Edible Antics - Having Fun With Food

Korean Kimbap - A Healthy, Easy-to-Make Lunch for Kids on the Go in Wisconsin

In previous posts, I've celebrated Wisconsin's German, Swiss, and Irish heritage by featuring foods from these cultures. Today Wisconsin is energized with other immigrant groups settling here, - Mexican, Asian, African, and Eastern European. Traditional foods from these ethnic groups are becoming staples on Wisconsin tables. The Wisconsin table is expanding into a delicious global smorgasbord. What an exciting time to eat!

The excellence of the University of Wisconsin attracts people from every country. When I attended UW-Madison, I was blessed to become great friends with Kyong A from South Korea. Her daughter is the same age as my son, Dave. They went to pre-school together, and Dave often played in their home. Dave LOVES Korean cooking! And Kyong A, recognizing that Dave preferred her cooking to mine, often gave us care packages of Korean staples like kimchi, potato pancakes packed with vegetables, and, of course, kimbap. Kimbap is Korean-style sushi, (Kyong A pronounces it 'kimbob'). Kyong A's kimbap is so tasty we all began to crave it, so she taught me how to make it.

Kyong A places a sheet of toasted, salted seaweed on a bamboo mat and then on the seaweed, she spreads white rice (flavored with a dash of sesame oil and sesame seeds). On the rice, she lays strips of pickled burdock root, ham, and cucumber. Using the mat, she tightly rolls up the seaweed, then cuts the seaweed roll cross-wise into bite-size pieces. But Kyong A will be the first to tell you that any food can get rolled into kimbap. Whatever is on hand is fair game: mock crab, hot dog, hard-boiled egg, avocado, or carrot.

In a literal pinch, nothing but rice gets rolled into kimbap, which means kimbap can be a fast, healthy food to eat on the go. Kyong A demonstrated this when she and I chaperoned the pre-school class on a field trip to an apple orchard. On the school bus, I sat with Dave and Kyong A's daughter, Erin. Kyong A sat a few rows behind us with her one-year-old son. After a few minutes on the road, a little tray was passed from seat to seat behind us and arrived in our row. The tray was laden with rice wrapped in seaweed; Kyong A had had a typical hurried morning, and here was Erin's breakfast. Kyong A was back there, rolling kimbap on her lap on the school bus. (She's so proficient, she doesn't need a mat to do it.) Erin and Dave devoured the kimbap. We sent the tray back across the rows for more. Within minutes, it returned to us refilled. One more time, the tray was emptied, passed back, then replenished and returned. I had never eaten sushi on a bus before. I was impressed.

I describe this scene to suggest kimbap be considered by busy folks looking for fast, easy, healthy foods that travel well. Kimbap is perfect for lunch boxes! So I am submitting my quick-version of kimbap to Coffee and Vanilla's Wholesome Lunchbox food-blogging event. In Margot's previous lunchbox events, people submitted sushi for kids which looked fantastically delicious. Thus, I realize I'm not original in this suggestion. However, I offer my pictures to demonstrate how kid-friendly, and cook-friendly, lunch-box sushi/kimbap can be. Definitely not fancy, my kimbap was practical. I made it last night, and used the day's left-overs that I know my pre-schooler likes.

On the seaweed, I spread the rice leftover from dinner, sprinkled some toasted sesame seeds on it, and on the rice, placed cut up left-over hot dogs from Dave's lunch. (They still had a bit of ketchup on them. I wondered how the ketchup would go with the rice. But Dave likes ketchup and he likes rice, so I figured maybe the two together would pass mustard.) Then I rolled it all up with my mat. I know Dave likes seaweed a lot! So as an afterthought, I rolled it all again in a second piece of seaweed. Then I cut the roll cross-wise and placed the pieces in a plastic container.

Wisconsin Bratwursts, Chicago Hot Dogs, German Weisswursts - It's Time to Light the Grill and Slap on the Sausages!

It's spring break and the kids and I are visiting family in Chicagoland, which means we're not technically in the city, but we're minutes away from its border and absolutely everything we eat, drink, do, and read is influence by the city. This cultural wonderland has captivated my children: "Mom! There are SO MANY kid TV shows! You won't believe it! Arthur is on in the morning AND at night." I try to get them outside, but after one walk around the block they come back in. "There's nothing to do, Mom. There's no snow!"

