Edible Antics - Having Fun With Food

New Puppy Games And A Healthy Recipe For Homemade Dog Biscuits

Hi. I'm Tao. I'm an 8-week-old German shepherd puppy. I joined the family last week. Normally Cristie would be writing this post, but she's sleeping. The poor woman is exhausted. For days now, we've been walking outside twice in the middle of each night and she's still not used to our new schedule. She should sleep during the day I tell her, but she goes off to work at Wisconsinmade.com and plays on computers. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook, but she should really be following me. I know how to have fun!

And I'm learning new games all the time. So is Cristie. Cristie's friend and coworker, Vicki, suggested we watch episodes of The Dog Whisperer. These shows are teaching us lots of new ways to play. We watch dogs chew things up, dive incessantly into swimming pools, chase small animals, and bite people when they try to sit on beds. The dogs are having a super time until, every episode, this guy walks in and tells the dogs to sit down. They should really cut him from the show....But I have games of my own. To read more and get a healthy recipe for homemade dog biscuits click on "Continue reading..."

Easy Recipes For Summer Cooking In A Wisconsin North Woods Cottage, Camp, or Cabin

A favorite Wisconsin vacation destination is "the Wisconsin North Woods". From what I can figure out, "the North Woods of Wisconsin" simply refers to anywhere in the northern half of the state which is forested and has a lake in close proximity.  Each summer folks load up their cars with kids, recreational gear, a few clothes, and boxes of food staples. They drive north for hours until they arrive at a small, rustic house which they affectionately call their "cottage" or "camp" or "cabin". It is in this smaller version of home that they will pack a year's worth of outdoor recreation into three months of long weekends. They'll flitter like mosquitoes among swimming, boating, water-skiing, hiking, camping, sleeping, reading, card-playing, mini-golf, and horse-shoes. In their urgency to relax, there's definitely no time to work in the kitchen.

However, the perennial call of the stomach remains. We still gotta' eat, and eventually chips and roasted wienies lose their allure. Somebody better make some real food because all that outdoor, fresh air is revving up appetites. And because we're in the North Woods, there is no neighborhood restaurant just down the street, - that was the point of driving all those hours. So who will  be in the kitchen, - Mom? Dad? Grandma? teenage kids? Some families share the misery and cook every meal communally. In this case, the party moves inside to the kitchen, and, depending on the people, this could be a good thing, or not. Other families put kitchen duty on a rotational schedule, and meal prep is written on a chore list. This means that the person preparing the meal is not out on the lake, hiking in the woods, or sleeping in the hammock, but instead is alone in the kitchen. Sometimes that somebody in the kitchen is grumbling about it, but no one else is listening because they are all outside having fun. Perhaps that somebody begins to dream of a vacation in which the ravenously hungry family is left back home in the city. Perhaps that somebody left behind in the kitchen is you.

Well, in that case, I've written this post for you and better yet, Jerry Minnich has written a whole cookbook filled with North Woods cottage recipes that are fast, easy, and guaranteed to get you out of the kitchen and back on the lake. Click on "Continue reading ... for more about Jerry's ideas on easy cooking in a cottage, camp, or cabin, and for his delicious ham salad recipe which uses up left-over ham and can be made to feed a crowd.

Wisconsin Eats Blue Moon Ice Cream For a Red, White and Blue, 4th of July Dessert

Challenge of the day: Describe blue moon's flavor? Can you? I put this challenge to Sunday night's dinner guests. We all had to think hard about this glacier-blue ice cream. We had to taste it over and over and swirl it on our tongues as our minds combed its stores of flavor files to see if any flavor previously enjoyed was a match for this taste of blue moon ice cream. The closest comparison we could summons was pistachio, but this was a distant similarity. What really is the flavor of blue moon ice cream?

Not surprisingly, our children failed to care about this question. They were gobbling their ice cream and loving it. Wisconsin kids LOVE blue moon ice cream! I don't know a child in Wisconsin who doesn't request it at the ice cream store. Perhaps vanilla is the national favorite of kids, but for Wisconsin children, it's blue moon.

And blue moon ice cream is not just for kids; I know adults who enthusiastically serve up hearty helpings. So in our pre-4th of July party, it was a no brainer to use blue moon ice cream in our red, white and blue sundays. It was a colorful, and EASY holiday dessert.

Summer Red, White And Blue Dessert Recipes Flavor 4th of July Fun at Wisconsin Bed and Breakfasts

Red, white and blue foods on a 4th of July party table add fun flavor to our American holiday; plus they're easy! Nothing's cooler or healthier than a bowl of red strawberries and blueberries. Maybe you ate these for breakfast and want a tasty variation for a 4th of July dessert. Here are some cool, summer dessert recipes featuring fresh berries and colored in red, white and blue.

