I’ve been a negligent blogger this summer! My apologies. Now that my new cookbook, Easy Meals to Cook with Kids, is off to the printers (yeah!), I will be able to write more frequently. I look forward to sharing recipes from the cookbook and tips on how to turn kids into veggie lovers over the next few months. (It will be on sale soon - I will keep you posted.)

Since Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is around the corner, I thought I’d share a challah recipe that I’ve been teaching for many years. Challah is a braided egg bread served on the Jewish Sabbath and holidays. On Rosh Hashanah, people typically create a round-shape challah to represent the “head” of the new year. They also add raisins to make sure it’s a SWEET new year!

Even if you don’t celebrate Rosh Hashanah, I highly recommend this recipe - it’s absolutely delicious fresh out of the oven and once it’s a little stale, it makes wonderful French toast. It’s a one-bowl recipe and although you can certainly allow the dough to rise twice, you can get away with letting it rise only once. If you want to add whole wheat flour, just make sure half the flour is still white otherwise it will be too dense. Some of my students like King Arthur’s White Whole Wheat Flour which is organic.

Don’t be intimidated by the idea of working with yeast! If you’re unsure how to “proof” yeast (allowing it become frothy), buy a cheap candy thermometer to gauge the temperature of the water - it should be around 105-110 degrees F. If it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, it won’t “grow.” I recommend proofing yeast in class - I find that it prefers glass over metal.

If you’re unsure how to knead dough, here is excerpt from my book, Easy Meals to Cook with Kids, on how I teach kids to knead:

“This is an oversimplified explanation for a fast-moving technique, but it’s helpful for kids to have a step-by-step method that they can repeat to themselves during the task. Once the dough is in a ball, have them Fold, Press, Turn.

1) Fold over the top half of the dough
2) Press with the heels of their palms
3) Turn the dough halfway around the surface
Keep repeating this process for 3-5 minutes.”

If you’d like to watch a video on how to prepare a round challah (versus braided), check out this clip from the Today Show where I teach Al Roker how to make challah for the new year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best Ever Challah

Yeast mixture:

1 cup warm water
1 package yeast (or 2 ¼ teaspoon yeast)
1 teaspoon sugar

Dough:

1/3 cup canola oil
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 ¾ - 4 cup flour (or up to 4 ½ cups total if dough is very sticky)
poppy or sesame seeds
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
½  cup raisins (optional)

1.    In a small bowl or measuring cup, add water to yeast and sugar.  Stir.  Let stand for up to 10 minutes. Water should be around 105-110 degrees F.
2.    In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, salt, eggs and 2 cups of flour.  Stir in yeast mixture.
3.    Gradually stir in remaining flour.  Dough will be sticky.
4.    Place dough on lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, adding flour as needed.  Dough will feel silky and smooth.
5.    Put dough in lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 to 1 ½  hours.
6.    Punch down dough and knead in raisins.

FOR A ROUND CHALLAH

1.     On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a very smooth 24-inch long “snake” of even thickness.
2.    Bring one end around to form a circle that is about 5 inches in diameter.
3.     Continue winding the rest of the snake on top of the circle so that it spirals inward and upward, finishing in the center.
4.     Tuck the end of the snake into the center.

FOR BRAIDED CHALLAH

7.    Divide into 3 equal sections.
8.    Roll each section into equal strands, pinch 3 strands together at one end and braid.
9.    Place dough on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Brush with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with seeds.
10.    Preheat oven to 375.
11.    While oven preheats, dough can go through a second rise (can be 30-45 minutes for final rise) or skip second rise altogether.
12.    Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

Original recipe by Judy Genack Matthews, adapted by Julie Negrin

It’s been a busy summer so far. I’ve been doing a lot of teaching which has been wonderful. One of my jobs is teaching teenagers how to cook through a new camp at the 92nd Street Y called Passport NYC Camps and the other was teaching for Dr. Oz’s non-profit HealthCorps for the third summer in a row. Teaching the teen camp cemented my belief that the key to better eating is refining the palate. By the end of each three-week session, my teens became food snobs - sub-par food and snacks just aren’t as appealing after being exposed to stellar home-cooking! More on that later….

I’m also excited to announce that my cookbook, Easy Meals to Cook with Kids, is nearly done! It should be on sale next month. I can’t wait to share it with you.

All these exciting things means that I haven’t had much time to blog! So, I decided to share a canning recipe with you from a terrific book, Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone. There are lots of great canning books on the market - I recommend finding one that suits your needs and taste buds. I didn’t get this blog post up in time to support Canning Across America’s annual summer event - but you can visit their site for more information about food preservation and how to host your own canning party.

