Foodbuzz 24×24: A Magic Tree House dinner
The Kid loves to read, but imagine my surprise when he came up to me and said, “I have a favorite author, her name is Mary Pope Osborne.” A favorite author at 7 years old? Those must be some books. Turns out they are – Mary Pope Osborne is the author of the popular series of “Magic Tree House
There are over forty (!!) of these chapter books and kids around the world are in love with them. As luck would have it, I was selected for Foodbuzz’s 24×24 (where 24 people from around the world are chosen to make one meal on the same day) and I chose to make a meal influenced by one of the Magic Treehouse books.
I decided to make a dinner inspired by Magic Tree House #39: Dark Day in the Deep Sea
The title of chapter 6 is: “Pea Soup”. This was in reference to the weather since it was so foggy, but I thought it’d also make a great, hearty meal for the kids. In the book Jack and Annie find themselves aboard a pirate ship, where the sailors tell the kids what’s for dinner…it’s not good.
“What are we having for lunch?” Annie whispered to Henry.
“The usual,” said Henry, sighing. “Salted meat, pickles, dried biscuits.”
This is not good, thought Jack.
He’s right. It sounds awful. So I thought I’d take this idea and make it into something wonderful. A meal that you’d really want to enjoy on a pirate ship. But what’s to drink?
“…he reached for his cup and took a long sip of water.
Jack immediately spit the liquid back into his cup. It was unbelievably sour!
“You just guzzled your lime juice, lad,” said the Professor.
“…It prevents scurvy,” said the Professor. “Every day we all drink a cup of lime juice for the vitamin C. Otherwise we’d get sores and rotten teeth”
So far, things don’t sound so good, but I promise – *my* version of this meal will knock your socks off:
Pea Soup with salted meat (recipe, here)
pickles
dried biscuits (Bacon+Cheese biscuits recipe, here)
lime juice (lime floats recipe, here)
It just so happens that the Magic Treehouse live tour was going across the country and would coming to Los Angeles the same weekend as my 24×24!
At the Magic Treehouse live event at the local bookstore, Jack and Annie appeared live, straight out of the books and encouraged the kids to explore, travel and most importantly – READ.
Jack and Annie gave a great performance and afterwards all the kids got to go up and talk to them while they stamped the kids books and gave them reading passports. The store was PACKED with kids and parents, with the line snaking all the way out onto the street!
The meal was fun and the kids got really into it – but more importantly the Kid got to experience his favorite Magic Treehouse books come to life. It was something he’ll never forget and will hopefully encourage him to keep reading!
Split Pea Soup
I made this for my Foodbuzz 24x24x24 proposal: A Magic Treehouse dinner.
The saying goes, the air is thick like pea soup. Usually people think of thick legume soups and having to soak the beans and rinse and drain and then puree. Forget all that. This will take you NO TIME at all. Easiest dinner you’ll ever make.
ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 potatoes, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups green split peas
28 ounces chicken broth
1 pound kielbasa
salt
Fresh ground pepper
You won’t need to soak the peas overnight since they are so small, just rinse them thoroughly and drain them.
All you do is this: put the onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, garlic, split peas, chicken broth, cut up kielbasa in a crock pot. Season with salt and pepper. Turn it on low for 6-8 hours. Your soup is done.
You can’t beat that. I promise, you won’t even need to puree it, the peas will simply melt into a nice thickness, stir it all together and you’ll have a dense – almost stew-like soup. I love when you don’t have to do a lot of work for a meal. Season with a little more salt and pepper before serving, if you like. A fantastic dinner with some warm biscuits and a good book.
Lime Float
I made this for my Foodbuzz 24x24x24 proposal: A Magic Treehouse dinner.
In the Magic Treehouse book Dark Day Under the Deep Sea, the kids learn that the pirates have to drink lime juice. Hm. Sour. This is a way better alternative. Lime sherbet and a fizzy soda – the most delicious way to prevent scurvy.
ingredients:
1 scoop lime sherbet
1 cup ginger ale
whipped cream
green chocolate curls
In a glass place the scoop of lime sherbet and carefully pour the ginger ale on top – it’s extremely bubbly so take your time. Come on. Do you need a recipe for this? I mean check on the comments on THIS winner of a recipe. Ridiculous.
Heck no you don’t need instructions, but I wanted to show you this picture to make you want to get up right now and make your own. It’s that good.
Foodbuzz 24×24: The Ultimate Star Wars party!
I throw A LOT of parties, so when this month’s Foodbuzz 24×24 called for “kids parties” – well, I knew I just had to get in on that. The theme was “Kids Table” – presented by Frigidaire for Save The Children.
