What We're Reading for Halloween

Since we're making our Halloween-inspired recipe on actual Halloween, and I won't have a chance to post until after the actual holiday, I thought I'd post a list of the holiday-appropriate books that are rocking our bookshelf right now. (Since, as I've mentioned, MiniChef loves monsters more than anything else in the world, there's no shortage of books that interest him on this topic.)

I think these books are all appropriate for older preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first graders, but of course, you know your little chef's "scare" limits best.

If you have comments or any other suggestions, hit up the comments on this post!

We're Reading...

• Monster Needs a Costume (Monster Needs Your Vote is another favorite, and one we'll be reading a lot next week.)
• Vunce Upon a Time
• Worst in Show
• Fright Club (our bedtime story for three nights running)
• Frankenstein: A Monstrous Parody

We're Listening To...
The kid-friendly Halloween playlist I made on Spotify! Perfect music to which to carve pumpkins, get ready for Trick-or-Treat, and dance around when you're in a spooky mood.

Dragons (and MiniChefs) Love (not spicy) Tacos

MiniChef loves dragons. According to my Facebook memories, the true keeper of all things memorable, dragons and monsters have been his number-one interest for at least a year and a half. He devours any and all media about imaginary creatures, and as someone who was obsessed with mythology as a kid--most girls my age had posters of Kirk Cameron and the New Kids on the Block; I had a poster of Icarus--I'm 100% okay with that.

One of his all-time favorite books is Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Ruben and Daniel Salmieri, which was a very logical choice for our next Book-Cook Project!

I asked the MiniChef what kind of ingredients he'd like to have in his tacos. His answers were "pork and cheese." Tacos al pastor(-ish) with queso fresco were a perfect fit. Of course, neither MiniChef nor dragons agree with spicy ingredients in their tacos; dragons will breathe fire and burn down your house if they get a taste of jalapeños at a taco party, and MiniChef will burst into tears if he has any.

So, one of MiniChef's jobs as our resident dragon expert was to smell spices we were thinking about adding and deeming them "too spicy" or Just right." Cayenne, chipotle, and chili powder were too spicy, but cumin was just right.

The tacos came out beautifully, and it was fun to make them together!

We did have spicy salsa on the table for Jake...but be sure to read the ingredients with your little chef, and bury any spicy salsa in the backyard if you've invited any dragons over.

Not-Spicy Tacos al Pastor(-ish)

1 pound pork tenderloin
1 medium onion
1 large clove garlic
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1 T canola oil
1 bunch cilantro
5 oz queso fresco (about half of a package)
Fresh pineapple chunks (we used pre-cut, but you can certainly chop your own)
6 (8-inch) soft corn tortillas (flour tortillas are fine, too)

I did:
Cut the pork tenderloin into 1/2-inch strips. Roughly chop the onion and garlic, and put everything into a large zip-top bag.

Side note: measuring is such a great way to learn math!

Smushing the marinated pork.

MiniChef joined me for:
Add the next five ingredients to the bag with the pork, onion, and garlic. Seal the bag and smush everything until combined. (MiniChef had a lot of fun with that part.) Stick the bag in the fridge for at least two hours, and up to 24*. Go watch some Powerpuff Girls.

I did:
Warm the canola oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Take the pork mixture out of the fridge, and put the entire contents in the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is cooked through and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Put in a bowl and set aside.

MiniChef did:
Meanwhile, chop the cilantro and pineapple, and crumble the queso fresco. Put each in its own bowl.

I did:
Heat up the tortillas using your preferred method.**

We did together:
Set the tortillas and the bowls of pork, cilantro, pineapple, and queso fresco on the table. Make your own tacos!

"Mama! take my picture with my taco!"

*Since we made the tacos after school, the pork mixture spent about three hours in the fridge.
** I miss my gas stovetop, where I would have just heated them over the open flame. This time, I just used the microwave.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Pizza)

We loved last week's rainbow cake so much (update: it lasted for about five days in the fridge, and made for some excellent weekend breakfasts) that we couldn't let Quest go without also making a dinner inspired by the illustrations!

Enter rainbow pizza.

Jake makes amazing pizza dough from scratch almost every weekend for family movie night. He puts it together, lets it rest in the fridge, brings it back to room temperature, stretches it 'till you can see light through the thin dough, tops it, and bakes it until the risen part is a little blistery. It's time- and attention-intensive, and it's absolutely delicious.

I use Pillsbury.

