I am deeply honored that this post is featured in the Holiday Roundup at Oprah.com.  Welcome, Oprah.com readers!  Happy Holidays to you

Do you remember the song from Sound of Music called “My Favorite Things”?  It reminds me of the wintery holiday season, especially these phrases: snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, brown paper packages tied up with string and crisp apple streudels - sigh.  They make me think of cold weather, exchanging gifts and enjoying sweet seasonal desserts.

I am the first to admit that my family is lucky.  We have a warm place to live, family and friends that we can count on, and food to fill our bellies.  It is difficult for our children to understand that not everyone is so fortunate.  How would they know that one of their classmates is living in a one-room emergency family shelter with his mom and 4 brothers and sisters?  Childhood hunger is often silent.

I have made it a priority to teach my children and students that not everyone is as blessed as we are.  Recently, we collaborated with a children’s art studio on an event that would bring families together and would help local families in crisis.  Over the course of two months, children made and glazed soup bowls and I worked with children and their families to make hearty soups.  Our efforts culminated in a fantastic event where over one hundred people came together to choose hand made bowls and have them filled with soup.  We raised over $1500, all of which was donated to the Emergency Family Shelter run by Homeward Bound of Marin.  And after the event, we were able to deliver soup to the residents, along with some beautifully decorated paper placemats that families created together.

May this soup recipe bring your family comfort during the holidays.  And if you are able, maybe you and your children might make a batch to share with those who could use it. Keep reading →

To me the holiday season is one of sharing:  sharing gifts with loved ones, sharing a meal with people we care about, and lending a hand to those in need.

I am excited to tell you about the 12 Days of Sharing fundraising campaign and virtual cookie swap hosted by In Jennie’s Kitchen from December 7 through December 18th.

The virtual cookie jar will include links from cookie recipes from participating bloggers.  In addition, many bloggers (including me!) will be daily co-hosts, and will help spread the word about how you can make a difference.

But wait, there’s more!  If you make a donation by clicking on the badge above, you will earn a ticket that will enter you for a chance to win one of many fantastic prizes.  Yes – giving has its privileges!

Would you like to participate in our virtual cookie swap?  Simply post a recipe on your blog with the badge above (and its link too!) and send an email to: injennieskitchen (at) gmail.com.  Include a link to your post and a recipe photo if you would like to be a Featured Pick.

Let me know if you plan to participate.  I can’t wait to see how we all plan to share some sweetness this holiday season.

Happy  Holidays!

My family visited the Little Farm in Tilden Park last weekend, and I couldn’t tear myself away from this tom.  He clearly ruled the roost.  He walked around, cool as a cucumber…until he had to put a chicken or duck in its place.  What caught my attention was his comb – it was constantly in flux.  When he was relaxed, it would droop down over the side of his beak.  But when he was acting as the enforcer, it would shrink up and stand like a unicorn’s horn.  Who knew?

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

I am deeply honored that this post is featured in the Holiday Roundup at Oprah.com.

During the past few weeks, my son’s class has been reading various versions of Stone Soup.  In case you don’t know the story, it is an old French tale about three hungry soldiers who use trickery to convince the inhabitants of a village to provide them with the ingredients for a feast.  At first, the villagers were afraid, but they were intrigued by the soldiers, who told them that they were going to prepare soup out of stones.  After the soldiers hinted that the soup would be better with a few vegetables, each villager went home and returned with something to contribute, resulting in a feast that they all enjoyed together.

Yesterday, the last day before Thanksgiving break, each student in the class brought one of the ingredients needed to make Stone Soup.  Everyone got cooking, and with some collaboration, they created a feast.  I couldn’t think of anything more suitable for my son’s class to make this time of the year.  It provided the kids with a real life lesson of how a little cooperation can go a long way…and could yield something to be truly grateful for.

Here is the recipe for Stone Soup, for a class of 22 children.

