Parantha fun!

Re-discovering a bit of India in the kitchen. Here's our favorite combination for making gobi parantha (flat bread stuffed with cauliflower), but it works just as well with potatoes, paneer, or any of your favorite combinations.

-Combine 1 cup of chapati flour with 1/3 cup water and a teaspoon of oil (optional) and knead until forms a soft ball.
-Roll dough out until flat and thin.
-Place a heaping tablespoon (or any desired amount) of a combination of grated cauliflower, garlic, salt, masala into the center of your dough.
-Fold the corners up over the stuffing and pinch the dough together to form a ball around the stuffing.
-Roll the ball out again until flat.
-Cook on an oiled griddle until brown.
Yum!

Happy Diwali everyone!

*Thanks Valerie for the photos!

Best Apple Crisp!

If you buy one new gadget this year/season, let it be an apple-corer-peeler-slicer! We've been having fun lately with ours coupled with all the apples we're getting in our own backyard.



Here's our favorite recipe for apple crisp, which freezes wonderfully for a fabulous winter dessert!


Our Best Apple Crisp

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together:
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar

Stir in until crumbly, a mixture of:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Arrange in a greased pan:
4-6 peeled and sliced apples.

Sprinkle with crumb topping.
Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. Serve warm.

Super Sand Clay!

(cross-posting from The Wondershop, because, well, it just seems appropriate :)




For a boy who has had a history of getting engrossed in sand play, has been forever fascinated by anyone who works with cement, sand or gravel, and has a most recent fascination with the art, science, and play of Ancient Egypt, working out a recipe that we could simulate stone blocks with has been a major coup!

Above is the recent game Zeal made with this sand clay, a coiled up snake waiting to be painted and played. (Rules yet to be determined)

Here's the recipe:

Super Sand Clay
3 cups sand
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
3 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 1/2 cups of hot water

Combine all ingredients in a wok or large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture becomes thick and heavy (several minutes). remove from heat and turn onto cookie sheet. Once mixture is cool, it will be able to be modeled. (Don't try to use it before it is cooled or you'll just get a sticky mess on the hands - spoken from experience)

I so wish I had a picture of him making this dough and the mess that ensued when he decided he needed to sift the sand with our various-sized strainers and funnels in stock in our kitchen. Oh well -- I have the experience!

And here's the new favorite book with one of the Pyramids of Giza, which has a remarkable resemblance to the texture of real stone blocks!



He's so proud of this feat of ancient architecture!

Concocting Creative Minds

Concocting Creative Minds: The Wonder of Potions and Other Experimental Mixtures

A perfectly mixed concoction conjures magic and intrigue. Developing an experimental mindset, the most important step in getting ready for creative thinking and problem solving, can be daunting. The task instantly becomes a bit easier when we step into the kitchen, onto the front porch, or in the bathtub for a bit of potion-making. Whether fizzy, smelly, gooey, tasty, or astonishing to witness, having the opportunity to mix, combine, and play with the reaction of a variety of materials is a wonder-filled way to concoct thinking, creativity, and fun...

Click here to read the rest of this piece as it is featured on VegFamily this month!