A great week for us--fun stuff everywhere. Isabella is in Ontario, Canada for the Stratford Shakespeare Festibal--they get to see 5 great plays in 3 days--back home Sunday. If anyone sees her up there, say "Hey!" from Mom.

Olivia and her buddy auditioned this morning for The Nutcracker on Ice at the local skating rink. They did very well, so we'll see what their chilly efforts produce when they put the list up.

We're thrilled with the article Miss Caryn Rousseau of the Associated Press published yesterday, lots of feedback from our fans and family members. If you'd like to check it out, you can see it on our site, Spatulatta.com.

Uncle Vito's in town this weekend from Girasole Restaurant in Pittsburgh--I'm sure we'll go and explore new restaurants with him. He's here to attend Chicago Gourmet, part of which Belle and Liv's pop will be emceeing. The cooking demos there are excellent, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves last year--it's a very elegant "Taste of Chicago" at Millenium Park. Foodies, head that way.

Spatulatta Sisters in Irish Press

Last Sunday, Belfast, Ireland was greeted by an invitation to cook with our favorite little chefs, Livvy and Belle. Team Spatulatta is leaving next Saturday for the Belfast Taste and Music Festival. We're all excited! We'll be doing cooking demos that include our Creature Features, a Hawaiian barbecue, and Italian menus.

Our itinerary includes a reception with the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Naomi Long and trips to Ulster and the Mountains of Mourne.

We have a couple free days in our schedule so last night we sat down with the Frommer's guides and planned a couple side trips to the Giant's Causeway and Dairy. Can't wait to see the green rolling hills and the small Irish towns.

We'll be blogging from Ireland whenever we get a chance. So keep posted!

Race to the Taste in Ireland

THE RACE TO TASTE IS ON…

Little chefs Jake O'Neill (aged 7), Daniel Catterson (aged 11), Matthew Catterson (aged 8) and Jasmine O'Neill (aged 9) race to welcome Team Spatulatta which will be making their UK and Ireland debut at the Belfast Taste and Music Fest which runs from 6th to 9th August 2009.

Team Spatulatta is doing our first international event at the Belfast Taste and Music Festival. We're all really excited!

We'll be blogging from Ireland. So stay tuned!

Share Our Strength Cook-off

Meet Spatulatta's newest youth spokespeople, brother-sister team Matt and Alisia. They were pitch hitting for Liv and Belle on Sunday because the girls had a previous engagement. Belle was graduating from junior high. Graduation trumps cooking any day.



Alisia and Matt hosted involved in a very special cook-off at Kendall College. The cook-off was a fundraiser for Share Our Strength, an organization that works to end the invisible threat of child hunger here in the US.

The Cook-off was held in Kendall College's 3 professional kitchens. Eighty kids split up in teams of 2 and were paired with Kendall College students. Each of the 3 kitchens was assigned a secret ingredient, Iron Chef style: carrots, sweet potatoes and tomatoes.

Team Tomato, Team Carrot and Team Sweet Potato came up with their own chants and cheers as took their stations and the competition began. Celebrity chefs, Michael Kornick, Paul Kahan, and Erik Williams were on-hand to give teams advice and encouragement.


Left to Right: Chef Michael Kornick of MK Restaurant, Chef Paul Kahan of Blackbird Restaurant, Chef Erik Williams of MK Restaurant.

Alisia and Matt interviewed the young cooks, ranging in age from 8- to 13-years old, about the inspiration for their dishes. The teams had one hour to come up with a recipe, cook it and attractively plate it. Even with the pressure on, cooks and chefs found time to stop and chat with Alisia and Matt. Thanks to the crew at Event Architects, interviews were fed live to the Kendall auditorium where the moms and dads got a chance to experience the kitchen action without feeling the heat.



When time was called, the teams put down their spatulas and laid out the dishes for the judges. Of course beautiful plating was considered, but inventiveness scored high points. Unexpected uses for familiar ingredients abounded. Tomatoes became jam, sweet potatoes became custards and carrots filled quesadillas.



One winner was chosen from each kitchen. After a break, the semi-finalists from Team Carrot, Team Tomato and Team Sweet Potato entered "Kitchen Stadium" for the final round.

