Food for Kids

Oeufs en Cocotte with Cream and Fresh Strawberry Jam

March 17, 2011

I made this delicious breakfast for my little boys this morning along with my five-minute rice pudding recipe which I promise to post very soon! You can create your own version by adding herbs, vegetables, and substituting the cream if you dare! Some versions of the classic Oeufs en Cocotte require two eggs, however considering the unwanted calories for my gourmand readers, I opted to use only one.

For my little gourmand elves

Recipe: Rina Oh

Yields 6 servings

Ingredients

6 ramekins, buttered

6 whole eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream reduced by half

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups fresh strawberries, quartered

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/3 french baguette, thinly sliced diagonally

2 tablespoons butter

Directions

  1. Place an egg in each buttered ramekin, sprinkle a dash of salt and pepper and cover with two tablespoons of double heavy cream. Place in the oven at 325 degrees for about 12 minutes.
  2. On the stovetop in a medium saucepot, add strawberries, orange juice and sugar and mash to extract fruit juices. Stir frequently and reduce until sauce thickens on a simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside in a mixing bowl over an ice bath to cool if desired.
  3. Bake crustini in an oven at 350 degrees for about 3-4 minutes, remove and smear a teaspoon of butter on each slice, top with a tablespoon of fresh strawberry jam.

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Potato Soup in a Bread Bowl

By Rina Oh

March 6, 2011

Our fast food order trice times

It’s nothing new and revolutionary that childhood obesity will become an epidemic in our nation. Unfortunately it’s something that’s had us calling the tsunami to shore as the rippling tiger waves were headed in our direction since a few preceding generations. Needless to say, we are in the position to make significant changes right now-starting today.

As a concerned dear mommy of two boys I couldn’t ignore this ongoing battle as I’m no stranger to fighting the over-carbed, greasy fast food battle. My children beg me for fast food with the clowny man enticing them to come over his house and share a greasy kid’s meal. How can I consciously feed a two and four year old something I know is loaded with calories, lacking in any form of local vegetation and most certainly will put on a few hefty pounds if consumed every day!

In fact I’ve never given them the greasy kid’s meal in my life. Other people have given this to my two babies, behind my back- and spitefully so. Oh dear in-laws, what will I do with thee?

It concerns me to see that my sister in law never eats like a normal human being. Aspartame is her sweetener of choice, including every beverage, dessert if applicable with massive loads of artificial sweeteners poured on dehydrated food. Most of the daily rituals include at least six sessions of running on the treadmill like a hamster in a cage.

At one point in her life she was one of the kids with the obesity problem. Growing up eating excessively, befriending Snooki wannabes and living in the Garden State where portions are larger and the “wrong foods” are continuously on sale did not help her situation. I had to methodically come up with a new approach on incorporating healthier ingredients into my children’s diet.

In rebellion to the greasy kid’s meal, I indulge my children in a pseudo fast food night and frequent Panera Bread perhaps more than once in a blue moon. As I did tonight, after my dear sister in law offered them doughnuts appropriately around dinner time. We fled the scene and found our way to enjoying an evening filled with potato soup in a bread bowl, an apple satisfying the sweet tooth and fresh lemonade instead.

Panera Bread 445 Chestnut Ridge Road, Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677

Tel: (201) 391-7093

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