From our Kitchen to Yours…

30 06 2010

This week in Cooking and Baking full day camp we are making homemade ice cream. We even created our own flavors…

Here is our “Ice Cream in a Can” recipe that you can try at home!

Whether you’re planning a birthday party or are looking for unique activities you and your child can do together, this ice cream-in-a-can craft is a game and treat all in one. The kids will have fun kicking the can around and learning how easy it is to make ice cream. Then there will be the added excitement of getting to eat what they created!

This recipe makes 1 pint of ice cream — or 8 scoops. If you’re organizing a large party, you’ll need to double or triple this recipe, depending on how many kids will be attending. This way, they’ll all get to participate in kicking the cans and will each get to enjoy a scoop of ice cream.

What you’ll need:

  • 1 pint of half and half
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoons of your favorite instant pudding mix (chocolate was used here)
  • 10 cups ice
  • 1 1/2 cup rock salt (kosher salt or sea salt can be used too)
  • 3-pound coffee can, emptied and rinsed
  • 1-pound coffee can, emptied and rinsed
  • Duct tape

How to make it:

  1. In a medium bowl, combine half and half, sugar, and pudding mix with a whisk until thoroughly mixed.
  2. Place 1-pound coffee can inside the 3-pound coffee can and pour ice cream mixture into smaller can. Cover the smaller can with it’s corresponding lid and seal with duct tape.
  3. Surround the smaller can with ice and salt by layering 5 cups of ice with 3/4 cup of salt.
  4. Use duct tape to seal the 3-pound can with its corresponding lid and start rolling. Have the kids face each other and roll the can back and forth on its side for 10 minutes.
  5. After 10 minutes, open the cans and check the ice cream. Remove the smaller can and check the ice cream. The mixture on the sides of the smaller can will set up faster than the center. Use a rubber spatula to quickly scrape down the sides and give the ice cream one stir.
  6. Next, reseal the lid on the smaller can with duct tape, and set it aside. Quickly dump the melted ice water from the large can, and place the smaller can into the larger can again.
  7. Now you need to surround the smaller can with remaining ice and salt by repeating step 3. Once that is done, put the lid on the larger can and seal with duct tape again.
  8. Ask the kids to roll the large can for 10 minutes more.
  9. Once they’re done, open the cans again and serve the ice cream to your little helpers!

Tips:

>>Use your favorite flavor of pudding to change the ice cream flavor.

>>After the first 10 minutes of kicking around the can, mix in some nuts or chocolate chips to enhance the flavor of your ice cream.

>>If the children get tired of kicking that can around after only 10 minutes, take this shortcut:  Stir the mixture and set it in the freezer for about an hour to allow the rest of it to harden.

What’s your favorite flavor?


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Categories : Cook, The Camp Blog, Things to do at home

Cooking with Math: Pies, Pies and more Pies

16 06 2010

ACM campers are cooking up a storm at Cooking with Math camp this week!  They are measuring, mixing and baking two new recipes everyday, which means tasting them too… Yummy! So far they have made everything from pretzels to pudding, and today they ventured into the world of pies. Our campers made pizza pies and cherry pies- now those are some good eats…

Try our fun and easy pizza pie recipe at home if you are in the mood for some ‘Za”

Mini Pizzas (for a group of 5)

Ingredients:

small 6 inch square pieces of foil

5 cups of flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons powdered milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup of oil

1 cup of water (use a teensy bit less than a cup and add more if you need to)

Extra flour for surfaces and hands

Any pizza toppings you like! (cheese, pepperoni, veggies)

tomato sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Measure out all of the ingredients in separate containers or bowls to make the process quicker!

2. Sprinkle some flour on the table where you will be cooking

3. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl

4. Mix and knead the dough with your hands until dough is soft and stretchy.

5. Divide dough into 5 pieces and roll into a ball and flatten into a disk.

6. Use small square pieces of foil to make into a mini pizza tin

7. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of tomato sauce on to the dough.

8. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of cheese on to the sauce.