Two of the teams were paired with celebrity chefs Michael Kornick and Erik Williams of MK Restaurant. Team Tomato retained there Kendall Student Chef, Brian. He'd seen them to the semi-finals and they were sticking together.



A new secret ingredient was announced - quinoa!

Not many in the audience had heard of the protein-rich, South American grain let alone cooked it. But the chefs and their teams didn't miss a beat.



Tension built in the final minutes. Sautés sizzled and steam bloomed everywhere. Chef Kornick produced an beautiful asparagus flan to accompany his quinoa curry dish.

But the judges had a surprise for us all.



It was the Tomato Team under Kendall's own Chef Brian, who produced the winning dish. A quinoa and kale salad surrounded by perfectly steamed asparagus, brussel sprouts and of course tomatoes.

Go Tomatoes Go!

Many thanks go to the folks at the ConAgra Foundation, who generously sponsored the event and the folks at Whole Foods, who donated the marvelous ingredients.

Cooking: the Exhibition at Liberty Science Center

Team Spatulatta has been invited by the Liberty Science Museum to take part in Cooking the Exhibition, a new experience under development at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ.

Cooking: the Exhibition is an exploration of the everyday science experiment that defines our cultures, our bodies and our planet.

The exhibition will open at the Liberty Science Museum in 2011 and then travel throughout the country.

Most of us don't think of cooking as a science experiment but you'd be surprised at just how much science is involved in getting your food to the table. The exhibit will look at what happens when you carmelize onions, what is the chemical reaction that turns meat brown and other amazing molecular happenings.

Exhibit designer Wayne LaBarr points out, "Through cooking we prepare our sustenance to improve its safety, increase what can be consumed and enhance the pleasure we receive from our meals, while also drawing our individual and group identities from it.

In the 21^st century, cooking has taken on added importance and attention as this universally shared, species-bonding activity now increasingly influences and impacts our nutritional and overall health. It has become the focus of media attention and cultural efforts and is critical to the “growing” issue of food sources and the sustainability of our modern society."

Heady stuff! Who knew that was all happening on top of our stoves and in our ovens?

You can join in the development and ideas for the project by visiting http://cookingexhibitchefs.ning.com/

Bon Bons from Bella

Bella is a new member to Spatulatta. She writes:

I know a recipe for bonbons and I'd really like to share it with someone.

So here is the recipe.

6 large marshmallows

1/2 cups of chocolate chips

toppings sprinkles, coconut or chopped nuts.

waxed paper lined cookie sheet

microwave safe bowl

microwave

Directions:

have a grown up melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.

When the chocolate is cool enough dip the end of the marshmallow in the chocolate.

Top the marshmallow in sprinkles or coconut or chopped nuts.

put the marshmallows on the cookie sheet and wait to harden.

Enjoy!

Bella

Having Friends for Dinner? Try This!

Liv and Belle,

Last night when we had some friends over, my mom asked me to make dinner and suggested "Tiny Tuna Melts" from your website. It was a great idea, since we had a LOT of English muffins on hand, but my friends and I weren't quite in the mood for plain old tuna salad. So I thought it might be cool to try putting "Hot Tuna Salad" (also from your website) on the English muffins instead. My friends loved it. It was delicious!

-Isabelle

Magic Soup Essay Winner - Part 4

ala cazam ala cazoop what am i going to put in my soup? a cat and a dog and maybe a frog. a hoop and a loop and a little bit of moop. my brother my mother and my little sister. how about a giant twister? a shoe and a zoo i think i'll invite you. A bee and a sea but of course not me. I'll invie mandy and sandy and i'm thinking about randy. i'll put in candy and my favorite word quandy! i think thats enough or we'll have to much soup. i'll add 1 last thing.... a giant hoop!

Alicia, 10 from New York

Magic Soup Essay Winners - Part 3

Here's an essay from Rosie, our youngest winner. Rosie is holding a picture she drew to go along with her essay. Here's what she wrote:

If I could make magical soup, I would call it "Garden Soup". And I would put in rose petals, and daisies. I would put in honey that bees made, and I would put in fairy dust. I would also put in mint leaves that I picked from my garden. And I would cook it in a pot made of tree wood. I would cook it by the fairy tree, where all the fairies lived. I would serve it in cups made out of lily flower petals, with tiny spoons made out of flower stems. And I would serve it on the top of the mountain in a big tree, where fairies have tea parties. The spoons and bowls are so tiny that I couldn't use them so I decided to give them to fairies. They had rose petal wings and had tiny purple flowers for crowns, and they used mini daisies for wands. Then I would fill their bowls of soup and all the fairies would take a sip of it and each one of the fairies said it was the best soup they had ever tasted! The End!