Ingredients:
1 small round, smooth stone
2 cans corn
2 cans kidney beans
1 can green beans
6 medium potatoes
1 bunch celery
8 large carrots
1 yellow onion
1/2 cup barley
1.5 cups macaroni
12 cans chicken broth

Directions:

1. With adult helpers, have children chop all ingredients.  A food chopper makes things much more safe (and fun!) for the kids.
2. Saute onion, celery and carrot in olive oil in the bottom of a large soup pot.
3. Have children open all of the cans, draining the liquid when appropriate.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the soup pot, except the barley and macaroni.
5. Add 6-8 cans of water.
6. Let simmer for 2 hours and then add the barley and macaroni.
7. Continue simmering for an additional 2 hours and then serve.
8. Instead of adding the stone to the soup, each student can pass the stone around during the feast.  When they get the stone, they can say what they are grateful for.

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I got a blast from the past this morning when I opened my email.  I was surprised to see a note from a mom in my daughter’s playgroup 9 years ago!  She was writing to ask me about a holiday gift that I had given her way back then…a layered brownie mix I made for friends that year.

With the economy in the tank, I am guessing that more and more people will lure their families into the kitchen to make their own gifts this year.  Why not give this one a try.  After all, it must have been memorable, even 9 years later!

Sand Art Brownies

Directions:

1. Layer the following dry ingredients in a wide-mouth quart canning jar.
2. Tamp down between layers.

2/3 t. salt (scant 3/4t.)
1/2 C. plus 2 T. flour
1/3 C. cocoa
1/2 C. flour
2/3 C. brown sugar
2/3 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C. vanilla flavored baking chips
chopped walnuts or pecans to fill (approx. ½ C.)

Attach the following directions to each jar:

1. Combine contents of jar with 1 t. vanilla, 2/3 C. vegetable oil & 3 eggs.
2. Pour into greased pan and bake at 350 degrees
   7 x 11 pan — 32 to 37 minutes
   9 x 9 pan — 27 to 32 minutes

Just an FYI – this is a great recipe to do in bulk.  Bring your brood into the kitchen, and make these assembly-line style.  You can give a Sand Art Brownie jar to each of your children’s teachers, along with your neighbors or people who have you over for dinner.

To fill one dozen jars you will need approximately:
12 oz. Cocoa
42 oz. Each chocolate & vanilla chips
32 oz. Nuts
50 oz. Brown sugar
5 lbs. Flour
5 lbs. Granulated sugar

I am sure that my friends will be relieved to know that I am fully aware of my Type-A personality.  But even they would be surprised that I started to think our holiday gifts from the kitchen waaaay back in October.  But for once, I had a good reason to be prepared so early.

BBQ Spice Rub

A few weeks ago, I went to a gift exchange party with my long-standing Cooking Teachers group (SIG) with the San Francisco Professional Food Society.  If I didn’t have my act in gear, I wouldn’t have had enough time to get the supplies that my little elves and I needed to make 20 holiday food gifts.  20 food gifts, you say?  That’s right.  You know what that means.  Not only did I bring a bunch of gifts to the party, but I got to bring a plethora of gifts home too!

Even though it was be a friendly crowd, they are all culinary professionals, so I couldn’t get away with simply dipping some pretzel rods in chocolate and wrapping them up with a ribbon.  I’m not saying that I had to do anything complicated, but I wanted the end result to taste fantastic and look pretty.  And maybe be a little different from what I made on TV and what I gave last year.

Here are a few ideas for Gifts In A Jar:

• Curried Lentil Soup: While this is pretty, the flavors might be too bold or sophisticated for some kids (like my daughter).  This might be a good hostess or holiday gift for an adult household or one with adventurous eaters.
• Peppermint Bark rings of the holidays
• Caramel Popcorn is amazing – and looks adorable in a cute tin or to-go container from a restaurant supply store.
• We settled on a BBQ Rub – it was simple and easy to make in bulk.  And we are happy to report that it tastes fantastic, too.  The jars are from Ikea, and my daughter finished each one with a demi-tasse spoon from Ross.

Here is our recipe:

1 part each: onion powder and cumin
1.5 parts each: brown sugar, paprika and chili powder
.5 parts each: coriander and garlic salt

We made another version too:

1 part each: chili powder, paprika and kosher salt
1.5 parts of brown sugar

I am deeply honored that this post is featured in the Holiday Roundup at Oprah.com.