This is the simplest recipe and the best for a party appetizer – it just adds a little something extra to plain ol’ edamame. It’s not that spicy trust me – from someone who doesn’t care for spicy things – but you can always adjust it to taste.

ingredients:
1 package frozen edamame
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon Ichimi Togarashi
1 teaspoon sugar

Ichimi Togarashi is a dry Japanese chili pepper – you’ve probably seen the little red topped bottles in more ramen restaurants next to the salt and pepper. it’s a shakeable condiment that you can find in Japanese grocery stores.

In a small bowl combine the salt, ichimi togarashi and sugar. Stir well and set aside.

Boil edamame according to package, drain. Blot them dry with paper towels, just a bit – then sprinkle the seasoning on top.

Serve it and act like you worked really hard to make it.

You know who the real winner of the Fried Chicken Face Off, was? The CORN SALAD. I wanted to make ‘light’ side dishes so as not to compete with the greaz-i-ness of the fried chicken. This corn salad was perfection. Adapted from an Ina Garten recipe – per the usual, it was fantastic. Minimal ingredients, AMAZING flavor.

ingredients:
4 cups of cooked corn (cut off the cob, or thawed from frozen)
1/2 cup red onion, diced small
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

If you don’t want to use fresh corn, frozen works just fine. I used half yellow corn and half sweet white corn which added not only flavor but lovely colors.

In a small bowl combine the cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and basil. Whisk to combine.

In a large bowl toss the corn and red onions with the dressing.

That’s it? YES THAT’S IT. So simple, you won’t believe how great this tastes.

The simplest dinners are the ones that always seem to get the kids to jump for joy. A quick trip to the Farmer’s Market and you’re ready to roll. Tangerines, guacamole from fresh avocados, strawberries and fresh roasted corn! Corn is so sweet right now you can just roast it in the oven, with very little prep and very little seasoning.

When you buy your corn in husk, open it just a touch to make sure it’s not WORM EATEN. I know, barf. That is rare, but I still like to check. Normally if you find that one is good, the whole batch will be good, just sayin’.

Now some people soak their corn, which is fine but I rarely have the time. So just crank up the oven and thrown ‘em in.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees – place the corn right there on your oven rack for 35 minutes.

Take it out – be careful – these things are blazing hot. Carefully pull back the husks, and add butter, salt, cheese, whatever you’d like, but honestly, it doesn’t even need it. It should be sweet and creamy, right off the cob!

The Kid insisted we sign up for a one day Parent/Child cooking class at school. It was mostly nutrition and assembly, frankly he’s done more sous chef-ing on his own at home, but he loved it and he immediately wanted to show the Baby what we had made.

These are very simple veggie rolls, mostly using what was in my pantry, but they are easily adaptable and so easy for kids to put together themselves.

ingredients:
tortillas
hummus
cream cheese
shredded carrots
sliced tomatoes
sliced bell peppers
Sliced cucumbers
cheese
olives
lettuce

Spread the tortilla with either hummus or cream cheese (or both).

Layer in the veggies.

Roll from one end, tightly. Poke with a toothpick for support and cut in half.

The kids had so much fun making their own dinner and the Kid who just loves vegetables thought these were the best things ever. However…the Baby refused to eat it unless I threw some ham in there. So veggie – not quite, but still delicious!

This makes a great side dish and is done on the stove in no time flat.

ingredients:
2 potatoes
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
salt
pepper

Peel and rinse potatoes. Chop into small 1/2″-3/4″ pieces.

In a large skillet heat olive oil, add the garlic and the shallot. Cook until the shallot starts to soften.

Add the potatoes, cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook for another 10 minutes until the potatoes start to crisp up and brown, season again with salt and pepper.

Seriously. Japanese bento accoutrements are the best things in the universe. So cute. So little. So useless.

I never knew that these things had a name. O.G. always called them FOOTBALLS cause that’s what they looked like. Brilliant, I tell you. Anyway I was shocked at how simple they are to make and the kids absolutely love them.

ingredients:
2 cups rice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3/4 teaspoons salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon sake (I left this out when I made it for the kids, fyi)
1 package aburage aka tofu pouches

Cook your rice in the rice cooker. While that’s going, in a small bowl mix together the rice vinegar, salt, sugar and sake if you are using it. Set aside.

Now bring a pot of water to a boil and heat the aburage according to the package directions. Obviously this is the easy step, since the thing is pre-made. Pretty awesome and simple.

When the rice is done, mix it will with the sauce ingredients that you’ve mixed together. Careful, the rice is HOT.

Now get your prepped aburage ready. They look like little pockets.

Using a spoon, stuff the prepped rice into the pockets and serve. It’s that simple!

Part of Food Buzz 24, 24, 24: Cooking with Kids and the Farmer’s Market

This works in a weird way you wouldn’t expect. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a great refreshing summer salad.

ingredients:
1 tsp honey
1/2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
2 ripe avocados
1 Oro Blaco Grapefruit
2 Ruby Red Grapefruits

In a small bowl combine the honey, dijon, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and whisk together.

Peel the avocados, remove the pits. Cut into small cubes. drizzle with a little of the dressing just so the avocado won’t turn brown while you prep your grapefruits. Peel the grapefruits, cutting off the white pith. Carefully slice between each membrane so that you get only fruit segments.

Toss with the avocados and the rest of the dressing. Serve cold.

Quite obviously this is not a recipe. Just an idea of how to make your kids get interactive with meal time. One of the kids favorite books, “I will never, not ever eat a tomato” featuring Charlie and Lola, is all about picky eaters. In order to get Lola to eat Charlie comes up with fantastical ideas of what the foods could become. I took his cue and made race cars out of carrots.

I was making two race cars, one for each kid.
ingredients:
two carrots,
a radish
two sliced olives

Then I printed out teeeeny tiny little Charlie and Lola to sit in my carrot mobile.

The sliced olives were the steering wheels, and the sliced radishes were the tires. The kids were so excited to see race cars on their dinner plates, the Baby ate the whole thing!

Part of my own personal ‘Iron Chef: Battle Lemons’ series.

This a great side dish and since it’s baked, a little bit healthier. The lemon brings out a refreshing taste in the fries that you wouldn’t expect.

ingredients:
4 baking potatoes
1/8 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons garlic
zest of one lemon

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Wash and pat dry your potatoes. I like the skin on, but if you don’t – go ahead and peel them. Slice the potato into stick-like fries.

Toss all the ingredients in a bowl, and lay it out on a lined baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes. That’s it! Couldn’t be easier. You know what goes great with this? LEMON COKE. Honest.