How the Grinch Made Cookies

19 12 2011

Every Who

Down in Who-ville

Liked Christmas a lot…

 But the Grinch,

Who lived just North of Who-ville,

Did NOT!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!

Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.

It could be that his head wasn’t screwed on quite right.

It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.

But I think that the most likely reason of all

May have been that his heart was two sizes too small…

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by Dr. Seuss

The holidays are a wonderful time to get together with your family, don’t let the never-ending holiday cheer overwhelm you and turn you into a Grinch!

Here at the museum, we like to avoid becoming Grinch-y by making our own Grinch cookies! The recipe is originally from Betty Crocker but we found it on a cool blog called Living the Domestic Life (click on these links for the recipe!)

These gooey, green, mint-flavored, chocolate-chip cookies will subdue the Grinch in all of us. And if you would like a fun coloring activity to do while you wait for your cookies to bake, print out this Mr. Grinch Coloring Page!

Happy Baking!


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Parfait/Sinkie Day!

25 11 2011

November 25th is National Parfait Day!

Did you know that the word “parfait” means “perfect” in French? This certainly makes sense because parfaits are a perfect dessert, you can create the perfect combinations of flavors to excite your very own taste buds.

A parfait consists of  layers of ice cream, whipped cream, syrups, fruits, granola, nuts, the combinations are endless!.  I bet this is sounding familiar to you isn’t it? Well parfait is basically a fancy word for a sundae!

While chocolate is my favorite, use your imagination to create a wide range of single and mixed flavors. I bet you have some Thanksgiving leftovers, wouldn’t a Pumpkin Parfait be marvelous?

If the delightful combination of delicious flavors in a parfait is not enough for you, try eating it over a sink. That’s right your kitchen sink! Not only is November 25th National Parfait Day, it’s also Sinkie Day.

Christmas shopping and Thanksgiving leftovers provide the perfect reasons to enjoy a quick meal. It’s the day many people discover the benefits of becoming a SINKIE and go on to many years of dining over the sink.

Who wouldn’t want to celebrate the day after Thanksgiving by eating a parfait over the sink? Enjoy!


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Odd October Observances

27 10 2011

October isn’t just for Halloween. There are all sorts of bizarre holidays you can celebrate before November gets here.  We all know Halloween is October 31st every year, but did you know there is also a Frankenstein Day?

This year Frankenstein Friday falls on the 28th. Celebrate by dressing up as a monster, or honor the writer and creator of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, and write your own monster story. Can you describe a monster scarier than Frankenstein?

October 30th, isn’t just the day before Halloween, it’s also Candy Corn Day. Did you know that candy corn is actually made with corn? These yummy confections are made with a very precise method using a corn starch molding process.

Photo by ScrambledHenfruit.blogspot.com

And don’t just celebrate Halloween by dressing up. You can also commemorate this day with caramel apples! Caramel apple day falls on Halloween each year, and you can celebrate by making your own caramel apples. Or you can follow our recipe below to make caramel apple cookies!

Have fun with all of these wacky holidays by printing out this neat coloring activity (pictured above): October Holidays Coloring Sheet

Are you still October Obsessed? To get the most out of the end of October, you can also visit the Texas Memorial Museum Oct. 30th for their Fright at the Museum event. You can explore the mysterious side of Texas’ natural history. Feel frightful fish from the ocean depths, be rattled by slithery snakes of Central Texas. Feast your eyes on bizarre bugs while they serve up creepy, crawly critters for your culinary delight.

Have an odd October!

And follow the link below for instructions on how to make your own caramel apple cookies

Read the rest of this entry »


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Dinosaur Chips and Dip

23 09 2011

We are delighting in all things Dino here at the Museum. Our new exhibit, Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice opens on Saturday, September 24th! We knew that dinosaurs are dazzling, but we’ve even figured out a way to make them delicious too. Stomp into your kitchen like an Edmontosaurus with this recipe for Dino Chips and Dips!

Are you as hungry as a Hadrosaurus? Voracious as a Velociraptor? Learn how to make these delicious dinosaur chips and dip to go with your next meal.

Dinosaur Chips

To make these tasty dino-shaped chips, you’ll need dinosaur shaped cookie cutters.

Ingredients:

  •  Large Flour Tortillas (we used some spinach tortillas)
  • Olive Oil
  • Sea Salt

Steps:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees F.

2. Put a tortilla flat on a large cutting board. Use the sharp side of the cookie cutter to press through the tortilla.

3. Cut out as many dinosaur shapes as will fit on a tortilla (you can save the scraps and make them into “dino bone” chips too!).

4. Lay all your dinos (and bone scraps) flat on a cookie sheet. Lightly spray or brush the tortilla pieces with olive oil and sprinkle them with a bit of sea salt.

5. Bake the chips for 12-15 minutes. Turn off the oven. Let the chips cool on a wire cooling rack and serve with your favorite dinosaur dip!

Guacamole Swamp Dip

After playing in the Bog Walk in the Dinsoaurs: Land of Fire and Ice exhibit, we were starving. We made this tasty swamp inspired dip to go with our Dinosaur Chips – it definitely tastes better than a prehistoric bog, we promise!

Ingredients:

  • 1 large avocado
  • 1 lime
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 cup diced tomatoes (we used some tasty cherry tomatoes)
  • salt
  • pepper

Steps:

1. Cut open the avocado and scrape all the insides into a bowl. Squeeze in the juice of the lime, and add in the chili powder.

2. Mash the avocado, lime juice, and chili powder with the back of a fork.

3. Stir the chopped tomatoes into the mashed avocado,

4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with your favorite Dino Chips!

Follow this link for another Dino Dip recipe!