I have a plenty-long-enough attention span for baking, but for some reason, pizza dough is my nemesis. Maybe one day, I'll take the care to really practice making my own. But in the meanwhile, I appreciate the modern convenience of dough in a can! (Though I will say, it was unseasonably hot the other day when we went grocery shopping, and I couldn't stop thinking about that urban legend where the pizza dough pops in the woman's backseat and she thinks she's been shot. Anyway.)

We used Pillsbury Thin Crust for this recipe, but please feel free to sub in your favorite store-bought or homemade crust.

This recipe is incredibly variable and adaptable. MiniChef picked out our vegetables at the local farmer's market, and decided on a pint of multi-colored heirloom cherry tomatoes (knocking out red, yellow, and purple), a few orange bell peppers, and a head of broccoli. We rounded out the yellow with some frozen corn, and the purple with some slices of red onion. You can use whatever vegetables you and your little chef like best; I think this would be delicious with some spinach or kale as the green, and some thin sweet potato slices for orange. We couldn't find any blue veggies, but let me know if you do!

Rainbow Pizza
(Adapted from The Kitchn)

1 pizza dough (either a Pillsbury can, or one one-pound homemade crust)
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Veggies of your choice. We used:

• 1 1/2 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes in various colors (red, yellow, and purple)
• 1 medium orange bell pepper
• 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1 1/2 heads broccoli

Olive oil

I did:
Put a rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 450 degrees. Let the pizza dough sit out at room temperature until the veggies are ready.

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. (MiniChef washed and gave the tomatoes to me while I cut them with a paring knife. It was surprising to see that some of the purple ones were actually yellow on the inside!)

MiniChef did:
Mix together the ricotta, mozzarella, dried basil, salt, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl; set aside.

Claw grip! Grr!

Slice the pepper into thin slices and discard the seeds and core. Chop the broccoli into small florets. (MiniChef uses a knife from Curious Chef, and we're working on his "claw grip." We bought it as part of the Fruit & Veggie Prep Kit, and use the knife, peeler, melon baller, and apple slicer pretty often.)

We did together:
Line a standard 13x18-inch rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and lightly grease the foil. (If you're using homemade dough, roll it out to fit the baking sheet.) Transfer the dough to the baking sheet, and use your fingers to gently press the dough into the corners of the pan. Make sure your little chef has his/her hands washed!

Dollop the ricotta-and-mozzarella mixture on the dough and spread it around with a spoon, leaving about a one-inch border around the edges. Arrange the veggies in rainbow order on top of the cheese. Drizzle with the olive oil.

I did:
Bake until the edges are golden-brown, 16 to 20 minutes. Let the pizza cool for 1 to 2 minutes before cutting into slices and serving. Pairs well with Halloween Wars on the Food Network as a special treat.

Leftovers will last in an airtight container for about four days.

The Quest for Rainbow Cake

The first book that MiniChef picked for our Book-Cook Project was Quest by Aaron Becker. He loves it and its prequel, Journey. (MiniChef "wrote" a sequel called Adventure...and then it turned out there actually is a sequel called Return. We haven't read it yet, but we're excited to!) He says he likes it because "there's a king and they get to draw cool creatures."

Since MiniChef is kind of obsessed with cake competition shows--ok, ok, we're both kind of obsessed with cake competition shows, and we watch them together...a lot--it makes a ton of sense that the first thing he wanted to make was a cake. The wordless book features two children, who we call Penelope and Harold. They each have their own crayon (Harold's is purple, naturally), and in the course of their quest to defeat an evil ruler and return the rightful king to his throne, they collect a rainbow of other crayons, which they use to color their world. 

MiniChef's specific request for this recipe was a rainbow-colored cake to go with the world-saving rainbow. And here's how we did it!

For the Cake
(Adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

1 cup whole milk, room temperature
6 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool
Gel food coloring (your choice of colors)
You can use liquid food coloring instead, but gel creates deeper colors with fewer drops, and doesn't change the liquid content of the batter.

(Note: it's important that the eggs and milk are at room temperature, otherwise the batter will separate.)

Here are the steps I did myself before MiniChef joined me:

Separate the eggs--we'll be using only the egg whites. Put the yolks in the fridge to use for another project.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and adjust oven rack to the middle position. We're still getting used to having an electric oven, so this step was actually the most difficult! Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment, grease again, and flour the pans. (You can also use three 8-inch round cake pans, if that's what you've got.)

