Filtering by Category: Kids Bites

Kids Talk: The Under 10 Set Reviews Sunny Daes

Kids Bites Restaurant Fairfield Stamford Trumbull Westport ice cream Kid Friendly Dessert

Multiple Eaters April 14, 2010

When Ben & Jerry's closed in Westport this Fall, there were murmurs of discontent amongst the younger crowd. Where does one get homemade ice cream with solid mix-ins in this town? Fortunately help was just around the corner...literally. Sunny Daes opened just months later and now Westporters young and old don't have to drive to Fairfield to get their fix.

This full service ice cream shop has 68 flavors of frosty desserts says owner, Sergio Keskin. Plus, it isn't shipped in on trucks; it's made right behind the counter. If this isn't enough to get you in the door, they also serve gelato, frozen yogurt, soft-serve ice cream, and ice cream cakes.

Sure, I could tell you how good the ice cream is, but I thought it made more sense to let the kids tell it like it is...

Kids Cooking Party With "Cindy's Sous Chefs"

Kids Bites kids activity kids cooking party Kid Friendly

Stephanie Webster April 06, 2010

It's not easy finding a unique kids birthday party activity in Fairfield County. Sure, there is My Three Sons and Pump It Up but what if your kid doesn't want to jump around or collect coins? What if you just want something with more food science and less bouncy castle? With the emergence of the Food Network's 24/7 culinary programming, kids have been acquiring valuable cooking tips during their sick days and developing an interest in all things related to food. In fact, so many of our readers are looking for "cooking themed birthday parties" we decided we had best do some research. What better way to acquire data than to host a cooking party for my five year old daughter chez moi. Read on for Cooking Parties for Kids, Part 1.

Free For Kids: Mondays Just Got A Little Bit Better

Kids Bites Norwalk Comfort Food Kid Friendly Burgers

Stephanie Webster March 30, 2010

Kids STILL at home? Bake Up Some Pizza Pops

Kids Bites kids activity Recipe Comfort Food Kid Friendly

Stephanie Webster March 16, 2010

Kid-friendly Cooking Project for Stir-Crazy Adults

Kids Bites Features Holiday kids activity Recipe Kid Friendly

Jennifer Spaide March 15, 2010

For those of you with functioning ovens and kids home from school, here is a tasty time consumer. For creative great tasting "homemade" cookies in a pinch, try this shortcut from Jennifer Spaide of Greenchic.com.

As a chef it’s important to know your weaknesses in the kitchen. And I am fully willing to admit that mine is baking. If it’s more complicated than emptying a mix into a bowl, cracking a few eggs, and whisking, don’t expect me to do it well. So you can imagine the panic that pulsed through me when I was asked to bake cookies for some gift baskets.

What, me? Really?! But I was up for the challenge… or the cheat. Don’t tell, but I decided to pull a Sandra Lee and take some “semi-homemade” help from the grocery store by purchasing premade sugar cookie dough. I chose an all-natural brand because it’s a little healthier (no trans fats or high fructose corn syrup).

With the basic batter under control, and a little stress off my shoulders, I was free to get creative with the flavors & fillings. I decided to make three different kinds of cookie: Chocolate Cherry Almond, Ginger Sesame Coconut, and Orange Fig Thumb Drops. These recipes are so simple it's genius (not to toot my own horn, but “Toot toot”).

What's in Your Lunchbox? Kids Bento

Kids Bites What's in your Lunchbox?

Nicole Straight March 02, 2010

IzzI B: Allergen Free Cupcakes Everyone Will Love

Ingredients Kids Bites Bakery Norwalk Special Dietary Needs Kid Friendly Dessert

Sarah Green February 07, 2010

Do you have a child with food allergies? I do. It stinks. It’s not the end of the world, I realize that, but it certainly makes everyday events (and I really mean just about EVERY day in this town!) like birthday parties a hassle. My son is allergic to dairy, egg, sesame, and tree nuts. OK, the sesame isn’t usually a cupcake issue. But there haven’t been a lot of options for dairy free or egg free desserts! And I have several friends whose children also need gluten-free food. ( Yikes!) There ARE products out there that you can bake yourself; Cherrybrook Kitchen has a whole line of boxed items that you can order on-line and even purchase in some grocery stores. But the cakes and cookies from Cherrybrook are just -ok. They are not particularly tasty, especially for the sophisticated and discerning taste buds of the seven-year-olds in Fairfield County! And, you have to bake them yourself.

