Parents may want to print this guide, cut out the recipes and tape them into a notebook. Write "My First Cookbook," with your child's name on the front of the book. After that, whenever you cook together, add the recipe to the cookbook.
MY FIRST SALAD
Making a salad is a fun way to learn how foods work and taste together. You can be as creative as you want, adding fruits and vegetables to this basic lettuce salad.
1 head lettuce
1. Separate leaves from a head of lettuce and rinse them under running water.
2. Pat the leaves dry with paper towels or a dish towel. Tear them into small pieces and place in a bowl.
3. If you want more crunch in your salad, add diced celery, bean sprouts or cucumber slices. Or, how about some broccoli flowers, sliced carrots and peppers or cooked corn?
4. Toss the salad with vinaigrette dressing.
Makes 4 servings.
MY FIRST VINAIGRETTE
Vinaigrette is a fancy name for an oil and vinegar salad dressing. You can add spices or herbs to vary the taste. Some people use different types of vinegar, like rice wine vinegar or apple vinegar, or even add a dash of soy sauce or lemon or lime juice to bring out new flavors. Try experimenting with your own combinations, keeping the amounts of oil and vinegar about the same as in the following recipe.
1/3 cup vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. water (optional)
1. Fill a 2-cup or larger measuring cup to the 1/3-cup mark with vinegar.
2. Add the oil until it reaches the 1-cup mark.
3. Add the salt and stir with a whisk.
4. Dip a lettuce leaf into the salad and see how it tastes. If it seems too bitter, add a tablespoon or more of water.
Makes 1 cup dressing.
MY FIRST RUSSIAN DRESSING
This is delicious with salad greens or as a dip for raw vegetables. You can use low-fat mayonnaise if you want.
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup bottled ketchup or chili sauce
2 tbsp. pickle relish (optional)
In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, ketchup or chili sauce and pickle relish, if you like. Taste for seasoning: You might want to make it creamier by adding more mayo or make it tangier by adding ketchup.
Makes 1 1/2 cups dressing.
MY FIRST FRENCH TOAST
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
6 slices bread
Butter for the pan
1. Break the eggs, one by one, into a cup. (This will make it easy to take out bits of shell if they get into the cup.) Pour the eggs in a soup dish or pie plate, add the milk and scramble with a fork.
2. Cut the slices of bread in half. Soak the halves in the egg mixture until they are soft.
3. Put a lump of butter in a frying pan and set over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the bread and cook until it is brown. Turn and brown the other side. Serve with maple syrup.
Makes 3 to 4 servings.
MY FIRST TUNA SALAD
Every family seems to have its own favorite add-ins for tuna salad. Some like diced onion, hard-boiled eggs, sweet pickles or green olives. Try this basic salad first, then add what you want. You may want to use low-fat mayonnaise.
One 6 1/2-oz. can tuna
1 stalk celery
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
1. Open the can of tuna and put it in a bowl. Use a fork to break it up.
2. Wash the celery stalk. Cut it in half crosswise. Cut each half in 3 parts lengthwise. Lay the slices together and cut across, making small pieces about the size of green peas.
3. Add the celery and mayonnaise to the tuna. Mix well.
Makes 3 servings.
MY FIRST BAKED APPLES
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt
4 firm apples, such as Granny Smiths
1. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Put the sugar, water, lemon juice and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir and turn off the heat
2. Using a swivel peeler, remove the skin from the top third of the apples. Cut the core out of the apples.
3. Stand the apples in a baking dish. Pour the syrup over them. Cover loosely with a lid of aluminum foil. After 10 minutes, open the oven, lift off the aluminum foil and spoon some of the juice over the apples. Replace the foil and bake 10 minutes more. Spoon the liquid over the apples again. (This is called "basting.")
4. After 30 minutes, when the apples are soft but not falling apart, take the pan out of the oven and leave it on a turned-off burner or on a hot plate on the counter until the apples are cool enough to eat.
Makes 4 servings.
MY FIRST COCOA
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup water
4 cups low-fat milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Marshmallow (optional)
1. In a saucepan, combine the cocoa, sugar, salt and water. Put the pan on a burner and turn on the heat. Stir the mixture over medium heat for about 2 minutes until it is heated through.
2. Pour in the milk and heat the mixture slowly, stirring most of the time. Add the vanilla. When the cocoa is hot, but not boiling, take the pot off the burner and pour the cocoa into 4 mugs. Top each with a marshmallow.
Makes 4 servings.
