Literary Lunch: Jack-o-Lantern Bagels



The Legend of Spookley
the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano



We found Pumpkin spice cream cheese in the grocery store this week.  To get in the Autumn/Halloween mode we spread some on mini bagels and used a small pretzel stick for the stem and added facial features with mini letter shaped pretzels.  We also tried to make a “Spookley the Square Pumpkin”  by Joe Troiano by cutting whole wheat bread into a square .  To make them look more like they are in the pumpkin patch we added some lettuce leaves and parsley for a garnish.  Pair these simple pumpkin bagels with some apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon and enjoy with your favorite Halloween book!    



It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
by Charles M. Schulz



The Biggest Pumpkin Ever
by Steven Kroll



Literary Lunches: Mortimer’s First Garden – Sweet Sunflowers

Mortimer's First Garden by Karma Wilson, is a great book to read in the springtime!  Mortimer, a little mouse, learns about the miracle of God’s creation through a little sunflower seed.  He finds out that with a little sunlight, water and a lot of patience something amazing transforms his one seed into many, enough to have some to share with a friend!  My boys and I read this book and then enjoyed these tasty, sweet sunflowers.    



the day I photographed these we threw on some cheerios too
but they are not necessary



Ingredients:
mini bagel
peanut butter
banana
raisins
honey

Directions:

1.       Spread peanut butter on the mini bagel. 

2.       Slice the banana lengthwise and then into coins to create semicircles for the petals that are then arranged around the edge of the bagel (hanging half over the edge).

3.       Fill the center of the circle with raisins.

4.       Top it off with a swirl of sweet honey and enjoy with a cold glass of milk.

Truffula Tree Pencils

This week my son’s preschool is celebrating Dr. Suess’ Birthday.  My husband and I are big fans of Dr. Suess so I pulled a bunch of our books off the shelf and read them to our boys.  Many of these tales are familiar to them.  The Lorax, while a favorite of my husband, was not one that we had read to the boys much… yet.  Our oldest really liked it.  In fact, we’ve read it at least twice every day since it came down off the shelf last week!   A friend of mine made truffula tree pencils for her students and I immediately asked how she made them.  Some of hers were made with wool roving which I happened to have on hand from when my son and I made felted bead earrings for teachers at his school around Christmas time.  I was a little leery of gluing loose pieces of roving onto a pencil that I was handing to my preschooler so I took a few minutes to do a little wet felting of the wool first.  It’s relatively quick and easy, two requirements for doing crafts with preschoolers!  I was pleased with the outcome and my son loves tickling his cheek with the soft truffula tuft.  Hopefully when my son practices writing with his Truffula Tree Pencil he will be reminded of the tale of the Lorax and conserve paper!

Supplies:

Wool roving dyed in bright colors
Old Towel
Bubble wrap
Spray bottle with warm soapy water (a little soap goes a long way)
Waxed paper
Rolling pin
Glue or a hot glue gun
Yellow #2 Pencils
Black Fine Point Permanent Marker

Directions:1. Spread an old towel on your work surface. Place the bubble wrap with the bubbles facing up on top of the towel.  Separate the fibers of wool roving and fluff them.  If you are not familiar with working with wool roving, grab the piece of wool with your hands a few inches apart.  If you pull and the fibers don’t easily pull apart, your hands are too close together.  Lay the wool fibers directly on the bubble wrap. Layer the fibers until you have a nice thick layer that is about 6 inches long on the side where the ends of the fibers are lined up.  You can put a few fibers along the edge running them perpendicular to the other fibers to make your felted portion stronger.

2. Place a piece of waxed paper over the fibers leaving only the ends exposed (an inch or less).

3. Spray the exposed fibers until they are just damp.  Gently fold the bubble wrap over the wool fibers and wax paper.  Roll over the ends of the fibers with the rolling pin for about 30 seconds, rolling in different directions.  The bubbles in the bubble wrap act as little fingers massaging the wool fibers.  The warm water and friction from the bubble wrap make microscopic barbs on the wool fibers link together and tangle to create felt.

4. Peel back the bubble wrap the fibers should not look fluffy anymore.  

5. Fold the hairy ends over onto the rest of the wool and pat them, spraying if necessary so they stick.  Put the bubble wrap back over the fibers and roll the same as before for 30 seconds.  Peel back the bubble wrap.  Remove the wax paper flip the wool fibers over.  Cover the dry section with the waxed paper.  Spray the felted edge if needed, place the bubble wrap over the fibers and roll with rolling pin for 30 seconds. 

6. Allow the wool to dry (overnight) or use a hair dryer to speed this step along.  Separate the fibers into sections and twist them (similar to twirling your hair).

7. Glue the pencil to the wet felted edge of the wool.  I chose to glue these for my son using a hot glue gun (after he was tucked into bed for the night).  Roll the pencil along that edge adding more glue as necessary.  If using white craft glue I probably would clip a clothes pin while it dried to keep it tightly in place.

8.  Allow to cool or dry.

9.  Sculpt your truffula tuft by spinning the pencil between your fingers and swirling the ends to achieve a shape and texture like the illustrations in Dr. Suess’ book. 

10. Using the permanent marker, sketch zig zag stripes around the pencil to simulate the bark in the drawings and allow the marker to dry.

