Island Parent Fall 2023

Quesadillas
Quesadillas are the perfect way to get little kids helping out in the
kitchen. They can chop vegetables, grate cheese and put together
their own quesadillas. Quesadillas are typically cooked on a griddle,
however, this oven-baked recipe allows you to make enough for
everyone to eat at the same time.
8 to 12 small corn tortillas
1 can refried beans
6 spring onions, finely sliced
4 mushrooms, sliced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 can of chopped black olives, drained and rinsed
1 cup grated cheese
Salsa, sour cream, and hot sauce for serving
Tweens and Teens
Most tweens and teens are capable of independently preparing
dinner. The only trick is, that they need to be shown how.
It takes experience to know how to sauté onions or figure out
how long it’s going to take wash a head of lettuce.
Online recipes can be quite difficult for kids to follow. Since
they involve scrolling between the ingredient list and the instructions
and often steps are missed. I recommend having
them work from a cookbook and staying nearby so you can
check on them periodically. They’ll feel better knowing that
you’re available to help, if they need it.
Let’s Eat is designed for kids 9+ with a focus on recipes for
tweens and teens. The following recipe is an excerpt from the
cookbook.
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Lightly grease two baking sheets with
vegetable oil.
Depending on the age of your child, have them help with dicing the
vegetables and grating the cheese.
Spread a few spoonfuls of refried beans over half of the corn tortillas.
Let everyone decorate their tortilla their favourite fillings. Top with a
handful of grated cheese, then put a second tortilla on top.
Place the quesadillas on the baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes.
Remove from the oven. Press down on each quesadilla with a spatula
to stick the layers together, then carefully flip the quesadilla over. Bake
for another 8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tortillas have
started to brown.
Slice the tortillas into quarters and serve with salsa and sour cream.
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Little Kids
If you aren’t sure where to start, here are somethings that
little kids can do around the kitchen.
• 0 to 2 years: Keeping your baby or toddler in the kitchen
while you cook, is a great way to get them interested. Let them
play with foods as you prepare them. As they get older, they
can help wash vegetables and stir batters.
• 3 to 5 years: Preschoolers LOVE to help out their parents.
Let them pack their own snacks or lunch boxes. They can also
slice up soft items, like tofu and mushrooms, with a butter
knife. They can even do some highly-supervised cooking, like
flipping pancakes, grating cheese, or stirring a pot on the stove.
• 6 to 8 years: Little kids are able to do a lot more independent
cooking. They can make muffins, prepare a salad, and
help with dinner. The amount of supervision and assistance
needed will decrease as they gain patience and skill.
Emillie Parrish loves having adventures with her
two busy children. You can find more of her recipes
in her recently released cookbook Fermenting Made
Simple. fermentingforfoodies.com
Sweet Potato Thai Curry
(by DL Acken and Aurelia Louvet)
Although this recipe calls for sweet potatoes, curry is an ideal dish
for vegetables like cauliflower, potatoes or peas, and proteins like
chickpeas, tofu, shrimp or chicken. Basically, anything covered in
curry sauce is YUM! Try different Thai curry pastes: there are green,
yellow and red varieties, and each has a different flavor, but be sure
to check out their spice levels on the packaging for mild or spicy
kinds. Not a fan of coconut milk or have an allergy? Use the equivalent
amount of vegetable stock instead.
¼ cup (60 mL) olive oil
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into medium dice
2 small onions, cut into medium dice
¼ cup (60 mL) curry paste (like Thai Kitchen)
2 Tbsp (30 mL) brown sugar
2 (each 14 oz/400 mL) cans coconut milk
2 cups (500 mL) stock of choice (beef, chicken, fish, and vegetable
all work well)
4 tsp (20 mL) fish sauce
2 cups (500 mL) cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
2 cups (500 mL) baby spinach, washed
In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the olive oil over medium
heat and cook the sweet potatoes and onions, stirring occasionally,
until they’re starting to brown.
Add the curry paste and stir it into the sweet potatoes and onions.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes to cook off the curry paste.
Add the sugar, coconut milk, stock and fish sauce and stir to combine.
Cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Cook until
the potatoes are al dente, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes, cover and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in the
spinach and cook for another minute until the spinach has wilted.
Serve with rice, mashed potatoes or naan.
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