Rosie, 8 from Utah

Magic Soup Essay Winners - Part 2

Here's another winning essay from Carly in California:

I'm standing at the base of a massive oak tree; in its sturdy branches there sits a beautiful old tree house. This is where I'll cook my magical soup. The twisting staircase teeters as I climb up into the homey tree bungalow. I survey my kitchen space. It's a big kitchen with everything needed to make magic. I start boiling the vegetable stock; animals from all around come and sit on the beams of the house, watching me curiously. My close friend comes to help me; we throw into the pot of bubbling broth: kidney beans, spinach, salt, pepper, noodles, tomatoes, basil, thyme, and sizzling turkey bacon. We dip our heads over the soup and breathe in the savory scents. It smells delicious! But we forgot something! Love, gratitude, laughter, kindness, happiness and the most special ingredient...an secret spice that will wipe all your worries away! After we add the special ingredient, a new kind of smell comes over the whole tree house. Do you know what it is? All the feelings that we added are mixing together, blending into the soup. I look at my friend-we know that it's the best batch of magical soup we've ever made.

Magic Soup Essay Contest Winners - Part 1

The judges have decided! And we have the winners of the Magic Soup Essay Contest.

The panel was made up of 3 young people: Belle, Liv and Liv's friend Jasime and 3 adults: Gaylon Emerzian and Heidi Umbhau, our producers and Mark Farne, our Community Outreach Coordinator.

We judged 90% on originality and creativity and only 10% on spelling and grammar. The essays were a variety of funny, witty, and heartfelt. So were real recipes, other were complete fantasy. It was really tough to make a decision because there were so many great entries.

We'll be posting the winners as we receive permission from their parents.

Here's two of the winning essays:

Mine is a real soup I have been making for years now. Mom says it was my Grandmas recipe and I really miss her. Its simple but good and everyone loves it. Just did out Grandmas old kettle, its the only one you can use for this soup. The fill with water and add a bunch of diced potatoes. Boil for a half hour or so while talking to Mom or watching TV. Then add some onions and boil another half hour. Sometimes there are two really good TV shows on. Next add spices but don't really look at what you add. Make sure to talk to other people so you don't really pay attention. Now butter and go for the real stuff. Mom says its too expensive to use everyday but Grandma would roll in her grave if we used the fake stuff for the soup. Next the secrete, add some sour cream and mix to no lumps then fill the pot with milk. You can taste it here but its not done. Last of all mix some flour with some more milk so there are no lumps then add to soup so it gets thicker.Then you get to eat but you have to eat with people you like and tell stories about Grandma. Its the best!

Andrew, 14 from Mississippi

My soup is called "Hot melted pepper jack, cheesy, chili, chicken soup." Here is what is in my soup. I put 2 cups of melted pepper jack cheese, 1 1/2 cup of chili, 1/2 cup of garlic, 12 jelly beans, 1 1/2 cup chicken, 1/2 a box of make your own noodles out of dough, 1 cup hot sauce, and 3 cherry flavored stones. You are probably wondering who I am eating it with, or where that person and I are eating it! Well, I will eat it with whoever is staying here at my house. I will eat it in the sky on a big cloud. I will eat it without my family, they are not famous. My family are people I love. I would also serve it on the Eiffel tower, it is a famous building. It would be in a familiar place that I wish to go to soon. My magic "Hot melted pepper jack, cheesy, chili, chicken soup" would give special powers, it would make you fly. We would fly over the city after we eat the soup.

Larry, 12 from Mississippi

Congratulations to all the winners! Thanks to everyone who participated.

Team Spatulatta

Spatulatta's Top Ten Picks from the International Home and Housewares Show 2009

This year we don't have a video report because most of Team Spatulatta was laid up with the flu. Liv and Belle were down for the count and Miss Heidi, their mom, was trying hard to stay on her feet while tending to the girls. So I was on my own with a still camera and a pad of paper.