No snow...I pause to appreciate this long-awaited news. I'm almost giddy. Perennials are poking up in Mom's garden. My dad is grilling. Last night I marinated chicken using Mom's recipe for Lemon Barbecued Chicken. It turned out fantastic! - moist with a nice lemon accent. I'll post the recipe on the side page: Everyday dinners easy enough to cook every day.

Will snow be past and perennials present when we return to Wisconsin tomorrow? Not likely. But folks may be grilling. Wisconsinites start lighting charcoal when temperatures approach 50 degrees. Yes, bratwurst season is dawning!

I like bratwursts - especially in a bun with mustard that's piled high with sauerkraut. I especially like sauerkraut. If you don't think you do, try a different brand - they are NOT all alike.

My husband, John, likes brats too, but the two years he lived in Chicago during his salad days left an indelible mark on him, - he prefers Chicago-style hot dogs. He makes them at home according to a very strict recipe. It's the same recipe adhered to by Chicago-style hot dog connoisseurs Mitch and Kevin of Hot Dog Chicago Style.com. John knows these hot dog guys and for a short time joined their quest for the BEST Madison Chicago dog. For a while, they most favored the Chicago dogs served off the cart at Home Depot - the Home Depot at the junction of the Beltline and Verona Rd. Passionate quests for the ultimate Chicago dog are common for Chicagoans transplanted to Wisconsin. Even our busy, former Madison mayor, Paul Soglin, has hit the streets searching for a true Chicago-style hot dog. Like most Chicagoans, he is a self-elected expert on the subject. You can read his favorable critique of one contender that he found on a Madison street-cart. 

Children Welcome Spring by Petting Lambs and Chicks on A-Z Farms!

Spring's here! And one of our 'Bring-in-the-spring' rituals is to visit A-Z Farms outside Madison, WI. Several Sundays every spring the Antoniewicz family opens the barn doors of their working sheep farm to let the young-at-heart pet sheep, lambs, chicks, rabbits, pigs, and horses. Children will see lambs being born and cared for by their mothers, and older lambs romp with their friends over bales of hay.

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Members of the Antoniewicz family and their friends walk throughout the barn explaining how the sheep are kept healthy and happy.

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Visitors can watch wool being shorn from the sheep, cleaned, and then spun on spinning wheels. Wool products are also for sale by local craftspeople. Over the years we have purchased two, high-quality, wool blankets, one sheep skin (which the kids and pets love to snuggle on), and a variety of hand-knit hats, and sweaters. We have also purchased lots of honey. In the back-room a bee keeper shows her bee colony in a special observation box, and explains the art of bee-keeping to the children as they suck on sweet honey sticks.

As we depart an hour or two later, we purchase frozen lamb that we likely met on the farm the previous spring. Thus, despite my children's urban lifestyle, they are blessed to know first hand where food comes from. We understand that the food which gives us life was once a life itself. Food is a gift, and we are thankful.

This Sunday, from 10:00 to 4:00, is the last Sunday the barn will be open to the public without a reservation. Throughout the year the family gives educational tours to school groups and even offers the farm as a site for educational birthday parties. So if you can't stop by the farm this Sunday, check out the farm's website to see when else you might visit. The photos shown here were taken from their website. Click on the link to view more photos of the sheep farm in operation.

Or click below to see my easy recipe for ground lamb balls flavored with a cucumber, mint yogurt sauce. Yummm....

D is for Dog!-Teaching Kids the Alphabet by Baking Treats for the Dog

It's March 24, -which means Labor Day is exactly 23 weeks away, which means Dave goes to kindergarten in exactly 23 weeks plus 1 day. Have I taught him his alphabet yet as I had resolved to do weeks ago? No. Lauren (age 8) and I had made an initial, strong attempt with our weekly 'special letter of the day' parties. The side bar page, Cooking with the ABC's, shows the recipes and pictures from our A is for Apples, B is for Banana Bread, and C is for Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies parties. OK, we celebrated three of the letters, (which he happened to know anyway), 23 letters to go. We can just make it. 

So today is D-Day! "D is for Dave!" my 5-year-old announces and climbs into the large cardboard box into which we gather items beginning with D. Lauren tries to get him to write upper and lower case D's which we then tape to the door. Her D's are multi-colored and flourished, but Dave isn't overly interested, which accounts for why we hold letter of the day parties to begin with. Instead, he announces we must bake Dog biscuits for the Dog, because Dog starts with D!