My boy loves his...er, our KitchenAid.

Here are the steps we did together:

Pour your egg whites into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, and mix in the milk and vanilla. 

Put dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on low speed for a few seconds, until just combined. Add the chilled butter one piece at a time, and mix on low for about one minute until you only see pea-sized pieces.

Add half of the milk/egg/vanilla mixture, increase speed to medium-high, and beat for about one minute, until light and fluffy. Turn speed down to medium-low, add remaining milk/egg/vanilla mixture, and mix for about 30 seconds. The batter might look slightly curdled, but that's ok! Don't fret--it's supposed to do that. Give the batter one stir by hand. Let your kid lick the paddle.

Divide batter evenly into six bowls. Set two bowls aside; these will stay white. Mix food coloring into each of the four other bowls to achieve the colors you've chosen. (We wanted red, orange, blue, and green. We experimented with how many drops of food coloring went into each bowl, and kept mixing until we liked the result.)

Decide which colors you want in each layer of cake: there should be two colored batters and one white batter in each. Drop your batters in random tablespoons into your prepared cake pans. Use a knife or skewer to "marble" the batter until the colors are mixed to your liking.

I did this part by myself too, because MiniChef isn't allowed to use the oven yet:

Put the pans in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes (18-22 minutes for 8-inch pans), rotating the pans halfway through baking. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for ten minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, and let cool in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes. The colder the cake when frosting, the better.

For the Frosting(Adapted from Martha Stewart)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 6-8 cups confectioners' sugar1/2 cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla extract We did all of this together: Place the butter in the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and cream until smooth and creamy. This will take two-three minutes or more. Look for the butter to lighten in color. With mixer on low, add six cups sugar, the milk, and the vanilla. Mix until light and fluffy. If the frosting isn't your desired consistency, keep adding sugar gradually until it's what you want. I did this part by myself: Frost the cake with your best method. I aspire to Joy the Baker's method of frosting; as it is, I put about 3/4 cup of frosting on the top of the blue/green layer and spread it with a butter knife. Place the second layer on top. Frost the whole cake with a light "crumb coat" and put in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Take cake out of the fridge and frost as thick a layer as you'd like. We did this part together: Toss sprinkles all over the darn place! Here's what MiniChef has to say about the cake: "It was very yummy. I liked the frosting. My favorite part of making it was that we had fun making it. I got to lick the batter!" The cake will last for at least three days in the fridge. You will absolutely have more frosting than you'll need. I recommend storing the leftover frosting in airtight storage, taking it out about a half-hour before you want to use it again, and dunking either pretzels or graham crackers in it.

What's the Book-Cook Project?

MiniChef is just about two in this picture.

We've been cooking together for a while now. We've been reading together for even longer. We love both.

I* was a stay-at-home mom (plus freelancing) for two years while we had a layover in Michigan, and grew to love cooking every day during that time. MiniChef was in half-day, three day a week preschool, and helped when he could. He learned to make all kinds of things, though--as a three- to five-year-old--he rarely headed up recipes, except for the odd blueberry pancakes or quesadillas.

Thanks to Pretend Soup for being our first together-cookbook!

After our move to the middle of the country, MiniChef started kindergarten (oy!), and I started a part-time job (plus freelancing). Meal planning fell by the wayside, and time after school was spent relaxing--a lot of it in front of the TV. We both missed the huge amounts of time we had spent together.

And then we had a brainstorm. Meal planning would be easier if MiniChef got to pick a meal or dessert or whatever to head up once a week. And! We could use one of our favorite books as inspiration for the meal or dessert or whatever, instead of being overwhelmed by the infinite choices out there. And we would call it...THE BOOK-COOK PROJECT.

So there you go. The Book-Cook Project will take inspiration from some of our favorite books. The food might be things people or animals actually eat in the books, or just food inspired by the pictures or story. MiniChef and I don't know yet, and that's part of the fun! MiniChef's dad teaches on Tuesdays and Wednesday nights, so we'll probably cook most on those days, since we have some extra time. This project might go on for a while, or it might be super-short-lived, if MiniChef gets bored with it. We'll see.

Unless noted otherwise, every recipe will comfortably serve four people.

Thanks for joining us on our journey.


*This is Jenn, naturally. MiniChef is five years old, and while he has excellent control over my iPhone screen, spelling isn't quite his strong suit yet. But he has tons of input, and lots of things will be in his words. I'm just, you know, the Mama. So I get to be in charge.