Category Archives: Community Service

Jul 13Making Homemade Dog Treats with Kids

It never ceases to amaze me how much filler and junk is included in pet foods. I don't know about you, but I'm not so sure that I'd like my pets to be eating ground up feathers or other random inedible animal parts. One of the best parts about cooking with kids is that you can learn about ingredients together. When I was little, I used to tease my mom for reading all of our food labels. I figured that if we wanted to eat something, we should just buy it. But she knew better. (Did...

Jun 29Making Homemade Kitty Treats with Kids

Every year, I look forward to the classes that I teach with the children who participate in the Marin Humane Society summer camp program. You might be wondering what on earth a cooking teacher might be doing at an animal shelter. Stop that! We are NOT cooking the animals. But we are cooking FOR them! Because so many of you have asked (via Facebook and Twitter) for the recipes over the years, I thought I'd share. See, I'm nice like that :-) Have you ever baked for your...

Jun 15Garden to Table Workshop: IACP Kids in the Kitch...

Garden to Table Workshop: IACP Kids in the Kitchen

For the second year in a row, I attended the International Association of Culinary Professionals annual conference. Much like last year's experience in Portland, this year's event in Austin opened its arms wide and greeted me with a smile. I came to town early for my first ever bookstore appearance (yay!). The staff at Book People were wonderful and we were easily able to draw families to our area of the store by offering a hands on cooking activity for children. An added bonus for me, of...

Mar 28Community Service Event for Families – SOUP

In case you hadn't noticed, I care a lot about community service. But only because I am selfish. No, really. I like how doing service makes me feel. And I love inspiring kids to do the same. Yep - selfish. Studio 4 Art and I recently held our second annual SOUP event. You might have seen the recent post about the classes where local students and I were up to our elbows in soup.... I thought I'd offer you an update, showing you the incredible bowls that her students made, and the...

Mar 23Soup for Service – Making Soup with Children

While gearing up for our second annual SOUP fundraiser with Studio 4 Art, I hosted a soup making class in my home for our local 4-H club and taught classes at two elementary schools. Kids worked together to create meals that would ultimately help local families in crisis. It was a beautiful thing... What kind of soup does your family enjoy? We'll pick new varieties for our event next year, and I'd love your thoughts...

Jan 19Dinner Tonight - Simple and Affordable (Split Pe...

Dinner Tonight – Simple and Affordable (Split Pea Soup)

Our schedule has been crazy these days, with appointments and other activities running smack into the dinner hour. The schedule, in combination with our limited eating-out budget, has forced me to plan ahead even more than I used to and have some meals prepared in advance. Last night, after dinner, I quickly prepped some ingredients for my favorite crockpot split pea soup. In case you were wondering, the price of split peas from the bulk bin can't be beat. Bring your old jars to the store...

Jan 14Forget the Boy Band - Here's a Boy Blogger (Figh...

Forget the Boy Band – Here’s a Boy Blogger (Fighting Hunger)

It takes a lot to be a kid these days. In addition to school and social obligations, there are extra curricular activities...and then for special young people, they even make time to make the world a better place. I am proud to feature Brian, a rock star "boy-blogger"...which in my opinion, is much better than a "boy band" any day. My name is Brian Kaner I am a 12 year old, 6th grader. I am working on a community service (Mitzvah) project for my Bar Mitzvah. My Bar Mitzvah is on October 29th,...

Dec 13I Dare You to Feed Hungry Kids (+ Potato Latke R...

I Dare You to Feed Hungry Kids (+ Potato Latke Recipe)

Every year, my kids and I look forward to potato latkes. Truth be told, we don't even wait for Hanukkah half of the time. Sometimes we mix it up a little and add some shredded carrots or sweet potatoes. But other times, we simply opt for the traditional ones with potatoes. This version comes from my book, The Whole Family Cookbook, due out in April. Consider it my early gift to your family for the holidays. Nothing chaps my hide like the concept of childhood hunger. We live in...

Dec 3Special Visit from Allrecipes.com: Cookies for C...

Special Visit from Allrecipes.com: Cookies for Charity

Two days before Thanksgiving, I hosted a Drop In & Decorate event with a group of children who decorated for the homeless. I shared some photos, but what I didn't tell you was that we had a special guest. Michael is the host of What's Cooking (great minds think alike, right?), the cooking show on Allrecipes.com. For the holidays, they are doing a special event called Cookies Across America. Because they are good people, they are featuring Lydia's organization, and are encouraging people...

Nov 24Kids, Cookies, and Sharing - A Drop In and Decor...

Kids, Cookies, and Sharing – A Drop In and Decorate Event

You probably already know this by now, but I am a community service junkie. I do it purely for selfish reasons - I get a total rush when I do a project with kids that helps the less fortunate. Well, maybe it's not really for selfish reasons...it is, after all, helping people and teaching kids how to be a contributing member to society. Whatever. The point is, I love it. And when I find a good opportunity to get kids doing the right thing, I pounce. Yesterday, I hosted a...