So, I get out the Make your own Healthy Doggie Biscuits Book (c. 2007, Ivy Press Limited) that my husband gave me for Christmas. (Diamonds also start with D, but....) The cookbook comes with three cookie cutters: bone; dog house, and fire hydrant. I choose the hypoallergenic recipe for honey oat cookies.

Recipe for Twisted Easter Egg Bread Rings - An Edible Easter Centerpiece Enjoyed On Wisconsin Farms

"If you want people to enjoy the food you cook, you have to enjoy cooking it."

Darlene Kronschnabel's mother would say this as she stood over a hot wood stove in her floral feed sack apron and bake 8 loaves of bread on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. There were lots of hungry people to feed on Darlene's farm, not only the immediate family, but hired hands, neighbors, and business associates, -anyone who happened to pass by at mid-day was invited to share the meal. "Times were hard" in Wisconsin in the 1930's  when Darlene was helping her mother and grandmother cook. The family moved from farm to farm as her father took a series of jobs as a tenant farmer before finally able to purchase his own farm. But surrounded by loving family and eating fresh, nourishing food with good friends and laughing over tall tales told by passer-bys, Darlene never felt poor, -even in the most uncertain of times.

Darlene describes growing up in rural Wisconsin, and raising fruits, vegetables, and livestock. Her recipes for farm food reveal the flavor of her life and give a taste of the time. Some recipes arrived in Wisconsin with her Hungarian grandmother, and others came in recipe swaps with neighboring farm women. Darlene writes that on the farm, what folks ate changed with the seasons. She describes this cycle of tastes through recipes and stories in her book, Seasons in a Country Kitchen Cookbook.

I happened upon Darlene's stories when I renewed my search for an edible Easter centerpiece. I found Darlene's recipe for Twisted Easter Egg Bread Rings, -a holiday bread that looks festive as a centerpiece and is fun to make with kids. But before I hurried into the kitchen, I read Darlene's description of Easter on the farm. My urgency dissipated, and I read her other stories as well. The stories made me re-think the rushed 'quick-n-easy' recipes I favor in this hurried 21st century. I decided it's time to get back to basics, -time to bake bread. I haven't baked bread in years, -so here goes. Here's Darlene's recipe for Twisted Easter Egg Bread Rings and pictures of my attempt to make them.  

Small-town Wisconsin Cheese-makers Win Big in the World Championship Cheese Contest! - Tour the Winners' Factory-Farms for a Fun, Wisconsin Day-trip!

Last week the World Championship Cheese Contest happened in Madison, Wisconsin where Wisconsin cheese makers won 72 awards (31.2 %). Twenty-seven of these were for Best in Class! Check out The Cheese Underground for descriptions of the contest, and read Wisdairy.com's list of the winners.

An enjoyable, Wisconsin day-trip which entertains both kids and visiting relatives is a tour of a local cheese factory. Our family has had great fun touring the Roth Kase Company in Monroe, Wisconsin and the Cedar Grove Cheese factory in Plain, Wisconsin. Our tour guides, who were actually the cheese-makers themselves taking a break to talk with us, showed us step-by-step how they transform milk into the many different kinds of cheeses. Then of course we ate fresh samples of all the delicious varieties. 

Now I read that these companies won Best in Class awards in THE international cheese competition. I'm not surprised, I know their cheeses are excellent. But, it's a bit like learning that your neighbor just won a beauty contest. You always knew she was a knock-out, but...well, she's your neighbor. I think I've under-appreciated our local talent.

It's time to wake up and taste the cheese!

So as we begin to plan fun summer get-aways, we've added artisan cheese factories to our list of sites to visit. I've ordered a free map from Wisdairy.com that shows the location of the artisan cheese makers in Wisconsin. Wisconline.com lists all the cheese makers that give tours. And with our van packed with healthy travel snacks we'll be ready to go! - as soon as the snow melts.

Meanwhile, I'll be cooking with cheese. Madison's Eldorado Grill is one of our favorite restaurants. It brings back tastes and memories from our years lived in Colorado. The Eldorado Grill's Four Cheese Chiles Rellenos are excellent! I'm posting this rellenos recipe on the side-page MORE Recipes with Brats, Beer, and Cheese.