I have done Batman parties, Elmo parties, you name it – but I have always wanted to do a Star Wars party. The kids love Clone Wars and I am a huge fan of the original movies from the 70′s – or as the Baby calls them, “Movies 4, 5, and 6.” sigh. Kids.
For this party, my plan was to screen the movies and pimp out the food something fantastic. I wanted it to be very Star Wars, with lots of fanboy references – just because that’s what makes party themes so much fun.
While I do own the two Star Wars
Like all my parties I started thumbnail sketching out all the food ideas as well as the plating and ingredients. Then I made a rundown of what needed to be cooked when, so that it all came out exactly at the start time of the party. I’m a stickler for organization – but hey, it works. I also printed out a bunch of cards with the names of each dish. (I’ve put it in pdf form for you to download for free HERE.)
Here’s what the menu looked like:
Yoda Oreos (recipe, here) and Blue Milk (recipe, here)
Of course I’m starting with something sweet, since that’s what I love most. The blue milk was a HIT with the kids and a head scratcher to those who weren’t super fans…
The Yoda heads just screamed out to be made into Oreos, don’t you think? The color is from using matcha (green tea) powder, which gave them a nice flavor too.
Princess Leia cupcakes (recipe, here)
Princess Leia is my absolute favvvvorite and I have been wanting to do a Leia cupcake for a long time. It’s the ‘do that makes the woman.
Han Solo in Carbonite Jell-o (recipe, here)
This couldn’t have worked out better. Sure he’s not in the right pose, but people still thought it was freakin’ hilarious. The Baby was ticked that I ruined a perfectly good Han figure, though.
Cloud City pops (recipe, here)
When you go to visit Lando, this is what he serves you….right before he stabs you in the back. Jerk.
Yoda Soda (recipe, here)
Bubbly and sweet. A little taste of Dagobah.
Death Star Watermelon (how-to, here)
That’s no watermelon!! Hey, it’s not a party until someone carves a superweapon out of a melon, am I right?? Hm.
Sarlacc Pit dip (recipe, here), Spicy Yoda Ears (recipe, here) & Ewok food (recipe, here)
Fun snacks that take NO prep time – are the best.
Double sided Lightsaber hot dogs (recipe, here) and Bacon wrapped Pretzel Lightsabers (recipe, here)
Single or double lightsaber, whichever you choose, they are both delicious.
‘Han’-burgers (recipe, here)
Little teriyaki beef sliders – the perfect size for a party!
Vader Pataters (recipe, here)
My kids were disappointed that I didn’t carve Vader’s face into these. Geez. They know me too well.
Star Wars Pumpkin (how-to, here)
It’s October – and I seem to spend my entire Fall carving things out of food, don’t ask me why. I put this out on the porch to welcome everyone and to let them know what they were in for…
What made this party so easy was my love the original movies. I had ideas for about 20 more dishes but I had to stop myself.
I sent all the kids home with little party containers of their very own Ewok food.
In the end, movies were watched, there were lightsaber fights, and lots and lots of eating. It was a super fun party, everyone got a kick out of the food, and most importantly – Han was finally set free from his Jell-o prison….
Here’s the whole menu:
‘Han’-burgers
Vader Taters
Yoda Oreos
Blue Milk
Princess Leia Cupcakes
Han Solo in Carbonite Jell-o
Cloud City pops
Yoda Soda
Death Star Watermelon
Ewok food
Spicy Yoda ears
Double sided Lightsaber Hot Dogs
Bacon wrapped pretzel lightsabers
Sarlacc Pit dip
Star Wars Pumpkin
**I was interviewed at the official Star Wars blog about this party! (here)
Yoda Green Tea Oreos
Made for the Ultimate Star Wars party (here)
Yoda-Oreos? Yod’oreos? Yodos?
I got the cool Star Wars cookie cutters from Williams Sonoma. When I bought them the FIRST thing I thought of was making a sandwich cookie, much like the Hello Kitty Oreos I made a few months ago. I mean look at him. Yoda is just screaming to be a cream filled cookie.
I made the dough with matcha powder aka green tea – which not only added a nice flavor but the PERFECT Yoda color. If only I had made these back when I was doing WWYE:What Would Yoda Eat…himself!
ingredients (cookie):
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 Tablespoon matcha (green tea powder)
2 teaspoons of lemon zest
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
ingredients (filling):
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Matcha is a fine, concetrated green tea powder. It’s what make green tea ice cream (recipe, here) so delicious. You can find it in asian markets, the asian section of your grocery store, or online
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, matcha and lemon zest. To me, the lemon just adds a little something, almost undetectable, yet adds so much flavor. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until combined. Add the egg.