My first impression was vibrant color. Color was popping everywhere. Even OXO with its signature black and white had added color to their spatulas. Here's our TOP TEN PICKS:

1. Chef'n PalmZester

Looks like a Power Ranger bracelet but really goes on your finger tips. With a few quick strokes this zester makes quick work of a lime or lemon. Chef'n CEO and inventor, David Holcomb, has gone the extra mile once again. The citrus zest is neatly stored in a flip open compartment rather than being shot all over the kitchen! Fabulous design and dishwasher safe.





2. Chef'n Four-Sided Grater

Always on the lookout for knuckle-saving devices. This is variation on the traditional box grater but it has a genius finger guide to keep your digits away from the super sharp blades. It also has a bottom so you're not grating directly onto the counter or having the grater slide around on a plate. The bottom comes off for easy access and cleaning.









3. ISI Flex It Measuring Cups

We've found over the years that children need practice pouring and until they get the coordination to stop the liquid, they have a tendency to overpour. These flexible measuring cups are great for putting oil or milk back into the bottle. Give these measuring cups a little squeeze and they make the perfect shape spout.

They are especially good for getting liquids into a running stand mixer. The flexible cup can be squeezed into a perfect shape for maneuvering into the area between the motor and the bowl. ISI also has flexible bowls that do the same magic for dry measure.








4. Zyliss Apple and Potato Cutter

We're always looking for cutting implements that keep children's hands away from the blades. The Zyliss Apple and Potato Cutter works like a traditional apple corer but it also has a replaceable blade that will cut potatoes into fries.








I could see all sorts of uses for the potato blade. Making small, relatively uniform cubes is a big challenge for small people. We could use it on jicama, squash, maybe even carrots. The child has both hands in plain sight and can use her or his full weight to press down on the implement.

When the cutter makes it through the veggie it gives a satisfying "thunk." Suddenly your 7-year old has done the work of a sous chef.







5. Playful Life French Cooking Set

I'm always rooting for women entrepenuers and I was glad to see a number of them at the show this year. Liz Rossilli was a teacher for years before she started her business. She draws on her knowledge of early child development in her products.

The Playful Life French Cooking Set is a great example. Not only do you get the chef's hat and the child-sized implements but you also get 5 French recipe cards that teach a little geography along with how to make chocolate mousse. Perfect for a 3 or 4 year old's birthday gift.

Liz also has a line of place maps that would be perfect for 1 -5 year olds with mapes and counting games. For older kids she has the Playful Party Planner, with etiquette tips, creative ideas and list maker. The graphics are adorable.



6. Zanda Panda Silicone Heart Mold

Sandra Lira, the designer, started as a sculptor and used silicone for molding bronze. One day it dawned on her that she could put her skills to work in the kitchen. She observed that children would bicker over who was going to get the decoration on a cake so she decided to make the whole cake a decoration.

She has a number of designs of cake and chocolate molds some of which have hand sculpted unicorns. I especially liked the heart mold. It's perfect for shortbeard because it's deeply scored. You can easily divide the cake into 8 individual heart shapes. Sandra uses the mold for chocolate, painting red chocolate into the small hearts before pouring milk chocolate into the rest of the mold. She then uses edible Luster Dust to highlight the flowers and curlicues.

Molds are also great for crafts. They form plaster of paris or paper maché as easily as cake batter.


7. Precidio Buddy Measuring Cups

These measuring cups with extra large handles are eronomically correct for really little hands. They're also beautiful bright colors. The measuring spoons have a slight dip in their handles to accomodate kids' range of motion.

Precido has a complement of cute bowls, cute spoons, cute cookie cutters perfect for the 2 to 6 crowd.



8. Orka Toast Tongs

Orka makes silicone mitts, ice cream scoops, dripless ice pops in a variety of yummy colors. My choice this year are a pair of silicone toast tongs. You can fearless dig down deep into that toaster to rescue that artisan bread slice or half bagel. They also double as mini salad tongs but I'm sure there are many other uses.

Orka also makes an omelet pan with lower sides so instead of struggling to lift the omelet, it can be slid onto the plate.