The first recipe is for fruit crisp. The recipe calls for red berries (raspberries or strawberries) tossed with  blueberries baked beneath a cream-colored topping. Because fruit crisps are so light they make a perfect summer dessert. This particular dessert recipe is prepared at the Port Washington Inn in Port Washington, Wisconsin. I found the recipe in the cookbook Morning Menus Inn Style. The cookbook is the result of efforts by the Wisconsin Bed and Breakfast Association to collect favorite recipes from Wisconsin's favorite bed and breakfasts. Each page of the book features a different bed and breakfast. Pictures of the inns with their descriptions and contact information accompany the inns' menus and two or three of each inn's best recipes. The book is a great resource for the Wisconsin traveler looking for relaxation and wonderful dining. Click on "Continue reading ..." for this fruit crisp recipe and more about 4th of July desserts.

Fireworks Decorate A Wisconsin, Swedish, French-Chocolate Cake For A Patriotic 4th of July

It's patriotic season, colored in red, white, and blue, and punctuated with Memorial Day, Flag Day, and the 4th of July! Wisconsin kids ride decorated bikes behind fire engines, play baseball, eat strawberry shortcake, and ooh- and aah- at fireworks. My daughter is showing her patriotic spirit by drawing frosted fireworks on her practice entry in the July Dane County Fair. Lauren is 9 and July's fair will be the first in which she competes in the 4-H Club cake decorating contest.

Lauren's official entry will be frosted styrofoam, but for these practice cakes we decorate real cakes! Well, I'm baking the cakes and Lauren is playing artiste with tubes of edible color. Pictured is our first 4th of July cake. I used Wanda Peterson Mango's recipe for French Chocolate Cake. Wanda's description of this cake is right on," Tender, moist, light --this chocolate cake has all the things that make a great chocolate cake. It's not real sweet, but this cake has a real natural cocoa flavor. This was often made for our birthdays when we were growing up."  The Peterson family also made this French chocolate cake at their family-owned Grandma's Swedish Bakery and Restaurant in Door County, Wisconsin. Click on "Continue reading..."for the French chocolate cake recipe.

Summer Ideas For Fast Meals For Busy Parents; Nutritious Dinners Kids Like

Forget quick and easy meals. In summer, Wisconsinites need FAST meals. Not fast food, - though in a pinch we eat that too. I'm talking about turbo-prepped meals with 'fridge to table delivery times of 15 minutes. Rachel Ray, save your 30-minute meals for a Wisconsin winter. With only 3 months of warm weather, Wisconsinites are way too busy outside to spend a single extra minute in a hot kitchen.

The kids have been out of school only a week and already parents look haggard. Last night, for example, we jockeyed car seats among mini-vans in parking lots as neighboring parents frantically arranged which parent would take which child to which activity, be it pre-little league baseball, a swim meet, a camp evening performance program, or a birthday party. Yes, we parents help each other by car-pooling, but somehow even this cooperative effort buys us little extra time for meal preparation. I'm no cooking expert, but I have figured out a few tricks for fueling families fast in summer. Click on "Continue reading..." for some ideas for fast meals busy parents can make. They aren't fancy, just nutritious dinners kids like.

Travel Foods: Cars Snacks To Pack For The Adults' Road Trip

Planning a road-trip? If your passengers are under the age of twelve, read 'Packing Food For A Road-trip With Kids'. If you're a young adult, why are you reading this? You know what to pack, - Red Bull or its equivalent. If you must eat, don't waste time packing snacks. It's easier to grab something out of a rest area vending machine. Enjoy the fact that you can do this without considering consequences. But if you are the mature traveler who life's troubles and joys have taught you to plan, keep reading. This list of recommended car snacks for road travel is for you.

First, the primary principle regarding travel snacks applies. Avoid foods which are good dispersers of their content. By this I mean, don't pack crumbling chips, drippy ice cream bars or donuts that spray sprinkles or powdered sugar across the car's interior. (Oh, but you wouldn't have considered these; you are now a health-conscious adult looking for healthy snacks). But likewise, don't pack juice oranges, melon slices, ripe peaches, or the like. You can do grapes, but consider their rolling potential. Accidents have happened when adults have tried to retrieve a grape that has rolled between their legs while  driving. Bananas are okay, - you won't delight in squishing them between the cracks in the upholstery as you would have decades earlier. However, consider the banana peel perfume which will pervade the vehicle until the next rest stop. Perhaps this is a bonus however if you ate your cruciferous vegetables as your doctor ordered. Use your judgment. Click on "Continue reading... for more ideas for travel snacks.

Shopping For Father's Day Gifts? Think Pay Back Time And Spoil Dad With Food!

