Edible Antics - Having Fun With Food

'A' is for Attitude - A Recipe for Surviving Wisconsin's Winter with Preschoolers

It's 15 below zero outside.  The furnace is running but hasn't cranked the heat up beyond 64 degrees.  I'm coated in wool and writing this next to the heating vent. Wisconsin schools are closed due to the dangerous wind chill.  And now my children sit frozen in front of the TV.  But winter is only half over.  At this point we need more than comfort food - we need a recipe for survival.

My ace in the hole for keeping spirits up is to throw a party.  The kids and I will celebrate any occasion around here, especially in winter.  We've been planning our super bowl party for Sunday, but that's 4 days away.  What can we rally around right now?

Last night I lost sleep over my 5-year-old's inability to recite the alphabet.  Yes, this was a foolish, unnecessary worry, but it kept my mind off bigger concerns.  I know I can teach the alphabet, and make it fun to boot!  So when we learned that schools are closed today, I announced that today we would throw our first alphabet party. Every week from now until kindergarten, we will choose a letter to celebrate.  "What letter will it be today, Dave?" I asked.  He chose 'A'.

So we started by writing upper and lower case 'A's and taping them to the kitchen door to signify that it's 'A's special day'.  Then the kids decorated a large cardboard box with letters cut out of magazines.  Into this box will go items that begin with 'A'.  Now comes the food!  I baked an angel food cake and got out my Apples Everything cookbook. I found a recipe for sauteed apples to serve over the cake. (The recipe is on the 'Cooking with the ABC's' page.)

My neighbor just called and wanted to know what we're up to.  She has a 5-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter also aimlessly wandering the house.  We invited them to join our party this afternoon.  They'll be bringing 'A' toys and treats. 

The kids and I have been brain-storming other 'A' foods. We've come up with...

Wisconsin Goes to the Superbowl, but as a Bratwurst Sausage

Don't these brats look scrumptious?  Don't they conjure up images of mouth-watering satisfaction, good times with friends, and of hot, sunny days grilling outside?  Don't they shout out all that is right with the world?  YES! YES! GIVE ME BRATS! they scream, which is why the marketing department of the New England Patriots has chosen them to be the team's official game food.  In a move to reap more profits from loyal fans, the Patriots are sponsoring their "own" line of meats - "four lines of bratwurst, three of sausage, and two of hot dogs", as reported in the Boston Globe. But where does New England get these wonder meats from? - You guessed it, WISCONSIN!!! Now that's a kicker.  Our Packers didn't make it to the Superbowl, but our brats sure did!

The Patriots' marketing staff taste-tested 10 varieties of brats from meat suppliers throughout the U.S.  They report that, "the new line immediately stood out, said David Wheeler, executive director of food and beverage for Gillette Stadium. "I remember thinking that I loved the flavor," he said, "It was juicy."

These flavorful, juicy brats have been made 'the Old World Way' in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since 1954.  Brewers and Bucks fans enjoy them at every game in Miller Park and the Bradley Center.  They are even the exclusive sausages sold at the Minnesota Twins baseball games!

And now these brats have been adopted as 'their own' by the New England Patriots.  The Patriots will be chowing down on them at their training facility, and their fans will be enjoying them in Gillette Stadium. You can get these brats and other meats made the Old World way from Wisconsinmade.com. Then even though Wisconsin's Packers won't be at your Superbowl party, the taste of Wisconsin will be there.

Recipe for a fast, easy, healthy lunch to pack in a pre-schooler's lunch box

Although every week I write about having fun with food to celebrate life and its special occasions, usually I'm preparing food simply so my family can continue living.  I am not a fancy cook.  I'm embarrassed to admit it, but too often I'm interrupted by kids and life's concerns so that what I'm cooking burns up, dries up, or simmers away.  I shrug and serve it anyway, then go back to what interrupted me.  That's why for my blog, Edible antics, I generally try to post simple recipes on the website - recipes that aren't fussy, can be fudged with substitute ingredients, and once made, can hang out until the family is ready to eat.  If I post a tricky one, I'll try to remember to warn you.   