This is an excerpt and recipe from Eugenia Bone’s, Well-Preserved. There are also some mouthwatering recipes for Figs in Brandy, Strawberry Balsamic Jam, Cherries in Wine, and Spiced Apples. I chose the apricot recipe because they are in season now. Eugenia not only shares her expert tips on how to preserve and can, she also includes wonderful recipes on how to cook with them throughout the year. What I like best about her book is that she writes her recipes like a cooking teacher - she explains things in the middle of the recipe and they are easy to follow.

I’m eyeing the Ricotta Balls Stuffed with Apricot Amaretto Jam and the Apricot Almond Shortbread…but first, here’s how to make the jam:

Apricot Amaretto Jam

“Of all the fruit jams and marmalades I make, this one is particularly versatile, I suppose because the apricot taste crosses the sweet and savory line with such finesse. It is equally good mixed into barbecue sauce or combined with whipped cream to make a fool. I have to confess I also prefer this jam because it is so easy to prepare the fruit; just split the apricots in half with a knife and flip out the pits. You don’t have to peel them, as the skins are tasty and delicate.

Apricots, which are available in Juy and August, are high in acidity, making this product safe for water bath processing. Because this recipe calls for a short water bath process, you have to sterilize the jars first. The citric acid will help hold the beautiful orange color of the fruit. The jars will keep in a coo, dark place for up to one year. If, after a few months, you notice the apriocts discolor at the top of the jar, don’t worry. This happens when excess air gets trapped in a jar, usually because of an air bubble or because there was too much headspace in the jar. If your seal is good, the food is fine.”

4 cups pitted and chopped apricots (about 3/4 pound)
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon citric acid (I use Fruit Fresh)
1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter
3 to 4 tablespoons amaretto

Combine the apricots, sugar, and citric acid in a large, heavy pot and heat over medium-low heat until sugar melts. Pay attention and stir often, because sugar burns easily. Once the sugar is melted, turn up the heat to medium and bring the apricots to a boil. Add the butter. Apricots tend to foam up as they boi, and if the foam spills over on to your stove youwill have quite a mess on your hands. Butter keeps the foam down. Skim off any foam that does form. Cook the apricots, uncovered, at a brisk but not riotous boil. After the first 5 minutes, you will notice that the apricots look thin and soupy. Keep boiling for 15 minutes longer. They will thicken up.
You are basically boiling off the water in the fruit. Stir periodically to make sure that the apricots don’t stick. Take the apricots off the heat and stir in the amaretto to taste.

Bring 4 half-pint jars and their bands to a boil in a large pot of water fitted with a rack. Boil for 10 minutes. The lids are only simmered in a small pan of hot water, to soften the rubberized flange. Remove the jars with tongs (the tongs don’t need to be sterilized). When the jars are dry but still hot, spoon the apricots into jar with a slotted spoon, leaving 1/2 to 3/4 inch headspace. (If your apricots were very juicy to start wtih, you may have extra juice. You can refrigerate it, or boil it down to a thick syrup and can the syrup the same way you do the jam. It is great poured over ice cream and pancakes.) Wipe the rims, set on the lids, and screw on the bands fingertip tight.

Place the jars in a big pot with a rack in the bottom. Add enough water to cover the jars by 3 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to medium and gently boil the jars for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, allow the jars to rest in the water for 5 minutes or so, and the remove. Allow the jars to cool, untouched, for 6 hours. Right away you will hear the popping sound of the vacuum seal as the jars cool down.

Check the seals. Store in a dark, cool place for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening.

Recipe from Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone

Two of my favorite foods in the whole wide world are bananas and avocados. But when one of my HealthCorps students, Sarah Frank, told me that she was combining them into one dish for a cooking contest with her high school students, I couldn’t help but be skeptical. When it comes to certain dishes, I’m a purist - and guacamole is one of them.

I’m happy to report that I was completely wrong. Sarah and her co-worker did a terrific job of creating a creamy banana avocado masterpiece.

The contest was finding a way to incorporate bananas (the secret ingredient) into two savory dishes, which is not so easy to do! Both recipes turned out delightful. Although they have a lot of steps, they are worth the time and energy. The final combination of the different flavors and fresh ingredients is tantalizing to the taste buds.