Slowly add in the flour until it is incorporated. The dough will form quickly, and when it starts to pull away from the bowl, it’s done!
Isn’t the color LOVELY? So very Yoda. Split the dough into two and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until you are ready to use.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prep baking sheets with silpats.
Start rolling out the dough. I use powdered sugar instead of flour so it doesn’t get that dough-y taste and the sugar adds a slight sweetness. Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick.
Use your cutter to cut out the shapes and transfer onto the silpat lined baking sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes depending on your oven.
Let cool on a wire rack. While the cookies are cooling, start the filling.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter while carefully adding the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and beat until creamy.
Using a piping bag or a spatula, place the filling on the (flat) side of one cookie. Use another cookie to press on top and form your ‘sandwich’.
There you have it. The most edible Jedi master in the history of Star Wars. Deliciously cute and full of sweetness!
Princess Leia cupcakes
These were a big hit when I made them for the Ultimate Star Wars party (here)
It’s the ‘do that makes the woman, you know?
ingredients:
cupcakes
cream cheese frosting
black frosting
heart quins
Oreos
Normally I’d go all out and go nuts with the fondant (like with the Superhero cupcakes), but I wanted to take an easier route here and do it all in frosting for a change.
Take your cooled cupcake and spread a THIN smooth layer of frosting on top. I used cream cheese frosting (recipe, here) because it has a slight off white tint to it, which I liked for the complexion.
Using a frosting tinted black, I do one side of the hair first. (We are going for a middle part, here.)
Add the other side of the hair and then the eyes. Place a little heart quin for the lips.
Now for the hair – take an Oreo and stick it to the side of the cupcake liner, using the black frosting. Do the same for the other side. To get rid of the ‘white line’ i.e. creamy center, simply run a thin layer of black frosting down the center of the sandwich cookie.
I’m sure these would be served at a high tea for the Leader of the Rebel Alliance.
Han Solo in Grape Jell-o Carbonite
Made for the Ultimate Star Wars party (here)
Is this a recipe? Not so much, just an opportunity to play with toys.
ingredients:
6 ounces grape Jell-o
Han Solo action figure
Han Solo in carbonite is legendary, so I thought it’d be a fun party centerpiece to have him ‘frozen’ in grape Jell-o. I didn’t have the Han in carbonite figure, so with the short time I had I just used regular figure – to which the kids immediately said, “THAT IS NOT THE RIGHT OUTFIT, MOM.” Yeah, yeah, but you gotta make do with what you got.
I took the NEW in package Han and gave him a quick bath. You wouldn’t think I’d use a used toy in food would you? With my bacteria paranoia? No way.
Mix up the Jell-o according to package directions. Pour it into a 9×13 pan and set Han in there nice and gentle like. Chill and serve.
Yes, the figure is incorrect. But it’s still funny. And tasty.
Eventually Han will be free, and the kids will be happy to get an action figure! It’s like a fortune cookie – except cold and wiggly!
Blue Milk
Made for the Ultimate Star Wars party (here)
Any TRUE Star Wars fan knows, blue milk is where it’s at. It helps kids grow into strong Jedi.
ingredients:
16 ounces of milk
blue food coloring gel
No recipe needed, but watching this turn blue is half the fun. Just a quick touch of ELECTRIC BLUE food coloring and you have instant Bantha milk.
The kids LOVED it and asked for seconds. Huh. Who knew a little food coloring would get you your daily dairy requirements so easily.
Cloud City pops
Made for the Ultimate Star Wars party (here)
When you go to visit Lando, this is what he serves you…right before he stabs you in the back. Jerk.
ingredients:
20 strawberry marshmallows
40 mini marshmallows
20 lollipop sticks
frosting
sprinkles
Place two mini marshmallows on a skewer, followed by one regular sized strawberry one.
Dip the end of the marshmallow into frosting, then sprinkles.
These look nice on display but can also be wrapped and given out as party favors! If you aren’t doing a Star Wars party you can always use these for a fairy party, jes sayin’.
Yoda Soda
Made for the Ultimate Star Wars party (here)
Whatever Yoda ATE, I’m sure he drank this with it.
ingredients:
3/4 cup limeade
1/2 cup sparkling water
1 scoop lime sherbet
Fill a cup with the limeade and sparkling water. Stir to combine and add a scoop of lime sherbet.
Yoda drank this every day and that’s why he lived for 800 years. True story.