But there’s a new kid in town and she is singing my song- her name is Pam Nicholas and she is the owner and baker at Izzi B’s Allergen Free Cupcakes. I recently purchased Izzi B cupcakes for my son’s birthday party and they were a colossal hit! Delicious, ‘B’utiful, fun, and 100% allergen-free

Farmer's Cow Ice Cream Naming Contest

Kids Bites Organic Farm Fresh Dessert

Stephanie Webster February 01, 2010

We found this little info morsel over at The Fairfield Green Food Guide. All of you aspiring branding gurus, young and old...get to work.

The Farmer’s Cow is holding an Ice Cream Naming Contest for their 10 new flavors starting February 1 so start thinking of names! For those unfamiliar with this local brand, The Farmer’s Cow is a cooperative of six family-owned CT farms that supplies milk to retailers throughout Connecticut and parts of New York and Massachusetts.

Contest Rules:

You may enter up to 10 names, one per flavor, making sure that the names reflect something about farming and the benefits of local agriculture. Entries will be accepted online from 12:01 a.m. February 1, 2010. through midnight on February 14, 2010.

Ice cream flavors are: Vanilla, Chocolate, Mint Chocolate Chip, Strawberry. Cookies & Cream, Black Rasberry, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Cup, Cherry Vanilla, and Coffee.

One lucky entrant will receive a summer’s supply of ice cream from Memorial Day 2010 until Labor Day 2010.

Local Teen Chefs Get Fresh and Get Published

Kids Bites Education Events Kid Friendly

Deanna Foster December 04, 2009

If you have a teen chef at home, or if you are a teen’s chef, you’ll be well served to head to the Westport Barnes and Noble on Tuesday, Dec. 15th, at 7:00 pm. for a book signing and tasting to celebrate the release of Rozanne Gold’s latest cookbook, EAT FRESH FOOD: Awesome Recipes for Teen Chefs. For this venture Gold recruited a brigade of teens, six of whom are Westport residents: Danielle Hartog (15), Deanna Hartog (11), Gwen Beal (15), Andrew Miller (15), Caroline Foster (15), Margaux Stamm (15) who helped recipe test and taste many of the 80+ recipes in this book.

FRESH stands for: farmer friendly, ripe-ready, easy-exciting, sustainable and honest-healthy and this book lives up to its name. Don’t think this is another cute kids’ cookbook. This is a book for teens, written by a James Beard award-winning chef and author who has teen’s interests, sensibilities and taste buds in mind. Gold has chosen recipes with few ingredients, 6-8 on average and that are easy to make, most take about 30 minutes prep. Only recipes the teen chefs and tasters loved and had a good time making are included in the book; those that made the cut are inspiring.

Visions of Gingerbread @ The Stamford Museum

Kids Bites Education Events Openings Stamford kids activity Kid Friendly

Sarah Green November 11, 2009

Every year, I buy one of those boxed gingerbread house kits and my kids and I go at it. We glop it together with that glue-like petroleum by-product substance that they call icing, we decorate with the stale jelly beans and mini gum balls they provide, and we call it a day. It’s fun and the kids enjoy it. Do yours? If so, head to the Stamford Museum and Nature Center (SM and NC) this month and next to see how the pros do it. “Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects” is the name of the exhibition that the museum is presenting as both a showcase for local bakers and as a fundraiser for the SM and NC.

What's in Your Lunchbox? Do-it-Yourself Pizza Dippers

Kids Bites Ask Chef Nicole What's in your Lunchbox? kids activity Recipe Kid Friendly

Nicole Straight November 04, 2009

What snack food is more universal and beloved than pizza? As a play on this perennial favorite we thought we would create a deconstructed pizza that kids could have fun assembling at their desks. Instead of standard pizza crust, we are using tortillas for their flexibility and wrap-ability. Sure, you could cut up some handmade triangled pizza crust, or even pita bread for this one. Build them any way you want.

You will need a few small containers for proper travel, but your children will be the envy of the classroom.

Turkey pepperoni, shredded cheese and tortilla “pizza dippers”

It's Always a Party @ Sugar & Olives, Norwalk

Kids Bites Restaurant Catering Cooking Classes Education Going Green Holiday Norwalk healthy Lunch

Sarah Green October 28, 2009

Wish you could throw a party in your own home, where people could meander from room to room to avoid that stuffy, restaurant feel? Hate being stuck at some long, rectangular table where the only person you are speaking to is the one right next to you? (You know, the one that you had been trying NOT to get stuck with.) Want to be relaxed and enjoy the food with your guests while someone else prepares, serves, and cleans up? Want to stop worrying about the red wine spilling on your white sofas? Tired of stressing about the fancy gadgets in your medicine cabinet that people might discover while they “powder” and snoop? Have your (organic) cake and eat it too at Jennifer Balin’s eclectic and fabulous “space” in Norwalk. SUGAR and OLIVES is the name and quirky and sensational is the game!

