an ice cream scooper, place three watermelon “scoops” in between each banana in each dish. Remove seeds if necessary. Top each watermelon “scoop” with a different fruit topping. Drizzle caramel fruit dip over all. Sprinkle with almonds.

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