Be it good or bad, I don't think I'm too unusual as far as working-moms go.  We're all busy.  And when I mention a crockpot meal I've got simmering, my friends typically say, "Oh yeah, I should use my crockpot more often."  Or at 4:00 in the afternoon, they'll say, "I haven't even thought about dinner.  I'll probably pick something up on the way home from (insert child's name here)______________ 's (insert child's lesson/after-school activity here) _____________."

Thus, I was surprised to see some of the entries for suggested packed lunches entered in coffee and vanilla's blogging event on wholesome boxlunches.  The foods pictured are not only healthy, look delicious, inviting to children, but the items are artistic masterpieces as well.  I know my entry won't win any prizes in presentation, but I offer it as a fast alternative.  This lunch can be packed in less than 2 minutes, - 1 minute if you run.

My entry reflects the additional requirement that it meets the satisfaction of a somewhat picky 5-year old who doesn't like regular sandwiches and eats in a peanut/tree nut free pre-school.  I'm blessed that he loves cheese - he should, he lives in Wisconsin.  Here's a typical lunch for him:

• 1 snack-bag filled with cheese curds
• 1 snack-bag filled whole-grain crackers
• one organic apple
• one snack-bag of sweetened, dried cranberries
• One large juice box, no-sugar-added variety

(In the picture you'll notice the addition of a piece of bread smeared with pumpkin butter.  I included this because today he grumbled about the cranberries - the same brand of Wisconsin, sweetened, dried cranberries that last week he hoarded.  Who knows what he'll eat at noon, so I'm giving him more options.)

The following are fast substitutes for the above items:

Comfort foods for Green Bay Packers fans in a post-season, cold, Wisconsin winter

So the Packers lost the NFC championship last night.  The temperature is still below 0.  And it's snowing.  This morning's mood at the bus stop was mopey -disagreements voiced on exactly how much snow will fall, but consensus on 'the poor Packers'. What's a Wisconsinite to do on the morning after?  Comfort foods required.

So I turn to the old standby: peanut butter on whole-grain bread and a cup of strong, gourmet coffee with cream.  I must be needing comfort on a regular basis because this has become my standard breakfast.  But the menu makes sense; the peanut part is high in protein, the butter part keeps me feeling full until noon.  And the whole grains do all sorts of wonderful things you can read about elsewhere.   But the secret to the comfort breakfast is coffee with cream, at least with half-and-half.  Don't even think about offering me skim milk, and someone clever should find a real use for non-dairy creamer. (Read about the multiple health benefits of peanut butter and coffee.)

This morning I need an extra boost, so I go to a coffee shop.  It's a local place, which over the past few years has cloned itself and now exists in other neighborhoods around Madison.  I go for the good coffee.  But looking around the shop I see it brokers in all kinds of comfort items.  Its variety of flavored dark chocolate bars is extensive.  Cocoa is known to stimulate feelings of pleasure and well-being, and the cocoa content on some of these bars is up to 82%.  Some bars even label themselves 'vigor' and 'harmonizing'.  Some bars are 'lavender' - as if suggesting I should bathe in them.  Who knows, maybe I haven't fully caught on to the concept of total comfort. (Read more about the health benefits of chocolate.) 

So the chocolate bars are on one side of the counter, and the truffles and pastries the size of Brett Farve's hand are in the middle of the counter display.  Space on the counter's right is devoted to single malt scotch's, sold by the glass or bottle. A full range of other liquors are sold in the back half of the shop.  Now this place sells comfort! 

Green Bay Packers Party Foods - Recipes for True Wisconsin Favorites

This Sunday, at 5:42 CST, the Green Bay Packers face off against the New York Giants for the NFC Championship game. Wisconsinites will be cheering on the Packers with field-tested, green-n-gold foods that scream GO PACK!

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I'm talking about our Wisconsin staples: beer, beef, brats, and cheese.

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Here's a party menu enjoyed by true Packer fans.

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These recipes can be found in Drink Your Beer and Eat It Too!  First, start the party with Two-cheese Beer Spread on crackers:

• 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 pound Swiss cheese, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 12-ounce can beer
• 1 5 3/4-ounce jar stuffed olives, chopped

Mix cheeses, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco sauce, adding beer last to moisten mixture to a spreadable consistency.  If mixture becomes dry, add more beer.  Add chopped olives.  Serve with assorted crackers.  Makes 2 cups.