9. Layer any kind of topping on to the cheese.

10. Bake in an oven at 450 for 10 minutes. Watch pizzas closely and when cheese starts bubbling and crust is golden brown it is ready!


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Categories : 5 years & up, Cook, The Camp Blog

Make a smoothie, learn math!

13 05 2010

Did you know that making food can teach you a lot about math? Today we’re going to make a smoothie and find out how many combinations of fruit we can put in it.

Ingredients:

1-2  cups of 3 different kinds of fruit, frozen or fresh. I like bananas, blueberries and raspberries.

1/2-1 cup of fruit juice

1 cup of ice

1/2-1 cup of vanilla yogurt

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Add more juice to make the smoothie more drinkable, or more yogurt to make it thicker.

2. Enjoy your smoothie while learning about math.

Think about how there are many different combinations of smoothies you can make.

First, there are 6 fruits that taste great in smoothies:

Bananas, raspberries, mangoes, strawberries, blueberries and pineapple

Then there are 3 juices that help combine the fruit:

Then you add ice by itself:

Then there are 3 yogurts to choose from:

Vanilla, fruit flavored, or plain

To figure out how many combinations we have to make a smoothie we need to multiply all of our options.

6 fruits x 3 juices x 1 ice x 3 yogurts=54 combinations of smoothies! Wow!


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Categories : 5 years & up, Cook, Learn

Not-so-normal dyed eggs

2 04 2010

A lot of people dye eggs for the spring time. You can dye hard-boiled eggs to make a fun looking snack, or empty out your eggs and dye them, and then turn them into cascarones. I made the hard-boiled version and used some cool dyeing tips from here. Check it out!

Supplies:

Eggs, hard-boiled or with the yolks blown out
Electrical tape
Scissors
Crayons
Cups or bowls that fit an egg
Spoons
Vinegar
Food coloring
Paper towels
Baking pan

1. Before you start dyeing your eggs, get all of your supplies ready.  While my eggs were cooling off from boiling, I made cutouts to use on my eggs and made the dye. For each color of dye, use one cup of hot water, one teaspoon of white vinegar, and follow the instructions on the food coloring box to make the colors you want.

2. To make a spiral design, take a thin strip of electrical tape and wrap it all the way around the egg. Then dip the egg in a light color like yellow or green and leave it in the bowl or cup until it’s the color you want it to be.  Remove the egg and wipe it with a paper towel. Remove the tape and make a spiral on the egg in the opposite direction. Pick a darker color like blue and dip the egg in and wait for the color you want.  Then take the egg out and dry it off again. Finally, remove the tape.

I used green first and then blue.

3. To make a cool letter or shape design, place your letter or shape electrical tape cutout on the egg and place it in a light color dye, just like with the spiral. Remove the egg when it becomes the color you want and wipe off the extra dye.  Then move your letter or shape a little bit to the right or left. Dye it in a darker color, remove and dry, and take off the tape cutout.

For my square cutouts, I used red first and then blue.

4. To make a design with crayons, take an egg and draw a design on it with a crayon, then dye it.  Dry off the egg and have an adult place it in the oven on a baking pan at 225 degrees. Leave it in there 5-10 minutes, or until the crayon design is shiny, meaning it’s starting to melt.  Have an adult remove the eggs. Once the eggs cool down enough to be touched, wipe off the crayon design.

5. Enjoy all of your different eggs!


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Categories : Cook, Craft

April Fools’ Day

31 03 2010

Happy almost April Fools’ Day! Although no one really knows why we have this day, it’s a day meant to joke around and have some fun. Here are some easy fun pranks to try at home for tomorrow.

Gelled Juice

Supplies:

Gelatin the color of a drink your friend or family member usually drinks
Food coloring
Clear cups
Straws

1. Make the gelatin according to the recipe. If you need to, color the gelatin using the food coloring to make it look more real.

