Thursday, March 25th, 2010...6:00 am
Cooking with Toddlers: “C” is for Cucumber
We continue to eat our way through the alphabet with my Mommy/Caregiver and Me preschool cooking classes at the local recreation center. We made applesauce the first week (the recipe will be on Bostonmamas soon). I was out of town (at the Natural Products Expo) the following week, but my pal Maya made Banana Pancakes with the kiddos. This week is brought to you by the letter “C.” And much to the dismay of the students, we didn’t make cake. Or cookies. Or candy…
“C” is for Cucumber
Cucumber Raita
Recipe from Kids’ Kitchen, by Fiona Bird
Ingredients
Half a large cucumber
6 large mint leaves
4 Tablespoons creamy plain yogurt
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Wash and dry the cucumber and grate it on the coarse blade of your grater. (We used my rotary cheese grater to shred the cucumber – it’s a safe way for toddlers to cook without scraping their skin.)
- Use a slow up-and-down rhythm to grate about half the cucumber.
- Put the grated cucumber into a large strainer and leave it to drain over a bowl of 15-20 minutes.
- Roll up the mint leaves and use scissors to cut them so that you end up with long thin lengths. Put the mint into a mixing bowl.
- Add the yogurt to the mint.
- Use the back of a wooden spoon to push the grated cucumber into the strainer – to remove any more water – and then add the strained cucumber to the yogurt and mint. (We were amazed at how much liquid came out of the cucumber!)
- Mix well.
- Taste your raita and grind some black pepper over it, if you want to.
I have been meaning to test some of the recipes from Kids’ Kitchen for a few weeks, and was thrilled to find this recipe among them. When Fiona offered to send me her recent collection of recipes for review, I was excited – it is so much fun to see how people inspire families to cook with their children. She didn’t disappoint me, either! Her collection of recipes isn’t in a book, as you might expect. It’s in a cute box with a flip up lid, and contains colorful (and spill-resistant!) recipe cards, each just smaller than a standard sheet of paper.
I plan to try out a few more recipes from her collection, and then I’ll give it away to one of my readers – Hurray!
p.s. – if you ever cook with your kids, please send in your story! I will feature it in my What’s Cooking with YOUR Kids series.
8 Comments
March 27th, 2010 at 7:04 am
I am glad C was not for cookies and cake; it seems that the only thing most people cook with children are cookies and cakes. I know they are easy and children love them but still.. teaching them to cook savory food is more important, no?
March 27th, 2010 at 7:30 am
Hi Gaelle,
It was adorable when one of the kids slapped his hand to his forehead and said, “what, we aren’t making cake or candy?” But then when I told him it was cucumbers, he grinned and said how much he LOOOOVVVEEESSS cucumbers
March 27th, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Hi Michelle!
I have to comment on how much I love this part of your site. My little girl is a SUPER picky eater and I have such a hard time finding food that she likes. I have noticed however, that she is more willing to try new foods when she has been included in the process, which makes me more excited about including her in cooking with me. I’m a new parent so I’m still learning, and things like this inspire me to continue to try and provide my family with healthy meals.
I look forward to your “what’s cooking with your kids” posts and can’t wait to try this one!
Thanks again!
March 27th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Hi Stephanie,
Well – I have to say that you made my day with your comment! Not only is it nice when someone takes the time to respond, but it is especially wonderful when they say something as meaningful as you did. It makes me so happy that you can find a personal connection to what I am writing about. To be honest – it is exactly responses like this one that keep me going. I want to inspire families to feed their children well and to cook together. Thanks for letting me know I hit the mark with this post
Since you like my Cooking with Toddlers Series, here are the links to a few others
E is for Enchiladas: http://whatscookingblog.com/2009/11/12/cooking-with-toddlers-e-is-for-enchiladas/
D is for Deviled Eggs: http://whatscookingblog.com/2009/10/27/cooking-with-toddlers-d-is-for-deviled-eggs/
C is for Crunchy Carrot Slaw: http://whatscookingblog.com/2009/10/08/cooking-with-toddlers-c-is-for-crunchy-carrot-coleslaw/
xoxoxox
Michelle
March 29th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Although Alex and Soph are toddlers anymore, I love this series as well. I reference it whenever the topic of younger kids and cooking comes up.
March 31st, 2010 at 10:16 am
Looking forward to trying some of these recipes with my toddler! Being a cooking noob myself, though, I have some questions. First: on step 6 of this recipe, are we adding the cucumber pieces, the cucumber juice, or both to the yogurt-mint mixture? Second: what exactly do you do with cucumber raita once it’s made? Is it just something you eat with a spoon, like you eat yogurt? I’ve never heard of it before, and I feel dumb for having to ask those 2 questions, since I seem to be the only one who doesn’t know, but the recipe does me no good if I don’t ask!
March 31st, 2010 at 10:23 am
Awesome questions…
Thank you for asking me!!!!!
You will add the shredded cucumber, but not the juice. Otherwise the yogurt would get watery
It is great to eat with a spicy meal, or you can use it on bread, pita or veggie sticks.
Let me know if you try it!
Michelle
March 31st, 2010 at 3:10 pm
Thanks! So it’s like a dip, then?
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