Viva La Nana (Sweet Quesadillas with Cilantro Pesto and Banana Avocado Dip)

Cilantro Pesto Sauce

1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 bunches cilantro, washed, stems removed
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime (about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Quesadilla

1 red pepper, chopped
1 green peppers chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 bananas, chopped
12 oz grated Monterey Jack Cheese (or one 12 oz bag of Fiesta Blend cheese)
9 flour or corn tortillas
Salt and pepper to taste
Cumin to taste

Banana Avocado Dip

1 very ripe banana
2 ripe avocados
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 jalapeno, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon cumin (or more to taste)

METHOD

Cilantro Pesto
Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Quesadilla

Heat olive oil in a small sauté pan.  When hot, add onions and peppers.  Saute for 2 minutes and add bananas.  Saute one more minute. Take quesadilla filling off of heat. Spread sautéed vegetable filling on one tortilla.  Sprinkle with cheese and any desired spices. Cover with another tortilla. Heat large sauté pan and add ½ tsp. oil.  Cook quesadilla until cheese begins to melt and tortilla is golden brown and crispy.

Avocado Dip

Remove pit from avocado and scoop out fruit into a bowl.  Peel bananas and break into a few pieces. Add bananas to avocado bowl.  Mash bananas and avocados together with a fork or large spoon. Stir in jalapenos, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, and cumin to taste.

Cut quesadillas with a pizza cutter and plate with a drizzle of cilantro pesto and a scoop of avocado dip on top.

Recipes adapted by Sarah Frank and Lilit Suffet from: www.marthastewart.com and www.verybestbaking.com.
Serves 6-8

Caribbean Heat (Sweet Caribbean Chicken Curry)

1  lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes and rubbed with salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
5 shallots, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ habanero peppers, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon allspice powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
juice of 1 ½ limes
4 tablespoons dry white wine
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2-3 ripe bananas, diced
1 15 oz. can low-fat coconut milk
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
4 cups brown rice, cooked in advance

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a large sauté pan.  When oil is hot, add chicken with a few onions. Cook chicken until it is no longer pink inside.  Take chicken out of pan, and set it aside in a bowl for later.
2. Heat oil in a large pot. When oil is hot, add onions, shallots, and red pepper.  Sauté until onions have softened, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, chili pepper, bananas, and ginger.  Sauté until the garlic is soft, about 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Add the turmeric, allspice, coriander, cumin, lime juice, and white wine.  Stir to combine all ingredients.
5. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
6. Add coconut milk and tomatoes.  Partially blend with an immersion blender to thicken.
7. Add chicken back in.
8. Reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
9. Serve over brown rice.

Adapted by Sarah Frank and Lilit Suffet from: www.nevisblog.com

Intern for Nutritionist/Cooking Teacher/Cookbook Author
7/8/10

Are you passionate about food and dream of working in the culinary field? Nutritionist/Cooking Instructor /Cookbook Author seeking intern to assist me in growing my consulting business and marketing my new kids cookbook.  This is a unique opportunity to network with established chefs and food writers while learning how to become an entrepreneur. You must be a self-starter with superb organizational skills, excellent writing skills, and, ideally, some knowledge about food. The following skills are required: Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and tech-savvy (need to manage social media sites like Facebook and Twitter). Knowledge of short video editing is a plus (I plan to create a Youtube channel soon). This is an unpaid internship with the possibility of paid work in the near future (2-3 months). You can work from home. For now, approximately 6-10 hours per week.

Tasks include: setting up book signings and events, marketing new cookbook, researching grant opportunities, updating website, managing social media, uploading video content (and editing it, if possible), blogging (happy to give full credit), sending out monthly newsletter,  and general administration.

Please email your resume and cover letter to: julienegrin@gmail.com.

I just came across an article written by a colleague about cooking fathers. It discusses how dads don’t cook much. I guess the men I know aren’t part of the survey because I know plenty of dads who prepare meals for their families on a regular basis! And since it’s nearly Father’s Day, I thought I’d give a hats off to the many dads who do.

I’ve found that the main reason people don’t do a lot of cooking is that they find the process overwhelming. It’s always best to keep it simple! So, for fathers (and anyone else) looking for some dinner ideas that can be made quickly and/or easily, I created a short list of menu concepts. Whenever people are unsure how to come up with a menu, I suggest that they start with a cuisine or a theme and work from there. If you have an Asian noodle dish you want to make, round out the meal with some edamame and grilled chicken or tofu.

