Culinary Me Time

 After a few days of cooking and baking for everyone it's now time to take care of ourselves. It's time to either treat yourself to a good meal out or make something just for you. You've spent the last few days working like crazy making sure others eat well.It's time for yourself.

There are so many restaurants that you can visit right now. You can carry on the small shop weekend by visiting your local mom and pop eatery. Go to your favorite pizzeria or Chinese food. Get your  anchovy pizza that you've been craving or try the Drunken Noodle dish you've been wanting. Be adventurous too. Visit those eateries you've been wanting to try but have been held back by fussy or timid family and friends. Many towns and cities have off beat places too that specialize in certain cuisines like French or  Moroccan. Book a table for yourself and enjoy crepes Provencale or a chicken tangine.Bakeries are a must see if you're craving a flaky croissant or big buttery cookie. There are also some great candy stores if you want to feed a chocolate craving. Kilwin's a  homemade candy chain is expanding to towns throughout the US. Visit them if you want to try their caramel apples or hand dipped chocolates. Treat yourself to a box of buttery chocolate dipped caramels or brittle, creamy melt in your mouth fudge or a big piece of nutty chocolate bark. You deserve these goodies after working long hours prepping and cooking.

Indulge yourself at home of you don't want to leave your cozy couch. Let the family head to the movies or the park. Get lost in that book you've been meaning to read, sipping your favorite cup of tea and nibbling on your favorite cookies. If you're still in a baking mood, then go easy with Pillsbury's Slice And Bakes. The company now offers gingerbread, peanut butter and candy cane flavors for  Christmas. Their chocolate chips and sugar cookie slice and bakes are still a good choice and perfect for just having to yourself. You can also make yourself a quick and tasty mug cake. All this is is your favorite mug and a mix. You can make it yourself with just a quarter cup of flour , a quarter cup of sugar and just a tiny eighth of a cup of baking powder. There's no eggs needed, Just add the liquids of canola oil, water and vanilla extract. You can add cocoa for a chocolate treat or chocolate chips and a pinch of brown sugar for a chocolate chip one.Don't wan all that work? Then just use Duncan Hines packets that even now have icing too. Want something more substantial, then indulge in a steak with herbed butter. This is a great dinner for one, Have it on slices of Italian or French bread. Use your air fryer to indulge in stuffed portabellos or fried chicken.

You've worked too hard these past few days. It's time to treat yourself. eat out or stay in with your favorite foods and snacks. You deserve it!!!

The Perfect Cookbook For Young Home Chefs

 Home schooling kids right now is not fun. Yet imagine a fun and tasty way to do so. A new cookbook has come out and it makes not only kitchen work a learning experience but also a fun intro to home cooking  and baking. It's a great way to bring out the home chef in your kinds.

The book is Kitchen Explorers :60 + Recipes, Experiments And Games For Young Chefs (American's Test Kitchen 2020) and written by the chefs and writers at the great PBS show, America's Test Kitchen. Like the show it's filled with informative facts about all different aspects of cooking and baking. This is primarily a tween book, perfect for ten to thirteen year olds but younger kids with an interest in cooking will also enjoy it. As with their other cookbooks, America's Test Kitchen has a section on cooking terms defined. There is also a page on defining terms associated with experimentation.This is not a traditional recipe book with chapters on breakfasts and lunches . Rather , it has  the first chapter on a variety of  diverse kid friendly recipes plus make it your way challenges. The second chapter is devoted to science experiments and the third has a wide variety of puzzles and games, that not only expand a child's knowledge of food but also their vocabulary as well. It really is a fun book,Kids can learn how to make their own sea salt (!) just by combining kosher salt and plain water. There's a taste and smell test involving Jelly Belly jelly beans along with an experiment involving butter and water. The games are neat too.Kids can design their idea of a food truck or their perfect meal. There are quizzes about fruits and vegetables and foods' origins as well as a foodie version of "I Spy".

Are the recipes hard? No, and they can be made easy with adult supervision. There are such after school classics as peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips and giant chocolate chip cookies.Kids will love the amped up version of Rice Krispie Treats (along with the history of both the cereal and the treats themselves) that include chocolate chips and broken graham crackers. For a fancier snack there is the pesto flatbread pizza that introduces kids to such diverse foods as pesto and naan bread. Traditional recipes such as meatballs and sauce are also included for young chefs to make for a hearty dinner.Even more fun is the one for bean and cheese quesadillas that only require four ingredients. A plus is that the recipe includes a rhyming game involving  the ingredients. These dishes can be topped off with the fudgy mug cake for dessert. This is a take on the commercial mixes and it's rich in chocolate thanks to the addition of chocolate chips and cocoa. A side bar has kids writing down their observations about the cakes and how they went from liquid to solid in no time. Kids can also appreciate the recipe for old fashioned blueberry muffins that teaches them about traditional baking. There are also fun snack recipes for buttered popcorn, yogurt parfaits and smoothies. Young home chefs can also make their own no bake energy bites and wash it down with the recipe for flavored seltzers.

Kitchen Explorers : 60 + Recipes, Experiments, And Games For Young Chefs is the perfect book for kids learning from home these days. It teaches kids not only how to cook but about science and geography. It's the perfect tool not only young home chefs but students too.