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.

So many potato pancake recipes!

Traditionally I’ve used the potato pancake recipe out of Joy of Cooking, which is delicious and can easily be made gluten free by substituting rice flour for the wheat flour. But this year I’d like to try something healthier. Here are few contenders:

• Sweet Potato Latkes – by Steven Raichlen who recently released Healthy Jewish Cooking, but is more known for his The Barbecue! Bible or How to Grill cookbooks
• Corn Latkes – also by Steven, this is close to the corn pancakes my husband makes for special breakfasts
• Dr. Weil’s Potato Pancakes – heck, if Dr. Weil says it’s healthy, it better be!
• Zucchini and Potato Pancakes – a recipe to consider when you have too much zucchini from your summer garden

Remember that non-sweetened apple sauce is always a healthy topping for potato pancakes. If you like sour cream, try plain, non-fat Greek yogurt, non-fat plain yogurt, or a low or non-fat sour cream instead.

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 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.

A Family Photo Expedition

Photographing Your Family is also a great book to share with your family’s junior shutter bugs. My daughter Lucie is an excellent photographer and she’s only five, so don’t be scared to give your child an inexpensive or older digital camera to use. Plan a family outing, like a trip to the beach or the zoo. Or maybe you just want to go around the neighborhood and find interesting things to shoot, from close ups of bugs and flowers to people and cars.

After your expedition, download your photos on the computer, and have fun digitally enhancing your photos. You can use Paint.net, which is a free downloadable software package. Or Photoshop Express, Adobe’s new free online site for changing and storing your photographs.

Food for the Hungry Photographer

FamilyFun.com has a web page filled with family picnic ideas. I like the idea of bringing snacks, drinks and sandwiches or wraps in a small cooler. FamilyFun has several wrap recipes, but I think their turkey and vegetable wrap is the most practical and versatile. If you don’t like turkey you can substitute for another meat or leave it out for a veggie wrap.

Turkey and Vegetable Wrap
Makes 4 servings

1. 1 large large veggie tortilla wrap
2. 1 cup tomato sauce
3. 1 cup mild salsa (a pineapple mango salsa would be excellent)
4. 1/2 lb. fresh spinach leaves
5. 1/2 lb. roasted turkey breast, thinly sliced
6. 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
7. 1 red onion, thinly sliced
8. 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
9. 2 cups grated mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, mixed

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the wrap on a sheet pan and brush with the tomato sauce. Spoon the salsa over the sauce. Layer on the spinach leaves, followed by the turkey breast, red pepper, onion and zucchini. Top with the grated cheese.
2. Heat in the oven just until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes. (In a pinch, you could also zap in the microwave.)
3. Fold in the sides of the wrap. Then roll the lahvosh tightly, starting with the long end.
4. Let cool for 5 minutes before cutting into 4 portions.
5. Wrap in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and chill. Can be make the night before your picnic.

If you want to avoid the whole cooking and melting cheese bit, use cream cheese or a mild goat cheese instead of the shredded cheeses. Mix it with the salsa and leave out the tomato sauce. You may want to cut back on the amount of salsa as well – after all, you want to be able to spread the mixture not paint with it.

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.

Watermelon Kebabs
Easy, fast, and healthy, too!

Ingredients:

1. 1-inch cubes of seedless watermelon
2. Smoked turkey breast
3. Cheddar cheese
4. Skewers, coffee stirrers or beverage straws

Instructions:

Cut watermelon, turkey and cheese in cubes and string on skewers, stirrers or straws. Enjoy!

Watermelon Dippers
Kids love to dip! (The original recipe’s dip was made out of sour cream, vanilla extract and sugar. But flavored yogurt sounds so much easier, don’t you think?)

Ingredients:

1. 8 ounces vanilla, fruit or berry flavored yogurt
2. Watermelon

Instructions:

Slice watermelon into sticks or small wedges. Place yogurt in a bowl as a dip for the watermelon. Dip away!

(All watermelon pictures from National Watermelon Promotion Board website.)