I called a friend in Seattle who cooks the majority of his family meals and asked him for his most popular dinners. All of these (with the exception of the Pad Thai) are extremely easy to pull together. Since he rarely cooks from a recipe, I searched online for similar dishes that look tasty, have good ratings, and don’t take long to prepare. The cherry tomato pasta dish is so easy that his 10 year old daughter often  makes it by herself!

Top Five Go-To Meals by Dad

1) Latin: Chicken Fajitas made with Green Peppers and Onions, served in Flour Tortillas with Homemade Guacamole

2) Seattle: Barbecued Salmon, served with Steamed or Grilled Asparagus with Butter, and a Baguette

3) Asian: Thai Dinner: Pad Thai and Coconut Red Curry with Shrimp or Tofu served with Sticky White Rice

4) Italian: Penne with Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Garlic, Olive Oil, and Parmesan Cheese

5) American: Flank Steak made with Soy Sauce, Red Wine, Honey, Garlic, Salt and Pepper (marinated for 24 hours) served with Caesar Salad, and Baked Potato or Rice Pilaf (or Grilled Corn in the summer)

I’m keeping this post short and sweet. Happy Father’s Day to all the incredible papas who take such care good care of their families. We love ya.

Never in a thousand years did I think volunteering in schools would land me at the White House. It has certainly be an exciting couple of weeks for children’s nutrition. Michelle Obama launched a new program called, “Chefs Move to Schools” at the White House on Friday, June 4th.  I was fortunate enough to be invited through Share Our Strength (SOS). It was an incredible honor to attend such a momentous event! Chefs are typically happy working behind-the-scenes so it was pretty awesome to see a crowd of humble chefs in their “whites” milling around the South Lawn of the White House.

We started the morning off with a breakfast hosted by SOS. The speakers included Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass. We then walked over to the White House where we proceeded through three checkpoints. We toured Michelle Obama’s organic garden before being seated to hear Chef Sam Kass and First Lady Michelle Obama speak on behalf of children.

I didn’t think I could admire Michelle Obama any more than I already did – but, WOW, I discovered that I could! She is not only advocating for kids health and opening the eyes of bureaucrats and calling out food corporations – she is also so dang COOL! The videos I shot of her are kind of shaky so here is a link to the “official” video. One of the best days ever. Read on to see what YOU can do to help improve the health of our nation’s kids.

To see more photos of my White House journey, visit my Facebook page.

On June 10th, Food Research Action Center (FRAC) organized a Lobby Day in Washington DC to advocate for the Child Reauthorization Act (CNR). This legislation is extremely important right now. It covers critical programs like School Lunch, Summer and Weekend Feeding Programs, and Women, Infant, and Children (WIC).  CNR is only up for re-signing every four or five years. If the Senate does not sign it soon, it will expire on September 30th and we’ll have to wait even longer to improve school lunches, increase funding for Farm to School, and fund all kinds of other programs that will help children receive access to food.

Farm to School/Community Food Security Coalition were kind enough to bring me down for Lobby Day last week. Chefs from around the country took time out of their busy schedule to fly to DC and lobby for the kids. I’m still very new to lobbying but I’ve already noticed how resigned many of the staffers (the people who work for members of Congress) appear in our meetings. After we started one particular meeting, where one staffer looked like she was ready to take a nap, two chefs walked in wearing their white chef coats, Bill Telepan (Telepan) and Jonathan Waxman (Barbuto and Top Chef Masters). You should have seen the staffer perk up! Suddenly, she was sharing stories about how her family shops at farm stands and what they like to cook together. This is why no matter what, my work will always involve sharing my love of cooking in some way or another. It’s the great common denominator, a tradition that every single human being on the planet shares. Now, if only we could get warring nations to cook a meal together….

It doesn’t surprise me that chefs are now championing children’s nutrition. Chefs are typically very energetic people who have one thing in common: they love nourishing others. Many of them have been working with children in the schools long before it became popular this past year. When Congressman George Miller announced his new bill for $8 billion for CNR (versus Blanche’s meager $4.5 billion) at a press conference on June 10th, it was chefs standing behind him. The troops supporting their leader standing strong in uniforms of chefs coats.

I know everyone is going a mile a minute these days but this is IMPORTANT. The healthier our kids, the healthier our nation. Please take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and call or email your representative - it’s very easy to email from the Healthy School Campaign website. Click here to EMAIL or click here to PHONE your representative. Thank you for supporting our kids!

To see more photos of Lobby Day, visit my Facebook page.

“If help and salvation are to come, they can only come from the children, for the children are the makers of men.” –Maria Montessori