9. Jo!e - Kitch Pizza Cutter

I saw a lot similar cutters by other manufacturers but this circular blade had a red plastic cover so you can see that the blade is covered when not in use. A child might need to use both hands on this tool and then need some assistance holding the pizza. But this tool will be much safer than the traditional wheel blade on a handle.

Jo!e has a whole line of too cute zesters and peelers with little faces. I was really intrigued by the double bladed carrot peeler. Do twice the work in half the time.


10. ISI Get-it Tongs

Bamboo tongs come with a red silicon stand that also keeps the tongs together so small people don't have to wrestle trying to get the implements at the right angle.

They kind of look like reindeer antlers and I can see all sorts of family pictures featuring these tongs.











Thanks to all the exhibitors for sharing

Find us on FACEBOOK!

We have a Facebook page!

If you have a Facebook account, type in Spatulatta Cookbook in the search engine.

Find more updates, start discussions, and join the rest of our friends :)

Go to http://facebook.com

Some cute (but disqualified) entries for the Magic Soup Contest

We got a kick out of these entries, especially since they were from adults entering the Magic Soup Contest. The age limit was 14-years old but that didn't stop some of our friends from wanting to tell us about their version Magic Soup.

Bob, 48 years old, from KY writes:

Claude's Louisiana Gumbo. You start with a roux of butter, flour and spices. Then you add fresh chicken, okra, tomato, green pepper, chili peppers and, of course, andouille sausage. You add the seafood for the last minutes only to avoid it getting rubbery.

Hazel, age 39, writes:

Right out of the can into the pot.

Susan, age 63, writes:

My magic pot of soup would be made with chocolate kisses. Yummy! :D

Shirley, age 73, writes:

Seek and dump. Start with a pot of chicken stock, then seek good stuff from fridge, freezer and pantry that tickles your fancy. Exotic and plain, sweet and sour, add some salt and pepper, put the lid on the pot and simmer for 2 hours sort of, tap occasionally with your magic wand and fingers crossed. The result is a magic soup. Never made a magic soup that everyone didn't like.

Maybe Bob, Hazel, Susan, and Shirley will inspire an "over 18" essay contest!

Thanks for sharing!

From Yun and Baby Hedgehog in China

My friends:

Every week I always look for your letter.  When I heard from you, I felt very happy, but I'm so sorry that i didn't reply to you on time because of the homework.  you know that in china the students always have too much homework.

I also have some good news to tell you:  I'm keeping a little hedgehog, it's so lovely.  And now I can cook more delicious food for my family.

Write me soon.

Yours,

Yun

This is the photo of the hedgehog, do you like it?

Click to enlarge

Spatulatta replies:

Hello Yun!

We love receiving your emails.  Your education comes first so please do not apologize! :)

Your baby hedgehog is so adorable.  Does he or she have a name?

We are going to post the photo on the Spat Blog.

Stay in touch,

Team Spatulatta

Yucky Lunch at School

Dear Spatulatta,

My best friend is a HUGH fan of your webshows and I just learned about it. I look forward to seeing this very much.

But the reason I am sending you this is because me and my friends are all 13-year old girls and we have a big problem.

At our school we don't have a well balanced diet. Its all greasy pizza and taco salads. Everything that the school says is healthy, no kid wants to eat because its not delectable.

And it's not just our school it's all the schools in our town. Many of our schools have bad lunch menus. So I want to ask you if you would possibly tell us some fun tips to make lunch fun and
healthy.

Thanks!

adrienne, dorie, and val

---------------------------------------

Dear Adrienne, Dorie and Val,

When I read your letter I felt so bad. Greasy pizza day after day for lunch is really depressing.

Bringing your lunch to school is the easiest way to get a healthy, nutritious lunch. You can start by packing a salad or a sandwich on whole wheat bread. Look around our Recipe Box to get some great ideas.

If you want your food to stay cool and you don't have lunch pack with a cooler insert, you can experiment with putting ice in one zipper freezer bag and then putting that bag inside another. That way if the ice melts and the water leaks it, won't get too far. Just don't put the ice directly on top of your lettuce.

If you have a Thermos, you can take soup or stew to school. We like to make soup on Sunday while we're all hanging around the house. Then we freeze small containers for later use. Pop one into the microwave, heat it up and there's lunch. Add an apple, banana or orange.