Car Snacks - Packing Food for a Roadtrip with the Kids

Spring break is travel time! In 4 days, we'll be traveling to visit my family outside Chicago, and I'll be loading up the car with luggage, kids, toys, pets, and FOOD! Over the years, I have created a list of do's and don't's for packing car snacks. In the spirit of encouraging sane driving among fellow parents driving young kids to distant places, I am sharing my list.

1. DO PACK SNACKS! And keep them in the car - always, else your headache will start when you're still minutes from home. Seat belts are correlated with hunger, and inevitably, some child will declare s/he is perishing from starvation (it won't matter that you fed them before you left). Pack the snacks in a plastic box with a lid so the dog won't eat them.

2. STRATEGICALLY POSITION THE SNACK BOX - Place the snack box next to the eldest child so s/he can pass snacks to the younger ones. If no child is old enough for this responsibility, then keep the box next to the driver's seat. In this case, pack snacks that make good projectiles so that you can easily fling them to the malnourished child. Aerodynamics needn't be overly considered. Just adjust your throw to the food type: A light toss backwards over the shoulder for thick, rectangular foods such as granola bars; a sideways flick of the wrist for flat foods like graham crackers. Don't worry, your aim will improve with practice and meanwhile you'll amuse your kids.

3. SNACKS SHOULD HAVE A RELATIVELY LONG SHELF LIFE - AT LEAST SEVERAL DAYS TO YEARS. If you pack fragile perishables, you'll be spending time you don't have re-stocking your snack box. 

4. SUGGESTED FOODS -

• FOODS THAT CONTAIN MINIMAL LIQUID AND RESIST SQUISHING, such as dried fruits, nuts, granola bars, animal crackers, and fruit snacks.

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• FOODS THAT CONTAIN MORE PROTEIN THAN SUGAR. When kids eat high-protein, low-carb snack bars they don't get sugar-buzzed, which means they don't scream and try to escape from their seats. Plus, the protein keeps them feeling full longer, and aids their growth. Cheese sticks and cheese curds are also good travel snacks, but lose points on the perishable scale.

5. FOODS TO AVOID - Don't pack the following unless you want to add pattern to the upholstery:

• CRUMBLY FOODS, such as muffins, sugar cookies, croissants, light, flaky crackers or chips, or goldfish (goldfish disintegrate on road-trips)
• FOODS WITH COATINGS, such as cheese popcorn, powdered-sugar donut holes, frosted cookies, anything with sprinkles
• FOODS THAT MELT. Of course, I mean the obvious, like Popsicles and ice cream bars, but even chocolates can be disastrous on a warm day.

Perhaps you are reading this list thinking, "I'd never pack those unhealthy foods. I'm a conscientious parent who only gives children wholesome foods. Plus, I have time to keep my box packed with fresh snacks." Well, perhaps you do. But let me warn you about fresh fruit.

Prayer for the Cook on St. Patrick's Day, adapted from the old Irish Blessing

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, I looked up the old Irish Blessing I'd so often read at our local Irish tavern. It goes:

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I guess not enough Irish people pray for me because here in Wisconsin the sun shines on my face only half the year, wind blows from every direction, and I'm usually climbing up the road, not down. Thus, this Irish image of perfect days seems contrary to my experience in the kitchen.

True, all kitchens sparkle from time to time, but rarely when work's being done in them. The working kitchen's floor is spattered and sticky. Counters are disheveled with spilled ingredients and the clutter of dripping utensils, dirty bowls, pots, pans, and plates. Creation is happening in the working kitchen, and it's never pretty. But through the stirring, beating, and blasting with heat, foods are transformed. They become something wonderful, nourishing, and savory, - in the same way as does their cook.

The seasoned chef may produce foods that look and taste perfect, but not because they were perfectly prepared. Recovery is the master chef's silent skill. Through practice, s/he learns how to make do with what's on hand, extinguish fires, and salvage swill. And the cook's secret? - It's not technique, just calm twists of attention. Tilt the head and things look different.

So, here's my St. Patrick's Day prayer for all cooks, whether they work in a kitchen or elsewhere:

May you discard the spoiled food in the 'fridge before it starts to ooze.

When the pot on the stove boils over, may the spilt broth loosen the grime beneath the burner.

May the coat grow shiny on the faithful dog that licks up the egg that dropped on the floor.