Halloween Recipes: Screamin’ Meanie Pulled Pork Bites

Kids Bites Features Ask Chef Nicole Holiday Recipe Kid Friendly

Nicole Straight October 24, 2009

Here is yet another fun and tasty party pleaser. We have listed two techniques for the creation of this delicious dish. Your selected preparation will depend on your expendable time, and your desire for home made fare vs. store bought ingredient assembly. We made these both ways over the weekend, and you will be happy with the results either way.

If you are not a regular pulled pork eater, try it. The sweetness of the BBQ sauce, and the tenderness of the slow cooked pork makes this a real treat.

Technique #1 I'm short on time:

Screamin’ Meanie Pulled Pork Bites (Mini corn bread and pulled pork sandwiches)

Easy Halloween Party Recipes Part 1: Bloody Fingers

Kids Bites Features Ask Chef Nicole Holiday Recipe Kid Friendly

Nicole Straight October 24, 2009

Halloween is around the corner, and this week, in honor of this ghoulish holiday, CT Bites will feature a daily recipe to help you plan the perfect Halloween party. These dishes are both adult and kid-friendly, and are simple time-saving delicious meals that will leave you plenty of time for dress-up. This is the first in our series, and really... what defines the real joy of Halloween more perfectly than eatable severed body parts?

These "Bloody Fingers" are an updated version of a perennial favorite, pigs in a blanket. I like to use chorizo, but you could substitute chicken apple sausage or Portuguese linguica.

Bloody Fingers in a Blanket (AKA chorizo in puff pastry)

Jones Family Farms: Pumpkin Picking at its Best

Kids Bites kids activity Farm Fresh Kid Friendly

Stephanie Webster October 17, 2009

Did Fairfield County seem unusually quiet last weekend as if everybody had gone somewhere? Were you wondering where the party was? I can tell you with absolute certainty that Fairfield County residents were indeed out, but there were no cocktails involved (although now that I think of it....) This was a family friendly affair...Everybody was out picking pumpkins at Jones Family Farms in Shelton CT.

We drove up to Jones on a beautiful Sunday afternoon (of course the weather has taken a turn for the worse since then) and as we pulled into the parking lot, my heart sank. I couldn’t believe there could be this many people on a single farm. It looked like Silverman’s (and not in a good way). But all was not lost. As we left the cars in their neat rows and strolled towards the actual farm, something beautiful was revealed. The vista opened to picturesque rolling hills in the distance and what seemed like acres of pumpkin fields. And these were no half-rate pumpkins. We are talking perfect pumpkins..thousands of them. We were on Pumkinseed Hill, the Fall outpost of the Jones Family Farms.

Halloween Party Recipes Part 2: Caramel Popcorn Balls

Kids Bites Features Ask Chef Nicole Holiday kids activity Kid Friendly Dessert

Nicole Straight October 14, 2009

What's a party without the popcorn? These sweet and salty treats are always a favorite (remove spiders before eating). This recipe lends itself nicely to child participation...as long as they don't mind getting a little sticky.

To amp up the gruesomeness, melt some white chocolate in the microwave or over a double broiler and add 2-3 drops of red food coloring. Then drip the "blood" over the finished popcorn balls.

For a more savory snack, try adding a pinch of cayenne pepper to the caramel.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

What's in Your Lunchbox...Wanna Trade?

Kids Bites Ask Chef Nicole What's in your Lunchbox? Kid Friendly

Stephanie Webster October 07, 2009

It's 11pm. You want to go to bed, but your kids' lunch boxes are all sitting empty on the counter. What can you pack them for school that is good enough to not come back uneaten (as is generally the case in my house), but also healthy enough to get them through the day?

CTbites is happy to introduce a new column geared towards helping parents solve the age old question. What to pack in those darn snack bags? Chef Nicole has been gathering data on this for some years now, and has a bevy of great ideas for you and your family. Here is post #1 of What's in Your Lunchbox?

Packing School Lunch: Get on the Plastic "BAN" Wagon

Kids Bites Going Green Kid Friendly

Deanna Foster August 11, 2009

Photo c/o Kidskonserv.comA few years ago, about 150 days into the 180 days of packing school snacks and lunches, the tedium got to me and I started thinking about all that plastic. Plastic sandwich bags, plastic snack bags, plastic wrap, plastic water bottles, plastic-coated juice boxes. Thrown away. Everyday. By every child in the school, the city, the state, the country. The image of all that plastic sitting in landfills unchanged for thousands of years made me crazy. So crazy, I made a declaration (to myself): No more disposable plastic in the lunchbox!