The great thing about making your own lunch is that you can control how much fat, salt and sugar goes into each meal.

If you young women would want to make sure other kids get a healthy lunch, you might enlist the help of one of your teachers to put a presentation together for your PTA or PTO. Most parents don't ever see the kind of food their children are served in school. It might be an even bigger shock to them to taste it.

Also let your parents know what's going on in your cafeteria. Three families are a good start. If each family can recruit another family you have the beginning of a movement. You could be champions for all the younger kids who hate lunch just as much as you do but don't feel they can speak out about it.

Healthy Schools Campaign and Common Threads are both organizations that are working to help kids eat healthier lunches at schools.

Keep us updated on how your quest for a healthy lunch is going.

Team Spatulatta

Book Review - Picture Yourself Cooking With Your Kids

Reviewed by Gaylon Emerzian


Beth Sheresh's book Picture Yourself Cooking with Your Kids has a hefty title and is jam packed with recipes and real world tips that will definitely help parents take the plunge and involve their children in the kitchen.

The book begins with a chapter that I absolutely loved called "A Cook's Primer." It has so many great tips: like how to determine the age appropriate recipes for your child, how to encourage a picky eater and how to make sure a child, who is vegetarian or vegan, gets proper nutrition.

The part I found the most interesting was a section called "Defensive Shopping." Ms. Sheresh looks at ingredient lists on packages and highlights the many AKAs. She writes, "Sugar by any other name is still sugar."

But the tip that impressed me the most was on page 36 about how to read the code on those tiny, little labels stuck to fresh fruit and vegetables to determining whether food was conventionally grown, organically grown or genetically modified. It was an "Ah-ha!" moment for me.

Ms. Sheresh also has a whole section on yeast doughs, something we're just starting experimenting with after 3 years on Spatulatta! In fact, we used her recipe for pizza dough to make our heart-shaped "I Love Pizza" for this year's Valentine's Day episode. It came together in a way that made yeast doughs seem less intimidating.

The cookbook is chocked full of pictures of kids in the kitchen and step-by-step photos of making the recipes. I love the fact that the kids in the snapshots look like real kids. They are multi-ethnic and have a variety of sizes and shapes. The disappointment is that the majority of the photos are all a little dark and moody. Some of the food actually looks unappetizing.

But all in all I think it was a task well done!

You can see more of Beth Sheresh's writing on kitchenMage

Picture Yourself Cooking with Your Kids
Published by: Course Technology
ISBN-13 978-1-59863-588-4

Mariah's Fruity Blend

• 1 cup washed strawberries

• 1/2 cup low-fat milk

• 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt

• 1 banana

Directions:
Add all the ingredients to blender, then enjoy!

Spatulatta says:

Mmmmm, makes us think of Springtime, which is right around the corner!
- Team Spatulatta

Old Bay Rice by Brooke

1 cup rice 
1/2 cup water 
Pinch of old bay seasoning 
 
Use the instant rice. 
Cook the rice in the micro wave for 3 min. After its done add the seasoning.

Spatulatta replies:

Fast, easy, and full of flavor.  Thanks for sharing Brooke!
-Team Spatulatta

Russian Salad from Solange in Argentina

Here's a recipe from Solange in Argentina for Russian Salad. The translation into English follows below.


hola!!! soy solange denuevo!! ustedes me escribieron un mail que decían que querían recetas argentinas!!! (translate this) no quería
escribir en inglés porque recién este año voy a empezar quinto grado, estoy en primaria todavía!!! (no quiero cometer ningún error escribiendo en inglés)

¿conocen la ensalada rusa? a mí me encanta la ensalada rusa,
para hacerla necesitas:papa,mayonesa y zanahoria. primero cortan las papas
en cubitos,segundo cortan la zanahoria en cubitos también y luego ponen la
"mayonesa" se puede comer en cualquier momento, ejemplo: una cena familiar.

