Banana Flats (aka Bananadillas)

OK, so we couldn't decide on the best name for these "inventions" (actually inspired by several sources including PostPunkKitchen and chaos in the kitchen), but they sure were a hit with the kids! Don't be afraid to come up with your own combinations...these make a great after-school snack! All steps are easy enough for kids to do by themselves, except maybe the grilling and flipping of the tortilla.

PBC&B (Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Banana) version:
Flour tortillas (we used whole wheat)
Peanut Butter
Thinly sliced bananas
Chocolate chips
Butter or vegetable oil for grilling

Spread peanut butter over half of tortilla. Sprinkle peanut butter with chocolate chips. Lay banana slices on top of chocolate chips and fold. Press gently. Over medium-high heat, melt a little butter in a skillet large enough to hold the tortilla. Place the folded tortilla in the pan and grill for 1-2 minutes on each side, or until browned and crispy and bananas and chocolate have softened. Cut into wedges and enjoy!

Coco-Choco-Banana Flat version: for this one we used cream cheese instead of peanut butter, and sprinkled shredded coconut and cinnamon sugar on the bananas. Both versions were a hit, so it was hard to pick a winner.

Multigrain Soft Pretzels

I usually shy away from yeasted bread recipes between the kneading and the proofing and time it takes to produce. However, this recipe is so simple and quick (as yeasted breads go) that our family has made it several times in the last couple of months. Obviously, the kids love them for breakfast, lunches and snacks, and they love helping to twist the dough into unique shapes! *The barley flour, oat bran and flax seed can of course be substituted by your favorite flours or meals (we have used oatmeal, quinoa flour, rye, and wheat bran in different batches). I normally use a combination of half white and half whole-wheat flour in all of my baking, and if you don’t have any other kinds of flour, bran, etc. on hand, you can simply increase the amounts of both to 2 cups. I have also substituted one cup homemade sourdough starter for ½ cup each of the water and flour mixture.

• 1 package yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (approx 90-100 degrees F)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup barley flour*
• 1/4 cup coarse oat bran*
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal*
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbs baking soda
• Boiling water
• Kosher salt, sesame seeds or other toppings

Stir together the yeast, honey and warm water and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in the flours, bran, flaxseed meal and salt. The dough should be stiff. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. (You might need extra flour for the board depending on how the flours/meals you mixed in take the moisture.)

Cut dough into 8 equal pieces, roll into 15-by-20-inch ropes, twist into pretzel shapes and gently place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. (Note, if you don’t have non-stick parchment paper, I recommend a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal so the dough doesn’t stick.) To make the distinctive pretzel shape, cross the ends of the rope twice about 1-2 inches from the ends and fold the loop down over the twisted section. Alternatively, you can make pretzel braids, bagel shapes, or small balls—whatever the kids want—just make sure the shapes and sizes are relatively uniform on each baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise for about 45 minutes, or until double in size.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Bring 2 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda to a boil. Submerge the pretzels one at a time in this solution for 5 to 10 seconds, pushing them under the water with a slotted spoon, then take them out carefully (you can transfer them directly to the parchment dripping wet otherwise they will start to fall apart if you try to drain them too long). Brush with a whisked egg and sprinkle with kosher salt, sesame seeds or other topping if desired. Bake at 475 degrees on the middle rack of the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. They are best straight out of the oven, of course, but if you are storing them, make sure they are completely cool before placing in a bag or container, otherwise the salt will soften and “disappear.” For a healthy snack, we like to dip them in hummus or herbed yogurt cheese (stir your favorite herb blend and salt and pepper into lowfat plain yogurt and let sit in a strainer lined with paper towel overnight or up to 24 hours).

Adapted from: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94196698

Making Your Own Yogurt without a Yogurt Maker

I have long wanted to give making my own yogurt a shot, but I’ve always been afraid that it would be a tricky, delicate procedure that wouldn’t be worth the trouble. Was I ever wrong! The process is quite easy, involving only a few simple steps, and the kids got a big kick out of seeing the final product (which was practically spot-on). While there isn’t really that much that the kids could help with (other than reading the thermometer and stirring the mixture a few times), I think the benefit here is two-fold: 1) the kids get to create a nutritious alternative to store-bought candy-yogurt, 2) they get to learn a bit about the process of culturing and live bacteria. It is a bit of a lengthy process, so it may be tricky to get the kids involved from start to finish, but really each step is quite brief, with lots of “downtime” in the middle, so that if they can be snagged for a few minutes here and there, I highly suggest including them!

Supplies needed:
1. 1-quart glass jar, 2 pint jars or 4 half-pint jars
2. Candy or meat thermometer
3. 2 qt (or larger) saucepan
4. 2 or 3 quart glass jars (for the culturing process)
5. Small cooler or insulated box (if you don’t have one, you can use your oven set to the lowest temperature, but the process is a bit trickier)
6. One quart milk*
7. One Tbsp plain LIVE yogurt (suggest Nancy’s, Mountain High, or other good quality yogurt with live bacteria)

I consulted my sister, who has been making her own yogurt successfully for several months, and here is the procedure that she suggested:
1. Sterilize the jar(s) that you plan to make the yogurt in in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Reserve the water for Step 4 instead of dumping it down the drain!
2. Heat milk in saucepan almost to boiling (the surface will get frothy).
3. Remove from heat and let cool to 105 degrees F (this is where the thermometer comes in) — this step can take an hour or more.
4. Meanwhile, you can prepare the cooler and remaining jars (which do not need to be sterilized). If necessary, wipe out any dust/debris from the cooler you are using. You will want to fill the cooler with jars filled with boiling water. The idea here is that the cooler will insulate the milk mixture enough to keep the temperature up so that bacteria will continue to grow overnight. I used a small “lunchmate” cooler and needed only two extra jars, but if your cooler is larger, you may need more. You will also want to “insulate” the yogurt jar from the hot-water jars with a dish towel so as to prevent it from getting too hot at first and killing the bacteria.
5. Once the milk has cooled, stir in the yogurt (make sure to stir well to disperse the bacteria).
6. Pour mixture into the sterilized jar(s) and place into the cooler with the hot-water jars, separated by the towel. Set a lid loosely on top of the yogurt jar(s) to prevent contamination.
7. Close the cooler lid (note: if you are using a larger cooler than necessary you may want to cover all the jars with a couple of towels to aid in insulating them).
8. Let sit overnight, or up to 36 hours**
9. Check your yogurt — it can be considered “done” now. Stir and taste. **You can let it sit longer if you want it thicker or more sour, but you may have to reheat the hot-water jars to keep the optimum growing environment.
10. Now you can enjoy your yogurt anyway you want. Our family likes to stir in honey, maple syrup, or jam to sweeten, and top with granola. It is also suitable for smoothies, baking, and anything else you would use yogurt for.

If your yogurt is lumpy, run it through a fine-meshed sieve. If the consistency is not thick enough for you, lined the sieve with cheesecloth or a papertowel and let the yogurt sit for several hours or overnight until desired consistency is reached. The liquid (whey) that drains off of the yogurt is a great and healthy addition to smoothies or baking, so don’t toss it! Also remember to save the last spoonful of your homemade yogurt to make the next batch!

*any kind of natural milk will work (not soy milk, nut milks etc); the lower the fat content, the thinner the consistency of the final product