May you smile and cheer 'How invigorating the fresh, cold air!' when you open windows in winter to clear smoke from the oven.

And when the meal is an irreparable disaster and no sweet flavors in the food can be detected, may you serve it anyway to good friends with honesty and hearty helpings of humor.

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So in keeping with today's St. Patrick's Day theme of recovery, below I'm posting this recipe for Shepherd's Pie that I discovered in the Cancer Survival Cookbook.   

Decorating for Easter with Bouncing Bunnies and Soggy Rabbits

"That's quite a few bouncing bunnies!" I overheard Renee remark.

"It sure is." confirmed Vicki.

"Where are they all going?" questioned Linda.

"Indiana."

"Indiana? Will they make it in time?"

"Yes, they're hurrying on their way right now."

"The bouncing bunnies have been in demand," added Katie.

"Yes," Renee said, "More will be shipping out tomorrow."

Not knowing exactly what bouncing bunnies are, and admittedly not overly-inquisitive about the matter, I absent-mindedly conjured images of rabbits, with pastel-ribboned collars, hopping through Wisconsin fields and along roadsides. I imagined legions of lagamorphs marching on Indiana. "Yes," I thought, "This is a crazy business. We're experiencing a bunny surge."

I finally saw a picture of a bouncing bunny when Katie featured them on the Easter page. "Oh, they're chocolate!" I shouldn't have been surprised; in the back of my mind, I knew Wisconsinmade.com didn't traffic in live animals. But it did surprise me, and get me thinking.

"What a fun centerpiece for the Easter table." I thought. Usually, I put a flower arrangement between the candles on the table. But the idea of using a special Easter food was aesthetically and gastronomically appealing. I knew a fun food arrangement would excite the kids. What other foods would look nice as a centerpiece? So I started searching through our food site, ("keeping 'current' with our site is part of my job," I justify). Then I found Kransekager which is a tower of almond sugar cookies that arrives in pieces and you assemble it like a puzzle. "That looks fun!" I thought, but then mused, "Why don't the kids and I make something like that ourselves?..What a good project!"

So yesterday when both kids were home mildly ill, but still bouncing a bit like bunnies, I suggested we cook up some edible Easter centerpiece. "What do you want to make?" I enthusiastically asked.

"But Mommy, first we have to decorate the house for Easter!" My children have a sense of ordered priorities.

"All right," I sighed, going with the flow. We unpacked the large box of Easter decorations - the baskets, the plastic eggs, the window clings, and the plastic grass that spreads like weeds throughout the house. Then Lauren and Dave began gathering up all the stuffed bunnies and chicks which they had received from loving relatives in Easters past. And that's when we got completely sidetracked.

Easter Dinner: Whether Ham or Lamb, Make it Easy and Elegant and Stop Worrying About the Bunny!

Easter is now less than two weeks away and it has occurred to me that the 2 feet of snow in my backyard may not be melted in 13 days. So how am I going to make my size 7 1/2 boot tracks in the snow resemble those of a small rabbit's? Even if I hopped, the tracks would look like Godzilla-bunny's. And the children would have new nightmares for Easter. Can I hide the eggs and not leave any tracks? I doubt it. Should I just run around my yard willy-nilly leaving tracks everywhere the day before? Then the tracks would not appear out of place, nor lead to specific locations of the eggs. Ugh - the effort.

I think I'll switch to thinking about food and planning the Easter menu. Usually I serve a spiral ham. Nothing's easier than a pre-glazed, pre-cut ham. And it's really good, everybody in our house likes it. It looks elegant for company, and the left-overs are versatile enough to be used in sandwiches, casseroles, or soups.

But this year, I want something different. I remember a few years ago my mom served a crowned lamb. It had such a commanding presence on the table, was fabulously delicious and, most importantly to my mom, was very easy to prepare. We still talk about this meal. So my thoughts this Easter are heading in the lamb direction.

I've been looking through some gourmet cookbooks and found two lamb recipes that look awesome. The recipe for Rosemary Baked Rack of Lamb sounds relatively easy. The Leg of Lamb in Herb Sauce looks scrumptious, but would take a little more time in the kitchen. I'm going to give both recipes here, and continue vacillating over which to prepare.

For me, musing about food is easier than imitating wildlife. Who knows, I may get lucky, -it'll rain instead of snow, and so we'll let the Easter bunny come inside to hide the eggs.