We then roamed through the "Victory Garden," which was created by 15 families in San Francisco. It was wonderful to see the diversity of ideas and produce grown.

I attended the "Edible Education" lecture, in which Alice Waters was one of the panelists. She discussed how the King Middle School in Berkeley was created, and how it reshaped not only the eating habits of the kids there, but the entire curriculum. Science teachers, math teachers, art and English teachers have all found ways to incorporate the garden and the art of eating into their lesson plans.

Waters is now advocating for change on a national level. She argues the much of the money is there already, in the federally subsidized meal programs at public schools. But that the money needs to be spent supporting local farmers instead of the giant agribusinesses. It's daunting but it makes sense. Ella takes her lunch to school now, but if the lunches were being sourced locally--this is Sonoma County after all--I would let her eat "hot lunch" every day. And kids whose families might not be able to afford organic and local food at home would be able to enjoy that type of meal through the breakfast and lunch program at school.  Really, why aren't we doing more to make sure the food kids eat at school is the best it can be?

I realize that I seem to be two people when it comes to how to feed my family. I try to buy a lot of organic, visit the farmer's markets, eat meals at home. But there is also the busy, tired, mom who has been known to buy prepared dinners from the deli, boxes of preservative packed cookies, or have a fast food lunch because I didn't plan better.  The latter might only happen occasionally--but maybe even a little is too much. What am I so busy with that is more important than making sure what my kids eat is healthy, and as Waters' said at the lecture, "irresistible"?

That word, irresistible, stayed with me the entire day. That is what we should be focusing on, making good food irresistible to children. Not this continual rhetoric of  "you should eat this because it's good for you and avoid that because it's bad," but preparing food that is bursting with flavor, food that they will want to eat and then they'll forget about the junk. Food that they planted in the garden or picked at the farmer's market and meals they can help make. If  the "good" food we are giving them is canned green beans or under ripe tomatoes, entrees from the freezer, or fruit grown for an extended shelf life,  is it any surprise they don't like it? Come to think of it, do we?

We're pretending it's fall here in Sonoma County, as school has been in session now for over a week. What happened to starting the Monday after that glorious Labor Day weekend of our youth, that last hoorah where we pretended we hadn't been bored out of our minds for the past month and lamented "why did summer go so fast?"

But since we're pretending it's fall, it seemed a perfect time to bake an apple pie. Gravensteins are in season, which have the apple of many a baker's eye, and even a horticulturalist or two. (Luther Burbank said "if the Gravenstein could be had throughout the year, no other apple need be grown." ) In addition to being a terrific tasting apple, they are really reasonable. Our produce stand is selling them for 59 cents a pound, and I think that there are a few stores in Sebastopol and Forestville selling for even less than that.

The Gravenstein apple originated in Germany, but in the states, it is known as being grown in Sonoma County, particularly the charming town of Sebastopol. It's a striking apple, with red streaks developing over the green apply as it matures. Just like heirloom tomatoes taste much better than their commercial counterparts, the old-fashioned Gravenstein is delicious--a wonderful balance of sweet and tart. It's known for it's versatility, and because it isn't overly tart, it's a great apple for baking with kids or tucking into the lunchbox. I think we'll be using them to make apple crostadas with the kids who have signed up for our upcoming Baking Basics class.

Sadly, the Gravenstein apple could be on its way to extinction. The Slow Food Organization says that, "During the past six decades, Sonoma County's Gravenstein orchards have declined by almost 7,000 acres and are currently down to 960 acres.  There are only six commercial growers remaining in Sonoma County. "

But if you live in the Bay Area, you can find them, so do your part to keep them around and bake a pie today!

If when in Rome  do as the Romans do, then when in England  drink tea. We just returned from a wonderful week to attend my sister-in-law's wedding in Swansea, Wales. On the way to the wedding, we stopped to see Bath, the town in which my husband went to college. It is known for (not surprisingly given the name) the Roman Baths there. It is also known for it's large tea room, the Pump Room, and so Ella and I went together as a little pre-starting-kindergarten celebration.