los argentinos comemos mucha carne y el "asado" es muy conocido por aquí!!! comemos "milanesa",helado,papas rellenas,empanadas... cuando se trata de una fiesta ejemplo:navidad, algunos cocinan pavo,asado,ensalada rusa y por otro lado comen camarones con salsas, anchoas, y comidas mas difíciles de cocinar... tambien comemos los panchos (hotdogs) y hay muchos panchos: platense (mar del plata,argentina), italiano, etc... comemos sushi, (yo como arroz japonés) etc... si quieren saber mas comidas y palabras en español visiten mi sitio www.todoanimalesylibros.blogspot.com y yo publicaré en una de estas semanas muchas cosas argentinas!!! gracias!!!

y perdonen por darles más trabajo traduciendo esto. fueron muy amables y muchas gracias!!! tengo una pregunta:¿ustedes tienen un programa en televisión de spatulatta? como siempre estan bienvenidos a mi sitio web!!! y si tienen un usuario en www.blogspot.com pueden escribirme en mi blog!!! saludos a todos!

(translation to English)

Solange here, hello again! You wrote me an email saying you wanted Argentine recipes! I don't want to write in English just because this year I will start fifth
Grade--I am still in primary school and do not want to make any mistakes writing in English.

Have you ever had Russian salad? I love
Russian salad. The ingredients are just cooked potatoes, carrots and mayonnaise.

First cut the potatoes into little cubes.
Next cut carrot into cubes also.

Then add the mayonnaise and mix well.

You can serve this at any meal, such as family dinner.

Argentines eat lots of meat and "asado" (roast) is famous here.

We like to eat "Milanesa", ice cream, stuffed potatoes, empanadas …
For a party, Christmas, for example, some people cook turkey, roast beef, Russian salad
And on the side they eat shrimp with other sauces, anchovies and lots of other very difficult to cook things.

We also eat panchos (hotdogs or sausages) and
many kinds of sausages: platense (Mar del Plata, Argentina), Italian, etc ...

We eat sushi (I like Japanese rice) etc ...

If you want to learn about more meals and Spanish words to visit my Website:

www.todoanimalesylibros.blogspot.com

and I will publish one of these weeks a lot of Argentinian things! Thanks!

And pardon me for giving you more work translating all this.

You all are very friendly, thank you very much!

I have a question: do you have a Spatulatta program on TV? You are always welcome to post on my website!

And if you have a user account www.blogspot.com can write me at my blog!

Greetings to everyone!

Go Bars and Eggs Unite!

Amanda says:

Hi Spatulatta crew! 

I just wanted to comment on the breakfast on the go
bars, how did you get yours to stay together? Me and my mom tried twice and both
times it crumbles. Like major crumble. so when we took it out it looked good, and
then we let it cool and then cut it, and then we tried to take it out, and it all
fell apart!  It was like sugary granola with dried cranberries in it, but it was
still yummy! Please if you can help me, please send me and email. Thank you so
much! Oh and I have this really good recipe that my friend Joan gave me and that
she learned it from her camp, im still perfecting it to make it healthier, and their
called haystacks, go figure! 

Thanks again! Bye!

Spatulatta replies:

Dear Amanda,

You're right the Go Bars were a little crumbly for us too but held
together in the bar shape rather than turning into granola. We may have
used an extra large egg. We were trying to keep the fat content down but
maybe we went too far.

Eggs are the glue that holds lots of culinary concoctions together. I'd
suggest trying 2 eggs medium eggs or better yet the equivalent of Egg
Beaters.

Let us know how they came out and we'll update the recipe on the website.

Thanks!
Team Spatulatta

Hey Everybody!

We read the instructions on Spatulatta and grew our own avocado tree! You can do it too! Find out how we did it. Click here

Willa's Fishing Jello

One tasty treat that I love is Fishing Jello. It's very easy and simple.

Ingredients:

1 packet of blue jello

Whipped Topping

Goldfish crackers (I've also seen whale too)

Net-like pretzels

Directions:

Prepare jello as it says to on packet. After cooling add a school of whipped topping. Add 2 pretzels (one across from another). Add goldfish or whale crackers to make an ocean scene real.

Tip: put liquid in small individual containers before cooling.

Spatulatta replies:

Willa this looks simply delicious! A perfect "lite" dessert after a hearty meal. There's always room for jello ;)

Solange from Argentina

Hello!!!! 

