Category Archives: marmite

“Mini chef in the kitchen” 3- Easy and quick as 10 mns cheese bechamel spaghetti

Posted on May 1, 2015 | Leave a comment

Beside preparing a delicious dish, it’s also important to be an easy and quick one to keep your mini chef focused and entertained.

I believe the majority of kids are fan of spaghetti. It’s one of my son’s few favorite dishes because peppa pig loves it! Today’s recipe will not take more than 10 minutes the time of boiling the pasta.

To make this yummy dish you need: (for 2)

150g spaghetti
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup emmental cheese
dash of salt (optional)

Cook the spaghetti as per the pack instructions. Meanwhile, in a casserole mixmilk and flour until it’s well combined then bring to heat.

Keep on whisking until you see the first bubbles (2-3 minutes) add the butter and cheese(optional) and mix all well (less than a minute). Turn off the heat as the cheese is totally melt in and the sauce became thick. Toss in the drained pasta and let your kid enjoy the rewards of his efforts.

If you put emmental, disregard the salt, but if your kid is not fan of cheese, add a dash of salt to flavor it.

As i mention in every “mini chef in the kitchen” post, this activity provides your kids with plenty of opportunities to learn.Click on benefits of cooking with your kids to know more about it.

I hope you have a good time with your kids. Enjoy 🙂

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

“Mini chef in the kitchen” 2- Jus de lapin (carrot-banana-mandarin smoothie)

Posted on April 30, 2015 | Leave a comment

In the “mini chef in the kitchen” series, today we are preparing a healthy fruit smoothie to beat the heat.

Giving the juice a creative name, attracts your kids attention and stimulates their curiosity. There is no way they won’t try it especially if they are picky eaters like my son.

“jus de lapin” or rabbit juice because it contains carrots and has a bright orange color!

You will need

1 large carrot
1 big banana
juice of 3 mandarines
half cup ice (optional)
1 tsp honey (optional)

Mix all and blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth and frothy.

My son is not fan of sweet taste, i didn’t add the honey since the mandarin were not very sour.

If the fruits are already cold or some frozen, you can skip adding ice. I put two colorful ice sticks for fun and to keep it chilled.

This activity provides your kids with plenty of opportunities to learn. Click on benefits of cooking with your kids to know more about it.

To add more fun and encourage Nady to have the whole smoothie i prepared moustache cut out and insert it in the straw. Click here for the printable file.

There are endless options for smoothies, use the favorite fruits of your kids, or even introduce some other veggies like celery, spinach or cucumber and make the green giant.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

Reasons to cook with your kids – “Mini chef in the kitchen” 1- Nutella mini tarts recipe

Posted on April 29, 2015 | 4 comments

How many times you let your kids out of the kitchen, having no time to let them be involved, or just being tired and drained out of energy, or simply not in the mood. However i am sure there were many other times you really enjoyed cooking or baking together with so much fun.

No doubt, cooking with kids takes more time and effort, but for the many learning experiences you can embrace while your kids are in the kitchen, i encourage you to do it more often. Trust me the benefits to their development justify the extra efforts.

Reasons to cook with your kids:

Literacy (building vocabulary): cooking with kids gives you the opportunity to introduce new words. You will be talking about the ingredients which gives them food knowledge. They will be observing and talking about the process as well (like creaming, whisking,…). It’s good to mention the new words several times and put them in a sentence they will understand and repeat after you. And when you read for them the recipe (if they can’t read yet) they will learn also that there is a method and instructions to follow. When am with with my son i enjoy mostly the open conversation we have all the time of cooking.

Brain development by exploring their senses: sensory experience is essential for the brain development. Cooking engage all the senses of your kids; seeing, hearing, smelling, touching and tasting (especially smelling and tasting). My son is the curious type he likes to taste everything!

Motor skills: Developing fine and gross motor skills is as important as the sensory experience. They will be training their tiny muscles (fingers, hands, arms and even all body) by stirring, whisking, beating, kneading….. I love watching my son doing all this, i see a small proud man using his beautiful hands magically 🙂

Math and logic: By counting and using the measuring cups or spoons to follow the accurate recipe.

Self esteem: you will experience the look of confidence and pride on your kid’s face when he sees the outcome and especially when he offers it to others. When i bake with my son, he keeps on telling what he did to everyone he sees, and insists on offering some of “his creations” saying : “Nady did this!” waiting for the rewards for his efforts.

All these benefits go without neglecting the amount of fun we have and the quality time together which is sacred for me.

The most important thing though is you don’t force the learning to happen, it should flow naturally. The golden rule is to enjoy the time with your kids in the kitchen.

If you like to cook with your kids but you are struggling to find simple recipes to do, follow me this week. I will be writing a series of posts with easy recipes to enjoy cooking with your mini chefs!