Creative in the Kitchen: Literary Lunches Yoko's California Rolls

One of my son’s favorite books is "Yoko" by Rosemary Wells.  In the story the Japanese cat, Yoko, brings traditional Japanese sushi to school for lunch.  When she gets teased by her American classmates, toting American delicacies like “squeeze cheese on white and franks and beans”, her teacher plans a special international food day.  Each character brings a food from a different country under the expectation that they are to try everything.  This piqued my guy’s interest in sushi so we tried our hand at some simple veggie California rolls (see recipe below). 

available at my etsy store: www.etsy.com/shop/bybrookye

At the end of the book Yoko hasn’t changed everyone’s mind about sushi, with the exception of one classmate, Timothy.  They decide to push their desks together and open a restaurant where they share their lunches.  After lunch at our house my son and his brother can open a restaurant just like Timothy and Yoko.  I created their own Japanese style bento (which means box) complete with inarizushi, California rolls, spring rolls, edamame beans in the pod and a cup of sauce all made out of felt.

Ingredients:

cooked rice
cucumber
yellow pepper
avocado
carrot
toasted seaweed sheets

Directions:
Cut your veggies into sticks.  Place a sheet of toasted seaweed onto a bamboo mat.  You can also try rolling it without a mat or substituting a piece of waxed paper for the mat.  Spread a layer of cooled rice onto a sheet of toasted seaweed leaving an inch or two on the side furthest away from you.  If the rice is sticking to you dip your finger tips in cool water to keep it from sticking.  Place your sliced veggies across the end closest to you and roll.  Wipe a small amount of water on the wrap as you close it to help seal it.  Trim off the ends and slice into “coins” about an inch or so thick.

Creative in the Kitchen: Literary Lunches Crunchy Cinnamon Snowflakes

My four-year-old has been waiting for the first snow storm of the season and today it finally arrived!  What better way to warm up after frolicking in the new fallen snow than to put these crunchy cinnamon snowflakes into the oven and snuggle up to read “The Snowy Day”by Ezra Jack Keats.  Our young chefs will of course need help from an adult when it comes to cutting and using the oven.

Ingredients:
flour tortillas
canola oil for brushing
cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle

Directions:

1.       Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2.       Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for quick and easy clean up later.

3.       Place your tortillas under a damp paper towel and microwave for 15 seconds to soften them up and make them more flexible.

4.       Fold the tortilla, one at a time, in half and then into thirds.

5.       Using clean scissors cut out triangles to make a snowflake shape (be careful not to cut along the entire fold or your snowflake will fall apart.)

6.       Place tortilla on prepared cookie sheet, brush with canola oil, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and pop them into the oven for 5 minutes.

7.       Flip them over and bake an additional 5 minutes until it starts to brown and becomes crunchy.  Watch closely so you don’t burn them!

8.       Let them cool a bit and then enjoy!

Creative in the Kitchen: Literary Lunches Goodnight Moon Brinner

My guys love breakfast for dinner.  This recipe, inspired by a favorite bedtime story, “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown, is the perfect dish!  It’s a new take on a traditional breakfast: “egg in a nest”. 

Ingredients:
1 piece of whole wheat bread
butter
1 egg
1 sausage link
1 slice of American cheese

Cooking Directions:

1.       Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  While skillet is heating up, butter both sides of the bread and use a glass or biscuit cutter to cut a circle in the bread. 

2.       Cook sausage according to package instructions.

3.       Place the bread and cut out circle into the skillet.  Crack egg and put it in the center of the circle cut out of the bread. 

4.       Once the toast begins to brown, flip.  Cook until the egg reaches your desired doneness.  Place toast and egg on a plate. 

5.       Cut cheese slice in half.  Cut one piece in half again.  Place these strips along the short side of the bread.  Cut triangles from the rest of the cheese slice and place in the top corners to make the curtains.

6.       Cut the cooked sausage into quarters lengthwise and place on top of the egg creating the window pane. 

Enjoy!

Creative in the Kitchen: Literary Lunches Open Lion-Faced Sandwiches

I get really bored with the same old lunch routine and so do my boys.  So when I read an article, "Read, Cook, Love", in November’s issue of Parent Magazine I was totally inspired!  The writer took inspiration from her children’s favorite storybooks and whipped up some tasty treats.  Here is one creative recipe idea that I created from one of our favorites: Dandelion by Don Freeman.  Read Dandelion and then let your kids decorate their own Open Lion-Faced Sandwiches and remember that each one will come out uniquely their own and that’s okay!  Encourage your kids to take from Dandelion’s example and just be yourself!

Ingredients:
hummus (see recipe below)
half of a mini whole wheat bagel
shredded carrot
shredded cheddar cheese*
black olives, sliced
grape tomato, chopped
1 slice of carrot cut in half to create 2 semicircles

Directions:
1. Spread hummus on one half of a mini bagel.
2. Decorate to make a lion face using the hummus to adhere the facial features and mane.  Use ends of the sliced olives for eyes, cut sliced olives in half to form the mouth, use carrot semicircles for ears and pieces of tomato for a nose and tongue. 
3. Sprinkle shredded carrot and cheese* around the outside edge of the bagel to make the mane.

Recipe for Homemade Red Pepper Hummus:
1 can of chick peas drained and rinsed (or approximately 2 cups cooked chick peas)
½ a lemon, juiced
jarred roasted red pepper** (about ½ a pepper or more depending on your taste)
2 Tbs tahini
salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbs Olive Oil
¼ tsp granulated garlic
dash of cumin (optional)
dash of ginger (optional)

Process in a food processer until smooth.

*this recipe idea can easily be made vegan by omitting the shredded cheese and using only shredded carrot for the lion’s mane.

** if roasted red peppers are not a favorite in your house you can omit it and add a little more olive oil to keep the hummus from getting to dry.  You can also try swapping out the peppers for some cooked spinach and or some marinated artichoke hearts.  You may find that hummus is a great way to get kids to eat veggies that they normally won’t try!

What children’s books inspire you to get creative in the kitchen?  Please share your ideas, I’d love to try some more literary inspired lunches (or snacks) at my house!