One for the Kids....Yummy!

Sometimes people eat and/or cook their own favourites at home, wherever side of the world they are in, on and on over the years without realising that many of those dishes 'came' from a different country.

In an attempt to help young children nowadays understand what is really the food they eat, I ve decided to provide their 'favourite' recipies ;

So let's start with....

'Can I have some PIZZA mum?'

Usually children refer to Margarita when they call out for Pizza, although Pizza can be Vezouvio, Meaty,Napolitan, Vegeterian etc.
Margarita is the 'basis' for most Pizzas, as it made by the basic Pizza dough, tomatoe sauce for pizza and sprinkle cheese. The simplicity of the Margarita makes it the favourite for children as they don't need to taste and test and possibly reject 'strange' ingredients as for example other pizza toppings: anchovies, spicy chicken etc.


Also , not only kids but also some adults don't know that Pizza generally is from a place called...Italy. Italians eat pizza and pasta daily. And my question is: 'why do they keep slim and healthy?'...but that will be answered in another chapter.

How do we make it?

Basic Pizza dough (medium crust)
Tomatoe sauce
Sprinkle cheese


Roll out the Pizza dough into the shape of a circle, allowing the outside circle end to be thicker than the inside. Spread out, with the back of a spoon, the tomatoe sauce and sprinkle a generous amount of grated cheese (cheddar, or mozzarela) all over the base. Place on an oven tray in a preheated oven and cook on medium heat for about 20 mins. Check when the cheese has cooked and starts to get brownish, and take it out to cool down for 5 mins and cut into triangles and serve! Gusto Perfecto (in Italian it means: perfect taste!)

'Mum!!! Make some Hot Dogs tonight!'

Hot Dogs is a derived German end, Die Wurste, which means the well known 'sandwich' with the special sausages in a long soft bread roll, sprinkled with ketchup usually. Germans make sure they have a couple during their driving stops in Autobang (motorway), but they are popular with..hot mustard and the sausage is put through the bread roll 'vertically'. It is a fact that 'hot dogs' were made popular by USA and enjoyed all over the world.

It looks easy to make and in the UK the special sausages are even sold in a can with a smaller version sausages, perfect for 'small' tummies.

Also, there is an old english version : the sausage rolls (very popular and in different sizes), originally made in the farm kitchens along with scotch eggs.

Daddies can barbeque lightly the sausages for the Hot Dogs, or mummies can oven cook them or lightly fry them, as they are smoked cooked before they are put in the cans by the factories. The secret for a perfect sausage is to cut it through vertically but only on the top . While frying or baking them warm up the bread roll in the oven. Take the bread out and cut it vertically and place the hot sausage inside. A thin line of ketchup (or mustard) on the sausage..makes it a Gooden Abend! (Nice evening in German). Or ' woohoo' (yeah! In usa) or 'lovely jumbly' (how nice in old english).


A tasteful Tapa for Children

Spanish Tapas are like the greek Meze , tiny snack dishes, usually aimed for adults. Tapas come from Spain solely. Here we will try to make a kids friendly one, simple and tasty. Mummy is always tired and she might work a lot too so if you need something quick to enjoy ask for this:

Enchilada with ham and cheese

Puff pastry
Your favourite cheese
Ham
A spoonful of ketchup
Butter

Roll out puff pastry (from the shop)
Use a round glass and cut circles of the pastry. Brush melted butter on them and place cuts of cheese and ham in the centre and put a bit of ketchup on them. Bring one end of the pastry over the ham and cheese mixture, to bring it to the shape of a semicirle. With a fork press the ends of the semicircle to seal it. With a knife make a small cut on the top and bake in a hot oven for about 15 mins or till the 'enchiladas' turn light brown. Astaluego: in Spanish it means 'See you later'

Greek meatballs platter

My daughter loves this and I am tempted to cook it for her friends also. This platter contains 5 greek meze dishes each downsized to a tiny portion for kids to enjoy variety and very healthy eating, seasoned with lemon and olive oil which makes it very Nostimo (tasty in greek).

For the basic 'hidden meze': the meatballs, be prepared for a lot of work and preparation but only for the first day.

1 Onion (grated)
Steak Mince 250gr
Old bread (soaked in water for a min or two)(squish the water out with your palms)
One egg (lightly beaten)
A handful of chopped up parsley
(Optional some chopped up mint)
Salt and pepper (a bit)


Mix all ingredients well with your hands. Roll small balls of the mix and...

Flour

Roll them on a plate with flour. Dust them out lightly.

Olive oil

Heat up olive oil in a non stick pan (but don't let it get too hot) and place the meatballs inside and let them cook, turn them round in the oil until they are brown. Take out with a slaughted spoon and squish
Lemon on them while hot.

(You can keep the mix for two days in the fridge and cook as much as you want for the two days).


Feta cheese

Cut a thick piece of feta sprinkle some olive oil and oregano on top.

Tzatziki

You may buy it ready from the dip section in the supermarket. Or make it as there is an easy recipie for it.

The Greek Platter


Use a big shallow plate. Put 3-4 meatballs, a spoonful of tzatziki, chips, some feta (as prepared), tomatoe and cucumber cut in small pieces. Warm up some pitta bread and cut it in pieces to serve with the platter. Kali Orexi! (Good Apettite in greek)

Chicken Souvlaki/kebab

This dish is healthy and kids love it. Its best done on a barbeque but they can be cooked in a non stick pan. Greeks and Turks have similar dishes in their kitchen. Souvlaki is the greek word for the turkish term 'kebab', although 'kebab' is the most english friendly word for it. The most 'boring' procedure is the marinating but then that's what gives it the irresistable and unique flavour. So...for the little tastebuds get ready Big Cook.

Two chicken breasts cut in thick cubes
Olive oil (just under half a cup)
Oregano (two pinches)
Pepper

Put the chicken in a large bowl, add oregano, oil and pepper and let marinate for 6 hours tossing here and there.

When ready to cook, drain the chicken and put through a squer , alternating large pieces of green pepper and onion. Grill or barbeque and squish some lemon over them when ready. You can eat them with chips and.
.ketchup.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: A Mistake

All kids love cookies or..bikies...especially when they know mum has stocked them up for..special occasions, somewhere in the kitchen cupboards.

Now, the very popular choco chip ones are in fact...some American woman's ..mistake, that happened in the late 30s. Her name was ....... She and her husband owned a bed and breakfast and she was responsible for making the breakfast for the guests. She was making the 'butter biscuit' recipie when she thought of adding a Nestle unsweetened chocolate bar , that she broke into pieces, aiming at turning the butter biscuits into chocolate ones. However, to her surprise and to everybody elses till now delight, the chocolate chips didn't melt after baking the cookies, they remained as they were within the cooked biscuits!

Mexican Tortillas ...simplified

We have all tried them. The tortilla wraps are now sold in all supermarkets, a hidden meaning that they are very popular within the British market. Also, burittos and chicken wrap packs etc.

In my home, my Little Cook loves a derived personal version: The Chip Wrap.

Easy to make, difficult to resist.

Tortilla Wrap
Chips
Greek Yoghurt
Slices of cucumber
Pinch of salt


Fry or oven bake the chips
Warm up the wrap for less than a min. Lay it flat on a large plate. Spread a large spoon of Greek yoghurt.Put the desired amount of cooked chips on it. Sprinkle evenly the chopped cucumber. A pinch of salt over the ingredients. Roll the tortilla carefully over. Irresistable!