 The tradition of afternoon tea is embraced by many British regardless of class or occupation. This was not the case when it was first discovered by Europeans in the early 1600s (when the Dutch and Portuguese were credited with bringing home tea leaves)  For quite some time it was a rare commodity only to be enjoyed by royalty and the very wealthy. The idea of the 4 o'clock tea as a staple of the day is attributed to Anna Maria, the 7th Duchess of Bedford. She found it the perfect way to curb hunger until the 7:30pm dinner (and while 7:30 sounds late to most Americans to begin with, remember that the idea of lunch was not the same either. Breakfast was the main meal of the day, and some people would take "noonshine" --a very light version of what we today consider lunch.)

Afternoon tea would become a social gathering of the masses as the cost of tea became more reasonable, and it was very popular until World War II. It's popularity waned for several decades, but it has celebrated a resurgence in popularity over the past few decades. In part, perhaps, because it can be customized for any occasion--a light dessert with tea for an impromptu visit with friends, or a tea party complete with scones, sandwiches, and desserts for a birthday party, (which is what we're doing for my daughter's 3rd birthday in a few weeks).

Personally, I think having a tea party for kids is not only magical, it is much easier than a lot of other menu alternatives. Plain ol' sandwiches seemed transformed just by cutting off the crusts, scones are very simple to make (or found at some bakeries) and the diminutive desserts can be as simple or elaborate (and homemade or store bought) depending on your schedule.

The Pump Room had a children's tea, the contents of which had been chosen by students from the local elementary school. This would explain the non-traditional pineapple and sausage on the second tray! Very traditional however, were the "fairy cakes," very similar to our cupcakes (but a much cuter term, don't you think?) and those were, of course, entirely devoured before our tea was over.

As the economy continues to sink and gas and food prices continue to rise, we've been scrutinizing our budget and purchasing habits. We're not in a panic, but want to be pragmatic because who knows how long this will last? One thing we've really curbed is our eating out budget. $28 for a pizza starts to look pricey (especially if you are spending $5 per gallon of gas to get there).  But making your own pizza at home is fun and easy, and recession-proof!

I taught a really fun class last week in Windsor for a teen camp in which the kids made mini-pizzas. Mini pizzas are the perfect size, and since everyone makes their own, food allergies and aversions aren't a problem. And pizza dough is very simple to make. Most recipes begin by dissolving the yeast into warm water. The heat begins to activate the yeast, and the mixture begins to foam. However, when I am working with large groups or small kids, I use a recipe where you skip this step and stir the yeast directly into the flour mixture. It produced comparable results, and lets you get to everyone's favorite part (kneading) a little quicker.

While you really don't need any fancy equipment to make pizza dough, you might want to check out your local restaurant supply shop for mini-pizza pans. They cost about $2.50 each, and make it very easy for kids to make the right size pizza (you don't want your pizza to be too thick because it will be doughy!). Another thing to remember is to not pile on the toppings too high, as that will make for a soggy middle--and who wants that!

Here is a photo of some of the pizzas that the Windsor teens did--they did a great job made pizzas, several dozen cookies and fruit kabobs in under two hours. Well done!

Here is my pizza dough recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 1/4 ounce quick rise yeast
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• (115 to 125 degrees F)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• (plus extra for greasing the bowl)

Oven Temperature: 425 degrees F

In a large bowl combine 2 1/2 cups flour (set aside the other 1/2 cup), yeast, salt and sugar. Stir until well blended.

Add the warm water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil and stir with a wooden spoon until  a rough dough forms.

Dust your work surface with some of the remaining flour. Dump the dough onto the surface.

Knead the dough (this will be demonstrated in class). Remember to keep giving the dough quarter turns as you knead. Continue until the dough is smooth to the touch, about 10 minutes.

Clean and dry your mixing bowl, and then grease it lightly with about one teaspoon of  olive oil. Put the dough into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm spot and let rise until doubled (about 45 minutes).

Dust your work surface again, dump the dough, and divide into four equal pieces. Using your hands, stretch out the dough into a personal pizza round.

Place pizza onto a foil lined baking sheet and add toppings.  Bake for about 20 minutes.

It seems that one of the official duties of being a mom is to bring cookie platters to events on a regular basis. Above is the one I did last night for my daughters' preschool potluck. Here is my issue with cookie platters. All that effort in the kitchen baking several dozen cookies with kids and family pets eying the bowl and the out-of-the-oven goods, and when you finally plate the ones that escaped those grabbing hands it can look so lackluster.