Today we baked mini Nutella tarts. You will need:

250g flour (sifted)
125g cold butter diced
3-4 tbsp water
nutella chocolate

Let your kid sieve the flour into a mixing bowl and add the butter cubes.

Rub the flour and butter to become like sand. Add the water one tbsp after the other and watch your genius kneading.

We placed the dough for 15 mins in the fridge before working it. Meanwhile we cleaned the mess around us.

Sprinkle little flour on your working surface and roll out the dough.

and cut circles to fit in the muffin tray.

Nady cut also hearts and stars to decorate the top of each tart.

Put almost one tbsp of the chocolate into the middle of each tart.

Let your kid choose any shape to decorate the top of the tart.

Preheat oven to 200°C and bake for 15 mns or until top is golden brown.

Meanwhile arrange again the mess you did, teaching your kids to be clean and tidy, which is an important and fun part of cooking as well.

Let it cool before your little chef taste the reward of his efforts.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

4 Comments

Posted in dessert, kids food, way to play

Tagged beirut, benefits of cooking with kids, blog, Brain development, chocolate, cooking, cooking with kids, easy recipe, food blogger, jaymmy, kids food, little chefs, marmite et ponpon, nutella, qatar, sensory experience, simple recipes, tart

Best Artichoke Spinach dip

Posted on April 28, 2015 | 3 comments

This best ever homemade artichoke spinach dip. It is a huge hit appetizer, merits a standing ovation from your guests.

It’s a pinnacle appetizer for my husband and I, we order it almost at every diner restaurant until the day i made it home. Since then my husband craves this symphony of well blended flavors.

To make this creamy dip you need:

250g spinach chopped (thawed if frozen)
400g artichoke hearts drained and chopped
250ml heavy cream
100g cream cheese
2 cups Emmental cheese (divided)
1 big onion finely diced
2 garlic cloves minced
salt to taste

In a pot cook the onion and garlic with the spinach for 3-4 minutes. Put the heat off and mix in the artichoke, cream, cream cheese, salt and one cup of the Emmental cheese. You can use mozzarella if you wish a milder taste.

Pour the mix in a baking dish, sprinkle over the remaining cup of cheese and bake on 200°C in the oven for 30 mins or until it’s bubbly and the cheese is golden brown.

Serve it with tortilla chips, toasted bread or crackers and dive right in! I am warning you it’s addictive 🙂

The flavors are outstanding! Try it and give me your opinion.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.

3 Comments

Posted in appetizers & salads

Tagged artichoke, artichoke hearts, artichoke spinach dip, blog, cream, cream cheese, dip, Emmental cheese, food blogger, heavy cream, how to do, jaymmy, lebanon, marmite et ponpon, qatra, recipe, spinach, tortillas

8 Tips and tricks probably you didn’t know before!

Posted on April 26, 2015 | 4 comments

Here are some tips and tricks worth knowing, it will help you and save your time. Some were totally new to me and wished i knew from before!

1- Testing egg freshness

Eggshells have pores that allows air to get in over time. The more air enters the egg the lighter it gets, which explains why it will float. So if it floats, get rid of it!

2- Don’t touch the cheese with your hands

Don’t touch the cheese with your hands while cutting, the bacteria from your fingers promotes mold faster. Either wear gloves or keep your hands over the plastic wrap of the cheese.

3- Store the salsa jars upside down

Store the salsa jars upside down in the fridge, this way it prevents mold from sprouting up.

4- Separate the bananas at the stems to prevent quick ripening

If you want your bananas to last longer, separate them at the stem. The reason bananas ripen more quickly when they’re not separated is because they emit ethylene gas. A bunch of bananas together lasts 5-7 days but when you break them apart they can last up to 14-17 days!

5- Place a wooden spoon to keep water from boiling over pots

A wooden spoon pops the bubbles when they are in contact, plus it can absorb some of the moisture, so water stays down and don’t boil over. Metal spoons don’t have same effect!

6- Roll the lemon before squeezing

Roll the lemon or any citrus fruit applying a bit of pressure before juicing. This way you burst the tiny cells in the lemon flesh to give more juice!

7- Pepper bumps

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating while peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

8- Rub your hands with stainless steel to remove the odor

After working with garlic, onion or fish, rub your hands vigorously on your stainless steel sink for 30 seconds before washing them. If your sink is not made of stainless steel, simply rub a stainless steel spoon, It will remove the odor. Now you can buy a soap like piece of stainless steel from some supermarkets.

If you like this post give it some likes and shares to spread the joy. Don’t forget to like marmite et ponpon facebook page and follow on twitter. More interesting posts are yet to come.