Father's Day! What Father's Day gifts to give dad this year? Last year in this blog I wrote about the stages of fatherhood and suggested suitable Father's Day gifts for each stage. This year I'll focus on the singly important gift of 'pay-back'!  Yes, a sign of the mature child, especially the child who now has children of her own, is the acknowledgment of the great debt which she owes to her father. Oh, I'm not referring to the considerable amount of money Dad has spent on me over the years, or all that parental worry he extended over this or that escapade of mine. No, today I'm recalling those end-games Dad unwittingly let me run around Mom.

Being the primary caretaker, as well as chief, cook, and bottle-washer, Mom knew the score on most of what my brother and I did when we were kids. Mom knew the tricks; she'd figured out the games; she ruled with consistency and firmness. But there was one play I could run that, at least temporarily, would get me to whatever goal I had set my sights on at the time. I''m sure you know it, and you've probably played it yourself. It's the oldest kid trick in the book: If Mom says no, go ask Dad. And if you even suspect Mom may say no, skip Mom and go directly to Dad.

But sometimes the wiles of moms are unfathomable. As a kid, it can be impossible to know in advance what mom will approve or disapprove of. So, if you're a kid and your mom says no to your going to a party, or if Mom refuses you the to-die-for material object intensely desired at the moment, - be it clothing, car or sweet treat,  promptly seek out Dad and ask him. "Oh, that never worked for me," my adult reader might argue. Well, I admit this tactic wasn't always easy or sure-fire. This game has to be played with cunning, strategy and finesse. But here I offer sound tips on how to win. Click on "Continue reading..." to learn the tips and to find winning food gifts to give Dad to show him your love on Father's Day.

Wisconsin Celebrates the Dairy Industry With Cows at the Capital

Saturday Madison, WI saluted the dairy industry by inviting cows, dairy farmers, agricultural students, veterinarians, and cheese masters to the streets around Wisconsin's state capital building. Children pet the cows as "Moo experts" from the dairy industry answered questions about raising cows, milking, WI's artisanal cheeses, and WI's reliance on the dairy industry for our state's economic vitality.

Along with the information came a whole lot of fun on the capital concourse. Bands played music as kids played games. Families ate ice cream and grilled cheese sandwiches grilled right in the street. One of the more comical highlights was the ice cream eating contest. Two children, two dads, one dairy farmer, and the dairy queen of Belleville, Wisconsin competed to see who could eat a plate of ice cream the fastest (no hands; no utensils). Click on "Continue reading..." to see a video of the ice cream eating contest and more pictures of Wisconsinites playing with their food.

Fun Summer Things To Do With Kids In Wisconsin; Recipe For Rhubarb Pie!

Memorial Day is past; yard-work's mostly done, - now summer fun in Wisconsin begins! You might say, "No! I'm not ready! What will I do with the kids all day? Their teachers have been saying this for nine months; they are definitely ready for summers arrival!  School bus drivers are counting down the hours until that last drop-off ride. Kids are squirming in their seats, ready to flood from the bus on that last day. So, conscientious parents, what do you have planned for your kids this summer, besides the Discovery channel?

Well, I'm in the same boat as you. Here are some fun activities on our family's summer-to-do list:

• Madison Mallards Baseball games. Every summer our family supports the home team with trips to the "Duck Pond" at Madison's Warner Park. The minor league baseball games are inexpensive, fun, family entertainment. Goofy, audience-participating antics on the field intersperse each inning, and the roaming, costumed mascots, Maynard, Millie, and Bonehead, delight (or frighten) pre-schoolers. The games and food are cheap, -the fun rich! We're going to the home game on June 13th. Later in the summer, we'll get to take our dog to the game too.
• Hiking, swimming, boating and picnicking in Wisconsin's State Parks. We bought our State Park season sticker weeks ago. We're ready for summer fun at Devil's Lake, Blue Mounds, Governor Dodge, and Governor Nelson. And those are just the parks near us. Travel farther north in Wisconsin and find bigger, wilder parks great for camping and back-packing.
• For thrills, we'll go to water parks at The Wisconsin Dells. We'll go to Wisconsin county fairs to get dizzy on carnival rides and see the farm animals. Wisconsin has lots of counties, and so has lots of county fairs, - all a fun time for kids. In August we'll go to the Wisconsin State Fair, - the grandest fair of the summer. Plan at least two days for this fair if you want to see it all!
• For educational activities, we'll be returning to Old World Wisconsin to roam the fields and homes of re-created pioneer life in Wisconsin. The kids will talk with docents dressed in period garb demonstrating the many skills required for survival in Wisconsin during the 1800's. Click on "Continue reading..." for more ideas for fun things to do in the summer.