From Lisa Barnes

What did you do last New Year’s with small children and no babysitter?  We had a family party to celebrate the New Year on East Coast time. Although you can use Australian time, or any other time that suits your needs and bedtime. We were hoping to celebrate with friends and their kids, however we were getting over the flu and didn’t want to spread the “cheer”.

However the good thing about kids (at least little ones) is that they really don’t know much about time.  So blowing a noisemaker and putting on silly hats at 8:30 p.m. works for them.  This can be effective for any celebration or get together with little ones.  A few festive foods and decorations and it doesn’t matter what time it is. Plan for all ages to be awake and be able to celebrate with sparkling drinks and party snack foods for your next celebration. With Tivo and other recording devices the New Year’s Eve ball drop can happen anytime – day or night (or more than once a year).

Our menu (recipes below) was fun because we ate our New Year’s dinner with our fingers – like a real h’ors d’ouvre party.  Some other easy and kid fun “bites” include threading things on toothpicks like cut sausage (serve with mustard or ketchup dip of course), or grilled shrimp or chicken pieces.  Happy 2012!

Organic Juice Sparkler

This is a fun and healthy way for children to join in on a fancy toast with a sparkling drink of their own. This recipe is really simple and can be made with any kind of fresh, organic juice such as orange, pear, or apple. At holiday time I like pomegranate juice because of the bright and festive color. Pomegranates are a rich source of antioxidants and flavonoids. The juice can be found year round in the fresh refrigerated juice section of most supermarkets.

Makes 1 cup

¾ cup sparkling mineral water
¼ cup fresh pomegranate juice

Combine water and juice in a glass.

Variation More…

From LISA BARNES

We had plans to go to friends for dinner over the weekend and they asked me to bring a dessert.  I rarely make the same dessert twice.  Why, when there’s so many to try?  I happened to buy a Whoopie Pie cookbook (Love Foods, UK, Paragon Books).  Yes, I have too many cookbooks, but this one was screaming at me with a $3.99 price tag as I stood in line at my local bookstore.  I decided to make two seasonal options – gingerbread and pumpkin.

I made the pumpkin cookies the night before we were going to eat them.  However I waited until the day of the dinner to fill.  My plan was to fill them as I made the gingerbread batch the next day about an hour before we were expected at our friends’.  Well, after quite a bit of time in the oven I realized the oven wasn’t actually on.  Yes, I did turn it on.  I tried what I thought as rebooting – turning on and off, but nothing.  I even got out the manual, with no help there either.  “Whoopie!” Became “Oops!”  I called my friends and warned them I’d be bringing my cookie sheets to finish the whoopies at her house.

My friend’s oven saved dessert.  Both the pumpkin and gingerbread were a hit with all ages.  Although I thought the gingerbread wasn’t spicy enough and preferred the pumpkin.  Looking at the book, I realized mine are not as filled as the book photos.  I guess that’s why I have so much filling left.  It just seemed like so much.  My healthy cooking philosophy and habits can sometimes get in the way of decadent foods.  (I used low fat cream cheese for the filling too)  Also to get them to look perfect and smooth like the photos, you’d need a whoopie pie pan – which I don’t have or want.  I was fine with a more rustic look, made from a small ice cream scoop. More…

From LISA BARNES

I love pumpkins. They signify fall to me, and carving them for Halloween is just the beginning. I love their shapes, their colors (my favorite color is of course orange), and their tastes… Really everything from butter to muffins to soups to pancakes to pies to ice cream (I can go on and on). I just can’t get enough.

At Thanksgiving I always look forward to a few prepared foods from local purveyors and pumpkin butter is one of them.  Then I wondered why not make it myself and I can have it all year round. Plus is brings a warm and cozy smell to the kitchen when you’re preparing. Perfect to get you in the holiday spirit.

Organic Pumpkin Butter Recipe

Pumpkin butter is easy to make and can be frozen for anytime you want to dress up toast, bagels, banana bread or even as a dip for pretzels (one of my kids’ favorites).

Makes ¾ cup

½ cup canned organic pumpkin
1/3 cup organic unfiltered apple juice
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon organic honey
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Heat all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat until hot and bubbling, about 5 to 7 minutes.
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From LISA BARNES

This recipe is basic yet versatile. As the vegetables simmer, they release their nutrients into the cooking water. Once you have introduced 2 of the 3 vegetable ingredients to your baby, put the nutritious stock in his bottle in place of water, or use it as a liquid for poaching fish and as an ingredient in other recipes.

6 organic asparagus spears
1 large organic leek, cut into chunks (1 cup)
½ organic sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks (1 cup)

Makes about 2 cups.

• Put 1 qt (4 cups) cold water in a medium pot. Add asparagus, leek, and sweet potato and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, and cover pot. Simmer until vegetables are very soft and cooking liquid is lightly flavored and colored, about 1 hour.

• Strain the broth through a sieve, reserving vegetables. The vegetables can be pureed or mashed for baby. Serve stock lukewarm or cooled in a cup or bottle, or use in other recipes.

Notes: If you buy organic sweet potatoes, you can scrub them well but leave the peels on. To store, refrigerate stock in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or fill ice-cube trays or other containers to freeze for up to 3 months. If you’re short on time and prefer to use store-bought broth, look for broth with no or reduced sodium and all-natural, recognizable ingredients that you have already introduced to your baby. Good-quality prepared broths in aseptic cartons are widely available, and some markets carry broths in the refrigerated or frozen section.
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From LISA BARNES

I love to bake during the holiday season.  It’s just another excuse to buy more sprinkles and cookie cutters.  As if the 100 plus I have, aren’t already enough.  But we can all overdue with sweets this time of year.  The bummer is a few weeks later, I’m wishing for another homemade treat or two.

I have the perfect gift if you want to give something sweet, but allow the recipient to enjoy when he or she wants to…the cookie mix jar.  This holiday season I’ve already made nine so far.  Mostly for my children’s teachers.  I thought this was especially good for them, since so many other children give cookies, chocolates, and prepared foods which need to be enjoyed immediately.  Measuring just the dry ingredients is easier than making an entire batch of cookies for the gift giver.  And having ingredients pre-measured and ready, makes it easy for the recipient to finish the cookies quickly (and they can get the credit for making them).

To make you simply layer all the dry ingredients to your favorite cookie recipe in a clear container.  It looks pretty and allows the recipient to finish and bake when they’d like.  This year I picked a chocolate pecan cookie recipe which has various colors of ingredients to make a sand art effect.  For those who may be allergic to nuts I substituted dried cranberries and changed the name of the recipe.  If you bake, you probably already have some ingredients on hand such as flour, salt, baking powder, sugars, etc.  Or at least you can pick up some more as well as chocolate chips and nuts on your next visit to the grocery store.

The only other thing you need to buy is the container.  Here’s where you can get really crafty and creative if you’d like, depending on the occasion.  I chose a one liter glass mason jar from The Container Store, which is pretty and simple and can be used again once the cookies are gone.  (I tried to buy a quart size which they did not have, but the one liter worked great).  I’ve used various cards and tie-ons to present the recipe.  The kids can have fun personalizing these too.  I find it’s best to attach the baking instructions to the container, so the recipient doesn’t lose it when they’re ready to bake.

Once you get the hang of it and learn the layering and packing technique these are quite simple to do, and you can do a few at once.

Question…If the recipient of the cookie mix jar, makes the cookies and gives them to someone else, is it re-gifting?

Here are a few tips: More Cookie Recipe…