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Kids Cook Monday & A Weekend Challenge

August 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

You know how I love to get kids into the kitchen, right? Well, this past weekend I was presented with an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up! Several months ago I joined a Facebook group for Mario Bosquez’s Weekend Cooking Challenge on Martha Stewart Living Radio (one of my favorite satellite radio channels to listen to while I’m in the car!) The idea behind the group is that once a month Mario and a guest chef present a recipe for the group’s members to make and then post their pictures, comments, tips and encouragement on cooking day. It’s kind of like a virtual cooking party!

This weekend’s challenge was to make a Blackberry Blueberry Crumble. Since I had (literally) pounds and pounds of both varieties picked at a local farm on an earlier summer outing just waiting in my freezer I was there! So I recruited my daughter to help me out and I cannot tell you how easy it was! Truly, it took us about 15 minutes to assemble and then bake. And the taste…talk about yummy! We served ours with a little whipped cream as we didn’t have any vanilla ice cream on hand. It was a hit. And I must say it made a great late night snack and breakfast too. :-)

So what does this have to do with kids cooking on Mondays? Well, it’s not so much about actually cooking on MONDAY but just getting your kids in the kitchen with you. Kids Cook Monday is program I recently learned about that “encourages families to cook and eat meals together in order to teach important skills to children, such as teamwork, portion control, following instructions, and even motor skills. Research has shown that kids who eat family dinners tend to get better grades, develop communications skills, and are less likely to be obese. Empowering children to take control of what they eat allows them to consider how much and what they’re eating.” The idea is that once a week you and your children plan a meal and cook it together. Partnered with Columbia Univeristy’s Mailman School of Public Health and John Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Health, they are committed to helping our nation end preventable diseases.

I hope to make Kids Cook Monday a regular feature of my blog, too, to hopefully inspire and encourage you all too!

Here are some pictures from our cooking session (recipe follows)!

Measuring out the brown sugar.
Mixing together the filling ingredients…yummm–berries!

Mixing together the crumble topping ingredients!

It’s ready to go into the oven!

Yummy! Our crumble fresh out of the oven–ready to eat!

Here’s the recipe for the Blackberry Blueberry Crumble:

Blueberry Blackberry Crumble
Recipe by: Kate Goodyear, Pastry Chef at Soho House Group

Ingredients
2 pounds fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh blackberries
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Juice of 1 lemon
Crumble topping
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup old fashioned oats
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
4 oz (that’s one 1/2 cup stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2) In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, blackberries, 1/3 cup brown sugar, cornstarch, salt and the lemon juice and toss well.
3) Pour into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish.
4) For the topping, place the flour, oats, sugar, the brown sugar, ground ginger, and the salt in a bowl.
5) Add the butter and mix by hand until it’s in large crumbles.
6) Spread the topping evenly over the fruit, making sure the fruit is covered.
7) Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature with buttermilk ice cream or the ice cream of your choice.

Serves 8-12

Kate’s Notes:
In the middle of June, with the weather heating up, New York City’s farmers’ markets are beginning to bloom with berries and the first of the stone fruits, cherries. Take advantage of its largesse with a fresh fruit crumble. I like the combination of blueberries and blackberries – the blueberries are a bit sweeter and the blackberries give some tang. In addition, the dark blue/purple of the fruit is gorgeous against some white ice cream. If you can’t find one of the fruits, feel free to substitute anything that looks beautiful and tastes delicious. This crumble recipe works all year long – pair with apples and pears in the fall.

Filed Under: kids cook monday, kids in the kitchen, mario bosquez, martha stewart

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