2. Pour the gelatin into the cups with a straw in each.

3. Put the cups in the refrigerator and let them set.

4. Take them out when they’re ready and when you find a target!

Magic Milk

Supplies:

Liquid food coloring
Milk
Dry cereal

1. Before your target sits down for cereal, put some liquid food coloring over the bottom of their bowl. Pour dry cereal on top.

2. When they pour their milk in, they’ll be shocked to see it change colors.

What are you going to do for April Fools’ Day?


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Categories : 5 years & under, 5 years & up, Cook

Taste a rainbow!

17 03 2010

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, a day celebrating Ireland and the color green! To celebrate, many people will go to parades or wear the color green. Some places like Chicago might do something extra special, like dye the city’s river green.  Look!

The Chicago River for St. Patrick's Day.

Since St. Patrick’s Day is associated with leprechauns, and they like rainbows, here are some cool cupcakes that let you taste a rainbow!

Rainbow Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 box white cake mix and the ingredients needed to make it
Food coloring (gel food coloring works best)
Baking cups
5 cereal-sized bowls
5 spoons

Instructions:

1. Make your cake mix as directed on the box. Divide it equally among the 5 bowls.

2. Carefully make your colors in each bowl.

Red: 18 drops
Orange: 12 yellow drops, 4 red drops
Yellow: 12 drops
Green: 12 drops
Blue: 12 drops

3. Put your baking cups in a cupcake pan. With a spoon, put your first layer of the rainbow. I started with blue. It should be less than a tablespoon, just enough batter to cover the bottom of the cup. When you finish the first layer, keep moving on to the next, and so on. Make sure you cover as much of the previous layer with the new layer as you can. Don’t put too much batter in the baking liners, you only want them to be about 2/3 full.

4. Once you’ve done all 5 layers, bake the cupcakes as directed on the box.

5. Remove the cupcakes when done and let cool. Make sure someone helps you when using the oven. You just made rainbows you can taste! Serve the cupcakes alone, with icing, or with whipped cream.

When I made my first batch I put them in a special pan so they would look like little cakes.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!


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Categories : 5 years & under, 5 years & up, Cook

Cooking with Math

21 01 2010

On Monday, our friends at C-Day Camp made trail mix by using math, and you can too!

To make this trail mix, you must count. Counting correctly is very important to math but it is also very important when making food. 

For this counting recipe you will need your favorite trail mix ingredients. At the Museum we like to use:

1 bag of popped popcorn
1 bag of pretzels
1 bag of animal crackers
2 cartons of whole grain Goldfish
1 bag of  M&Ms or raisins or mini marshmallows

Here is everyone waiting to count out their trail mix ingredients.

When making these at home, you could also use dried fruit, nuts, or granola.  You can also use just one cup of each ingredient if it’s only for you and your family so you don’t make too much. If not, invite friends over and you can all count together.

After you set out your ingredients, count each one into a bag to make your trail mix.  This is how I  like to make mine:

9 pieces of popcorn
8 pretzels
7 animal crackers
12 Goldfish
6 M&Ms

Each time you make a bag of the trail mix you can count to new numbers.  Tell us what you like in your trail mix. Don’t forget to keep count!

Here are our friends after they counted out their trail mix ingredients.


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Categories : 5 years & under, Cook

Gobble, gobble! Turkey snacks & sweets!

23 11 2009

Disney’s Family Fun web site has this great idea to make your regular lunchtime sandwiches more exciting.  Not only are these turkey-shaped sandwiches fun to make, they’re healthy too! Click on the photo to learn how to make this turkey snack!

Afterward, satisfy your sweet tooth with these turkey sugar cookies!

All you need is a sugar cookie recipe, different colored icing, candy corn, and candy for the eyes. I think mini M&Ms make good turkey eyes. You can also use a small bit of red licorice for the turkey’s waddle. 

For one recipe, check out the Pillsbury web site by clicking on the photo.

These turkey-themed snacks are making me even more excited about Thanksgiving! What are some of your family’s Thanksgiving traditions? What food do you look forward to eating?