Here's how to fry up your own cheese curds:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons peanut oil
• 1/2 cup beer
• 2 eggs, well-beaten
• 40-50  cheese curds
• Cooking oil to deep fry

Combine flour, baking powder, peanut oil, beer, and eggs; blend well.  Dip cheese curds in batter and drop into deep-fryer filled with about 3 inches of hot oil.  Brown one side; turn and brown other side.  Cook a total of 3-4 minutes.  Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.  May be salted lightly, if desired.  Makes 40-50 appetizers.

At your Packer party you'll want to be hanging out with your friends in front of the wide-screen.  So here's a recipe for Crocked Beef that you can fix way ahead of time.  The meat is cubed so no need for a knife to eat it.  This makes an easy and delicious main dish for folks to eat on their laps.

• 1 cup flour
• 3 pounds round steak, cubed
• 1 12-ounce can beer
• 1 1-ounce envelope onion soup mix
• 1 .87-ounce envelope brown gravy mix
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

Put flour in a bag and add meat; shake bag well to coat meat.  Combine beer and mixes in Crockpot; stir and add meat.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours; add mushrooms the last hour.  Delicious served over rice or noodles.  Serves 6.

Feeding Friendships with Gifts of Food - The Art of Holiday Reciprocity

On Christmas day, one of my closest friends unexpectedly stopped by and handed me an over-flowing, holiday-shopping bag stuffed with presents of chocolates, cookies, candies, and a lawn ornament.  I thanked her profusely, but inside I cringed, "Oh, no, I thought we weren't going to give each other gifts!"  For weeks now, we'd been commiserating about the stress of holiday shopping.  I'd figured we were such good friends that we didn't need to exchange presents to declare our friendship.  But, obviously, I was wrong; not wrong about being good friends, just wrong about needing to exchange gifts.

So while my kids distracted her, I dashed into the kitchen, ripped off the Christmas tag on a tin of pecans I had intended to give a neighbor, and slapped on it a new tag with my friend's name.  Sheepishly, I gave her the nut-filled tin, my expression apologetic for the meagerness of my gift in comparison to hers.  My friend gave me that common, sideways nod and friendly smirk that says, "You shouldn't have," to which I responded "Oh come on! Look at this," and gestured toward the shopping bag.

This isn't the first time I've been ambushed by wanton gift-giving.  And I bet anyone reading this post has been also.  No doubt, you know the moral of this story: Be prepared!  Have at-the-ready gifts anyone can enjoy.  (Although I suppose the two people I know with nut allergies wouldn't appreciate my pecans.  They're pretty predictable in their gift-giving, however.  And just in case, for them I've got holiday hand towels stashed in a bin in the basement.  I'd better get those wrapped up and stick blank tags on them.)  Yes, by being prepared, we take the panic out of the unexpected.

Now the only decision left to make is which gifts to have on hand.  I recommend foodstuffs.  Everyone eats and most people enjoy the activity.  Most foods are neither gender nor age specific, and thus can be offered to anyone who shows up.  This is in contrast to home decor items.  I don't think my husband would appreciate the holiday guest towels as much as his sister would.  Plus, non-perishable items must be stored and therefore require precious household space.  Food, on the other hand, if not claimed, can be enjoyed by you!  It's no big deal for me to have gift foods on hand.  I drink gourmet coffee and eat nuts every day.  My husband savors specialty cheeses, and my kids love party snacks, flavored pancakes, and summer sausages.  Yes, we're ready for anybody.

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Emily Post, I believe, would have a different opinion on how to handle unexpected gifts.  She would probably advise a warm and gracious 'thank you' followed by a hand-written note dropped in next-day's mail.  I admit, my generic gifts are tinged with the deceit of "Oh, and here's what I've got special for you!"

But I don't think just sending a note would rid me of my guilt for not reciprocating a friend's generosity.  Reciprocity is extremely important in maintaining friendships.  Without appreciative paybacks, an unreciprocated giver will begin to doubt the friendship.