Purple potato and crunchy lentil Salad (Katchumber Salad inspired by Cookbook INDIAN-ish

indian food can be a hard sell for children, but it can also be a really fun way to introduce new an vibrant spices. I love Priya Krishna’s new Cookbook, INDIAN-ISH, because it’s excatly that! With recipes like Roti pizza the breakdown of each Indian spice, even how to cook rice, INDIAN-ish is a must! I choose to riff a bit on her Katchumber salad with mung beans and add a purple sweet potato and cook the beans to almost al-dente. The mini-chefs were a bit hesitant at first, but loved the sweetness of the potato, tangy tomatoes, and the crunchy mung beans! Served with a side of Peanut Chutney.

Purple Potato and Crunchy Lentil Salad (Katchumber salad) Salad:

Serves 4

Prep 20 including Boiling Potato

Ingredients :

• 1 medium-large purple sweet potato, peeled, boiled, and cooled

• 1 cup green lentils, rinsed under cool water, cooked with 2 cups of water for about 15, just until al-dente

• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

• 1 persian cucumber, chopped

• 1 cup cherry tomatos, chopped

• 1 ripe avocado, diced

• 1 tablespoon rough chopped pistachio nuts (if no allergy is present)

• juice from 1/2 of a lime

• salt to taste

• optional-chopped mint leaves (we left out for the mini chefs)

Directions

1. Break the potato into large chunks using your hards (this is a fun job for the mini-chefs) once the potato is cooled.

2. Place the cooked lentils, cucumber, tomato, avocado, potato, and cilantro in a large bowl.

3. Add lime juice, salt, and pistachio nuts, toss and serve!

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Wow your little ones with this stuffed summer squash blossom recipe! The squash blossoms help to create a really pretty dish, but it will be so fun to make alongside your kiddos with this very easy and hands-on recipe. 

Stuffed squashed blossoms are a traditional Cretan dish that I discovered while on a trip to Greece, and after loving every bite of them, I knew I had to try this recipe with my mini chefs at cooking camp. In the camp, we "traveled" to a different country every day, and this dish was a part of the menu for Greece! We made Greek fry bread stuffed with feta and herbs, souvlaki, and these stuffed squash blossoms. Luckily, squash blossoms are in season right now and I was able to pick up these up at my local farmers market. They can really be stuffed with anything, but this recipe incorporates lots of veggies and rice in a really fun way.   

Stuffed Squash Blossoms Recipe

• Serves 6-8
• Prep time: 20 mins
• Cook time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 10-15 Squash blossoms (the blooms from summer squash). I purchased these at my local farmers market.
• ½ cup red or white onion grated
• 1 cup tomato grated
• 1 cup wild parboiled rice
• 1 cup water plus 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Fresh oregano
• ½ cup good olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Crumbled feta cheese
• 1 potato peeled and quartered

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit 
2. Bring water to a boil 2 to 3 cups of water and the salt. Add rice and boil for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain. Refrigerate if it will be more than a couple of hours before you use it.
3. While rice is cooking, grate tomatoes and onions and place them in a boil. Add salt, pepper, thyme and 1 tablespoon of olive and stir to combine.
4. Peel potato and quarter. This will help keep the squash blossom soft and moist (these bake along side, not inside).
5. When the rice has cooled, add into the onion tomato mixture.
6. Peel back the petals and stuff with the filling. Place in a pyrex baking dish alongside potatoes. Top with olive olive and salt.
7. Bake for 30-40 mins until tender and rice is cooked through. Top with feta cheese.

Veggie Pizza Faces

Veggies Pizza Faces

Pizza making is favorite amongst my mini chef's and one of the ways I introduce knife skills. We use  these salad knives for teaching littles hands how to chop and slice. They are large enough to grip tight with a bear claw and they are made out of BPA free plastic, making them safe for little hands.  Remember the game Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head? Veggie faces are very reminiscent, the tomato eyes can swap for ears, the zucchini nose can be a silly beard! 

Serves 4-6
Prep Time 10 Mins
Cook Time 7-10 Mins
 

Ingredients :

• 1 package of whole wheat pita (large if making dinner, small if making snack)
• 1 jar of pizza sauce or tomato sauce (or make your own!) I like Muir Glen Organic for the short list of ingredients and no added sugars. 
• Mozzarella cheese, shredded
• Spinach
• 1 zucchini, sliced into circles and cut into half moons (or you can let you mini chef do this part)
• Cherry tomatoes, cut in half (same as above, having a helper in the kitchen is half the fun!)
• 1 green and 1 red pepper, cored and seeded, sliced the long way to form a mouth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F and set rack to middle.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. I like to chop the veggies first, calling out the names and colors of produce.
4. Place about two-three tablespoons of sauces on the pitas and cover with cheese. 
5. Decorate your face with veggies and fruit, spinach for hair, zucchini for eyes, tomatoes for nose and ears, peppers for a mouth.
6. Toast for 7 mins or until cheese is bubbling.  
7. Serve!