I'm from Argentina. I have "The Spatulatta Cookbook", I love the
recipes but... I don't understand all the recipes because they are difficult for me
because I'am from Argentina and i talk in Spanish!!! In English class I'am a ten,
intelligent but is difficult for me read recipes in english!!! make "The Spatulatta
Cookbook" in Spanish, please!!! goodbye!!!!!!

Spatulatta Responds:

Dear Solange,

Gracias por su carta. Nos encantaría hacer la libro de cocina de
Spatulatta en Español! We would love to do the Spatulatta Cookbook in
Spanish! I will send your note to our publisher and see what she says.

Meanwhile, we have our first bilingual episode. Tenemos un episodio en
español y en Inglés en el sitio web. Por favor, tome hacer una visita.

Please take a look at:

http://www.spatulatta.com/week67_peruvian/week67.html

Si necesita traducciones, esto es lo que he utilizado:

http://www.spanishdict.com/translation

You may have to click on the word swap to go from Spanish to English
instead of from English to Spanish.

Please send us some Argentinian recipes, we'd be glad to try them out for
our second bilingual episode. Por favor, envíenos algunas recetas
argentinas, nos estaremos encantados de intentar a cabo bilingüe para
nuestro segundo episodio.

Espero con interés escuchar de usted otra vez.

Team Spatulatta

From Olivia and Naomi

Hi!

Our names are Olivia and Naomi...and we just wanted to tell
you how we LOVE the Spatulatta cookbook. Berry Dip & Roll...YUM! And Extra
E-Z Fudge: AMAZING! We also really like the recipe for the Caprese Salad.
YUM! But really, they're all great!

Thanks for the yummy recipes and inspirational cooking!!!

Spatulatta replies:

Dear Olivia and Naomi,

Thank you so much for your email. We're so happy Spatulatta provides recipes
you love! If you have any of your own favorite recipes you'd like to share, please
email them to us. You can even attach a photo of you both cooking in the kitchen.
This would be added to the Spat Blog to share with all our fans.

We especially love recipes with lots of fruits and veggies!

Keep cookin!
Team Spatulatta

P.S. Tell all your friends at school about the Spatulatta cookbook.
The recipes are designed to bring friends and families together.
They're also awesome birthday gifts!

Email from Yun in China

Our friend, Yun, from China writes:

Happy new year! We will have three days off , and then we will have the final exam.
By the way, there maybe are some troubles with my Christmas card.

Yun

Spatulatta Replies:

Happy New Year Yun!

We were not able to view your Christmas card. It is so nice of you to think of us!

Enjoy your three days off from school and best wishes on your exams.

Here is a simple recipe you can make on your days off to prepare you for exams.

It's called, "Baked Apples in a Snap" which you can see at:
http://www.spatulatta.com/week29_fathers_day/baked_apple.html

You'll need:

4 red apples (Red Delicious, Fuji or other red apples
4 to 6 teaspoons of brown sugar
Raisins or other dried fruit
2 tablespoons of butter
Aluminum foil
A little adult help

Equipment:

Potato peeler (the kind with the pointy end)
Melon ball maker
Butter knife
Small baking pan or pie pan
Long handled fork
Oven mitts

Directions:

1. Wash and dry the apples.

2. If you're using the oven, set it to heat to 375 degrees.

3. Take the potato peeler and pierce the top of the apple about 3/4 of an inch from the stem. Push the potato peeler in slowly. You don't want to go too deep because you don't want to go through the bottom of the apple. Go all the way around and then pop this center out. This way you'll make a cup to hold the good stuff in the apple!

4. Use the melon baller to dig out the apple seeds.

5. Fill the center of the apple with raisins or other dried fruit.

6. Put about a tablespoon of brown sugar on top.

7. Add a pat of butter. A pat is about 1/2 a tablespoon.

8. Wrap the apple up in foil by lapping one side then the other over the top of the apple.

9. Set the apples top-side up on the pan so they don't leak when the butter and the sugar start to melt.

10. These can be easily slid into the coals of your Father's Day barbecue, or placed on a grill. We did them in the oven at 375 degrees 18-22 minutes.

11. When you can easily pierce the fruit with a fork (you can test it right through the foil) the apples are finished. They taste just like apple pie!

Hope you enjoy this recipe. Let us know how it turns out!