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Categories : 5 years & under, 5 years & up, Cook

Dry Ice Experiment #1: Concoct a witch’s brew!

12 10 2009

Double, double, toil and trouble….

With some dry ice and punch, you can make your own smoking witch’s cauldron full of tasty brew.

witch's cauldron

This is the first experiment in a three-part series using dry ice. Dry ice experiments are great for Halloween or anytime you feel like being a mad scientist!

What you need:

-Ingredients for your favorite kind of punch or Kool-aid mix

-Two punch bowls so that one can fit inside the other (try using a Halloween cauldron for the outside container to make it look more like a witch’s brew!)

-Dry ice (Both Central Market stores and the HEB on Congress and Oltorf carry dry ice)

-A hammer or other tool to break the dry ice into smaller chunks

-Tongs, oven mitts, or thick hand towel to touch the dry ice—the chemicals in dry ice can burn your skin so never use your bare hands to handle it!

What to do:

1. Put the smaller bowl in the bigger bowl. Mix your punch in the inner bowl. You can snap some some non-toxic glowsticks and drop them into the punch to make it look more eerie!

2. Break the dry ice into chunks so they fit in the outer bowl and around the inner bowl. Make sure you pick up the pieces using the tongs, oven mitts, or thick hand towel, not your hands!

making the smoke

3. Pour warm water on the dry ice. Continue to pour warm water if the smoke slows down. Hot water will make more smoke come out, but the ice will disappear faster.

4. As your cauldron smokes, serve your magical concoction to people!

ooh, witch's brew

Dry ice is different from regular ice because it is made from frozen carbon dioxide. (Carbon dioxide is the air we breathe out!) When regular ice breaks down, it melts from a solid to a liquid. Dry ice doesn’t turn into a puddle when it breaks down because it goes through sublimation. Sublimation is the process of a  solid changing into a gas. That means the dry ice transformed directly into carbon dioxide gas, creating the smoke effect.


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Categories : 5 years & up, Cook, Experiment, Learn

Ice cream for you & me!

27 04 2009

ice-cream-cone

We realize it’s not summertime just yet, but that’s no reason why we can’t enjoy America’s favorite dessert. Each year, the average American eats an average of 23 pints of ice cream. I am definitely one of those people! Wouldn’t you just love some ice cream with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and whipped cream right about now? Mmmm!

Check out our previous post about ice cream. It gives you the recipe to make your own at home. Get creative and invent new flavors!

Steve Spangler explains the science behind making ice cream. Check it out!

Did you know: Sugar makes the dessert sweet, but it also serves another important purpose. In the freezer, plain cream turns into a solid that’s hard as a rock. Sugar helps keep the ice cream softer by lowering the mixture’s temperature.


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Categories : Cook, Cool stuff on the web, Learn

A Leprechaun Treat

12 03 2009

Shamrock Rice KrispiesSt. Patrick’s Day is celebrated by people all around the world. It is a day of festive food, fun, and family. People celebrate by wearing green, eating green foods, and attending parades.

In honor of the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, we tried this fun and easy leprechaun recipe. 

You can try it too!

 Materials:Ingredients

  •  3 tablespoons  butter or margarine
  • 1 package (10 oz., about 40)  regular marshmallows
  • 6 cups Rice Krispies
  • green food coloring
  • green decorating frosting (optional)

Directions:

1. In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Add green food coloring to the mix, and stir until smooth.

2. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into shamrock shapes and decorate with green icing. Enjoy!

You can add green food coloring to any of your favorite treats: Mac and cheese, jello, ice cream, milk. Try cucumbers, celery, pickles, grapes or anything green! Even make green “leprechaun” apple juice.


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Categories : 5 years & up, Cook

Pumpkin Pie Play Dough

30 10 2008

We found a fun recipe for play dough on the blog Pepper Paints! Although the play dough is not edible, it will have your home smelling like fall and pumpkin pie in no time!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 teaspoons cream of tarter
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 cup water
  • 6 drops red food coloring
  • 15 drops yellow food coloring

Directions:

  1. Combine all dry ingredients in a cooking pot.
  2. Add oil, water, and food coloring.
  3. Whisk until smooth.
  4. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture forms a ball.
  5. Place the dough onto the counter and once it has slightly cooled, knead the dough until it is smooth.
  6. The play dough will keep in a plastic bag for about a week. Enjoy!

