December Evenings

09 December 2009 Filed In: corner view


With the new ice skating rink just having opened up in Battery Park City, we have developed a little evening addiction.

Santa, if you are reading this and we haven’t been too naughty, we’re dreaming of matching silver ice skates with pink pom-poms please. Pretty please?
How are you spending your evenings this season? Take a look at what others are doing around the world:

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Yummy Projects: A Little Elfing with Fabric Jewelry

06 December 2009 Filed In: all the rest, Chanukah, Christmas, Crafts, yummy projects



Shhhh! It’s a surprise….

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Chocolate Salami

04 December 2009 Filed In: chocolate, Christmas, cooking class, Desserts, Soy-free, Vegetarian, Winter





A special visitor came to our cooking class this week. My Brazilian friend Roberta’s mama was in town and offered to swing by and teach the children to make a Christmas treat. Sonia has a catering business of her own back in Sao Paulo, teaches within a program that helps low income teenagers become skilled workers within the hospitality industry, and is the mother of nine and the grandmother of nine.

She was greeted with open arms, especially after she explained to the children that they would be making something… chocolate.
This dish is very simple to make (and to eat for that matter), but it does include the use of raw eggs. If you have ANY qualms at all about that, then please just use an egg substitute instead.
Do you see the chocolate smiles we had? It was a wonderful day.
Chocolate Salami
*2 c. cocoa powder
*1 c. confectioner’s sugar
*3 sticks of butter (1 1/2 c)
*5-6 farm fresh eggs from free-range chickens (or substitute about 1/2 c egg substitute)
*1/2 c. pecans
*1 1/2 c. amaretti (Italian cookies) or crunchy butter cookies if you cannot find the amaretti

Crumble the amaretti into pieces about the size of chocolate chips (see photo). Crumble the pecans in the same way and mix them all together in one big bowl.

Separate the eggs. Show your Yummy how to crack the egg and then tip the yolk back and forth between the two halves. Make sure there are three medium sized bowls ready. One will catch all of the egg white, and the other will catch all of yolks. The third bowl will be at the ready for all the egg shells***.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter till light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to low and add the confectioner’s sugar first and then the cocoa powder. Add the egg yolks (save the whites for another use) one by one and beat well. Turn off the mixer, and pour in the amaretti and pecan mixture. Using a wooden spoon and a little elbow grease, fold the cookies and nuts into the chocolate mixture.

On a long slab of wax paper, place about half of the chocolate mixture in a line (not a blob). Roll the wax paper around it tightly so that there is no chance of the chocolate mixture leaking out or getting on little hands. Begin rolling the enclosed chocolate back and forth, sculpting it into a snack shape, about an inch and a half in diameter. Twist either end of the wax paper to seal it, and place the salami in the freezer. Repeat with the other half.

Freeze for at least an hour.

To serve, use a serrated knife to cut the salami into little slabs. Bon appetit!


***You will most likely have to do a lot of helping with this process. For two or three-year-olds, you must do it all with them. Four and five year olds might begin to be able to do it a bit if you crack the eggs for them.

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Home

02 December 2009 Filed In: corner view




A few corners of TYM headquarters.

Sneak peeks of corners all over:

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Chicken Tagine in a Clay Baker

01 December 2009 Filed In: beans, chicken, chickpeas, cooking class, Dairy-free, Fall, Gluten-free, Main Dish, Soy-free, Spring, Winter






Happy December, Yummies! Don’t you just crave stews and soups in this weather? Dank days, chilly nights, biting wind, they all seem to call out for something warm and comforting. Something nutritious but super flavorful.

In cooking class a couple of weeks ago, we made a tagine so delicious that, excluding one, the entire class of Yummies devoured it. That is a world Yummy record, I think. There really is something for everyone in this dish: carrots, chickpeas, pumpkin or squash, and the chicken.
This recipe also has the advantage of being highly adaptable. For years I have made a vegetarian version of this dish, adding sweet potatoes to the mix and playing up the spices a bit to balance out the flavor. And, if you do not own a clay baker like this one, you can substitute an oven-proof pot with a lid. Just make sure that you also adjust the temperature (375 degrees F should be about right) and the cooking time. The clay does make the flavor of the tagine both richer and more authentic, but it will still taste amazing made in any sort of pot that will hold it all and fit in the oven.
Chicken Tagine in a Clay Baker

*a whole chicken (4-6 lbs)
*2 lbs. butternut squash or pumpkin, peeled, seeds scooped out, and cut into 1-inch chunks
*2 medium carrots, scrubbed and sliced coarsely
*2 cups cooked chickpeas
*1 T. cumin
*2 cinnamon sticks
*1 t. ground ginger
*1/2 t. coriander
*2 bay leaves
*1 c. shallots, chopped
*2 c. onions, chopped
*4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
*3 mini-chef handfuls each of golden raisins, cranberries, and brown raisins
*2 c. chicken or veggie stock

Soak your clay baker in cool clean water for at least 15 minutes.

With your mini-chef, place all of the ingredients into the base of your baker. Make sure that you spread everything out so that each bite will be tasty: a bay leaf over here, a bay leaf over there. A handful of cranberries over in that corner, a handful right beside the chicken leg, etc.

Put the lid on the baker and place the whole thing in a COLD oven. Turn the oven on to 480 degrees F. Bake for about 2 hours, or until a thermometer placed into the chicken breast registers 180 F.

Cool a few minutes outside the oven. Discard the bay leaves and the cinnamon sticks. Serve over rice or cous-cous.

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