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You scream, I scream, we all scream for ICE CREAM

25 07 2011

Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States declared July National Ice Cream Month!! Take a peek at the proclamation that makes this month so creamy and delicious.

Do you want to enjoy ice cream as much as this little guy? There are many delicious ice cream places in Austin that you can try. This week, campers in the Museum’s Home Grown Cooking camp will take a field trip Amy’s Ice Cream and see where the famous Austin establishment makes their ice cream. Stop by Amy’s sometime and try one of their seasonal flavors such as Girl Scout Thin Mint or Fresh Peach (with peaches from Fredricksburg).

If you’d like to be a Creator of Flavor, you can make Homemade Ice Cream in a Bag from this recipe:

What you need:

  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk or half & half
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6 tablespoons rock salt
  • 1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
  • 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
  • Ice cubes

Tip: A 1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don’t increase the proportions more that that — a large amount might be too big for kids to pick-up because the ice itself is heavy.

Here is a list of fun-to-read books about ice cream you can all read together!

Did you know?

  • It takes an average of 50 licks to polish off a single-scoop ice cream cone. Challenge your family to a Lick-A-Thon, and see who finishes first.
  • The biggest ice cream sundae in history was made in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1988 and weighed over 24 tons.
  • Of all the days of the week, ice cream is mostly bought on Sunday.
  • The United States produces the most ice cream in the world.

We hope you have enjoyed National Ice Cream month and find a smile in a good ice cream cone.


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If you give a kid a spatula…

16 06 2011

… they will want a large bowl, some cookie dough and chocolate chips.

Cooking With Math is a half-day camp being held this week at the museum and the kids get the chance to work with food and numbers. Every day the kids get to make two recipes while developing their math skills.

Today they read the book

One of My Favorite Books

and learned all about making Mouse Cookies.

If you’d like to learn how to make these delicious cookies check out our recipe

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You can also see the kids enjoying their Trail Mix Energy Snack where they mixed 5 animal crackers, 6 pretzels, 7 mini marshmallows, 8 goldfish, 9 raisins, and 10 pieces of popcorn into a zip-lock baggie.

At the Museum we like to experiment with food. Vicki Cobb has written a fantastic book called Science Experiments You Can Eat. The book includes recipes along side explanations about the science behind the ingredients and their reactions to each other. One recipe teaches us how to make biscuits out of sour milk and another about how syrups are solutions that don’t crystallize.

Let us know if you make delicious Mouse Cookies or some Trail Mix Energy Snack. If you’d like to spend some time with math and cooking please sign up for our next Cooking With Math camp here!


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Peep Battle!

29 04 2011

Before Microwaving

We had quite a few marshmallow chicks hanging around and getting stale, so we named them, armed them with toothpicks, and let them battle in the microwave!

Check out the video below to see what happened.

We wanted to know more about what was going on and found a great explanation from the Exploratorium. Marshmallows are basically made of sugar and water (plus gelatin) that are wrapped around a bunch of air bubbles. When a marshmallow is heated in the microwave, two things happen. First, the heat of the microwaves softens the sugar. At the same time, the heat makes the molecules in the air bubbles move around faster, making them push into the walls (of softened sugar). This pushing makes the gas bubbles expand, and that makes the whole marshmallow expand!

You can try this at home with any type of marshmallow (not just ones shaped like animals). Be sure to place your marshmallows on a plate or paper towel, or you’ll end up with a molten mess in your microwave! Our marshmallows were fully expanded in 45 seconds, but depending on your microwave, it should take between 30 seconds and 1 minute.

Note: This experiment should be done with adult supervision.


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A New Way to Dye Eggs

24 04 2011

There are many different ways to dye eggs. One new way to dye your eggs this Easter holiday or for the spring is with crayons!

All you will need are white eggs, tongs, crayons and an empty egg carton. First, you must hard-boil the white eggs. After the eggs are finished boiling, remove them from the pot with the tongs. Dry them off and let them rest in the empty egg carton.

While they are still a little warm, color the eggs with the tips of crayon. To make it easier, remove the paper from the the crayons and color the eggs with the sides of the crayon.

In order to create a speckled effect like the purple egg in the picture, grate the crayon and sprinkle them crayon shavings on top.

These waxy eggs are very slippery, so be careful not to drop them as you are turning them around!

Once you have finished coloring them, let the eggs dry for about an hour.

What is your favorite way to decorate eggs? Be sure to let us know!


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Spring Break & Summer Camp at ACM!

7 03 2011

We’re looking forward to hosting camp at the Museum in less than a week and a half for Spring Break! We’ll have two different camps: Home Grown Cooking for ages 7-10 and Crazy for Critters for ages 4-6.

Now that the weather is getting warmer here in Austin, it’s time to plant gardens.  In addition to all the field trips and cooking experiments, we’ll be starting seeds in Home Grown Cooking. While you’re outside, notice what types of wildlife you see. We’ve been spotting lots of different bird species recently, but in Crazy for Critters, you’ll learn about all kinds of animals!

If you already have plans for Spring Break, be sure to join us over the summer!


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Gingerbread fun at the Museum and at Home

19 11 2010

Register for one of the Museum’s gingerbread house workshops today! The workshops will be held from Dec 3.-Dec 19.  It cost $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers per house. Three people can work on one gingerbread house and admission to the Museum is included. We hope you enjoy making a tasty creation in our kitchen and exploring the exciting exhibits.

Get into the spirit by making gingerbread man decorations! I used a strip of butcher paper, but you can cut a strip out of a paper grocery bag. Draw an outline of a gingerbread man. Fold the paper over back and forth and cut along the outline. Be careful not to cut the hands along the edge, so all the men will be connected. Decorate your gingerbread men with yawn, so it looks like icing.


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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

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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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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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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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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