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Categories : 5 years & up, Cook

Hungry for Halloween!

24 10 2008

It’s almost time for Halloween and we thought we would post some yummy Halloween-themed snack ideas! Instead of the normal sweet snacks like Halloween cupcakes and candy though, these treats are healthy for you!

Our first snack, from Little Nummies, is Witch Hats made out of crescent rolls! Instead of rolling up your dough completely to make regular crescent rolls, roll it half-way and then curl the end of your dough to make the top of a witch hat. Super easy and tasty!

Our second snack, from Munchkins and Mayhem, is Skeleton Dip! All you need are some assorted vegetables and your favorite veggie dip from the grocery store. Then, arrange the vegetables to create the skeleton’s body. The bowl of dip is perfect for the skeleton’s head!

Our third snack, from Where the Sidewalk Ends, is Mummy Pizza! You will need English muffins, pizza sauce, cheese slices, and olives. After putting sauce on the English muffins, place olives where the eyes will be and then surround your olives with cheese slices. Heat the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then bake your pizzas for about 10 minutes!

   

To get in the Halloween spirit, come to the Austin Children’s Museum’s 2008 Bats and Cats Ball this Sunday, October 26th! A costume parade will begin at 5PM at the City Hall Plaza followed by the official ball at the Austin Children’s Museum from 5:30 to 7:30 PM.  Go here to RSVP!


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Categories : 5 years & under, 5 years & up, Cook

Eat Like an Astronaut!

7 08 2008

Believe it or not, astronaut food is not that different from the food we eat on Earth. Astronauts can choose from a variety of foods such as fruits, nuts, peanut butter, chicken, beef, seafood, candy, brownies, and more.

It is extremely expensive to launch astronauts into space. It costs $10,000 per pound to launch the space shuttle, so the weight of objects in the shuttle are very important. Therefore, NASA eliminates some weight by removing water from most of the prepackaged foods, a process known as dehydration, (like the way a wet sponge gets smaller if you leave it out to dry and then expands again when you put it in water). The food is later rehydrated in orbit with water from the space shuttle’s fuel cells.  

Try making your own astronaut meal with this recipe we found from SpaceCenter.org!

Materials

• Tang

• Chocolate pudding

• Oatmeal

• 1 tablespoon

• 3 Ziplock bags (with zipper)

• 1 straw

Directions

1. Measure 2 tablespoons of tang into the first plastic bag.

2. Fill the bag about 1/4 full of water, zip the bag and slowly shake the bag to mix the contents.

3. Measure about 4 tablespoons of chocolate pudding into the second zip lock bag.

4. Add just enough water so that the pudding is not runny and mix the chocolate pudding with the water by squishing the bag.

5. Measure about 3 tablespoons of oatmeal into the last zip lock bag.

6. Add just enough water so that the oatmeal is not runny, squish the bag and mix the contents.

7. Once all of the food is prepared, slowly open one corner of the drink packet and put the straw in the bag. Tighten the area around the straw so it does not move.

8. Dig in and enjoy!


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Categories : Cook, Learn

Fun with Fruit

6 08 2008

While we all love to bake sweets, it’s important to remember healthy eating and good nutrition as well. In camp this week we made Number Fruit Salad, combining fruits like pineapple chunks, banana slices and orange pieces. These fruits are all an important source of vitamins, minerals and enzymes and a main staple in our diet. Try this recipe for Fruit Kabobs for a fun and easy way to get your daily serving of fruit!

We found this recipe on the blog Full Circle, check it out for other neat ideas, like these fantastic fruit & veggie creations!

What other ideas can YOU come up with?


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Categories : 5 years & under, 5 years & up, Cook

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