I feel that if I've taken the time to bake cookies from scratch, they should look as good as they taste. So with this in mind, here are some tips on how to create a little eye candy with your cookie platter.

1) Start with a nice white platter. I know some people worry about platters breaking, but really, how often have you witnessed this happen at your monthly PTA meeting? I use white because the contrast always looks great against the cookies and they can be found anywhere. They don't have to be expensive, Cost Plus has very reasonable serving pieces, and Martha Stewart's line at Macy's can occasionally be found on sale.

2) Think small. Pick a platter that looks a little smaller than you think you need for all your cookies. You want to achieve the look of abundance and by using a smaller plate you'll have very little empty space--a cornucopia of cookies!

3) Build height. By layering your cookies at least two deep, you'll add a nice element of height to your platter, which again makes it look more abundant. For this platter, I tucked chocolate dipped shortbread hearts into the chocolate chip cookies.

4) Go for big blocks of color. If you are doing a large platter with more than four or five types of cookies, group the like cookies together. This will have more of a "wow" effect than mixing them all together. If you have only two types of cookies, like I did, you could intersperse a two or three cookies of one type within a block of another type of cookie, which would add a little visual pop to your platter, while still keeping the big blocks of color.

5) Use fruit or candy to fill out your platter. I tend to only have time to bake one or two types of cookies before an event, but I like the look of more, so often I'll add something simple and store bought to my platter. Yesterday I bought organic strawberries, dipped half of them in chocolate, and then mixed the plain and dipped strawberries in a cluster in the middle of a platter. It's so easy to add fruit to a dessert platter, especially now in the peak of summer. In wintertime, I would look for a little candy that you could tuck into your cookies for visual interest, such as candy fruit slices in a tray of holiday sugar cookies, or chocolate truffles or hershey kisses in the center of a tray of small peanut butter cookies.

 And as always, have fun!

We've been making up a to-do list of things we need to do this summer before Ella starts kindergarten, and one of the things on my list is to find the perfect afterschool cookie.  I've been searching for the cookie that (hopefully) the kids will remember fondly as adults.

It's often the simple treats that we remember. I might know how to make a tiered wedding cake, but that will not impress nor sate a 5-year-old.  Being a good cook to your kids means knowing how to make their few favorites just how they like them (and just when they need them).  My mom had her signature afterschool cookie (Lacey Oatmeal...mmmmm), a once in a while treat usually signifying a school related celebration of good grades or when we were having a bad day at school. How she knew in advance I was having a bad day is still a mystery to me, I have yet to unlock that mothering secret.

I think I may have found the ubercookie recipe in Elizabeth Faulkner's Demolition Desserts. If you've been to Citizen Cake, her patisserie/restaurant extraordinaire, or seen the cookbook you might wonder about my focusing on a cookie. And I did make her Shag cake this weekend too (which is probably her signature dessert), but her cookies are remarkable too, if only in their simplicity.

Falkner stresses, and rightfully so, these are best eaten the day they are baked, the next day they had hardened. But out of the oven, just cooled to the point of being able to be handled by tiny hands armed with glasses of milk, they are divine. So I think this will the "afterschool cookie" for rainy days, good grades, and the occasional cheer me up. Next on the to-do list is to clean out closets--maybe I should bake one more batch of cookies before that . . .

It was a wonderfully semi-chaotic Mother's Day weekend, as my sisters and I taught two Mother's Day Tea classes on Saturday. I think kids are nothing short of amazing in the kitchen. Tea classes are challenging since we prepare all the fare for the tea in 90 minutes--many adults would have a difficult time doing that.

But the kids rose to the occasion, preparing a delicious afternoon tea consisting of scones with dried strawberries, three types of finger sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly of course, cheddar and chutney, and chicken and asparagus), as well as lemon coconut cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting. And they even made the table centerpieces, which were bouquets of white chocolate flowers.

 The room was set for 26, as the 13 students who prepared the tea were then joined by their moms. I think the moms were thrilled by what their children baked in such a short amount of time, and just enjoyed the idea of tea. It is such an endearing ritual, visiting with those we love over a delicate meal, complete with dainty teacups. It really was a special day.

While I included the recipes for our baked items, several moms asked about the chicken and asparagus sandwiches, which are very easy to make, especially if you start like we did we pre-cooked chicken. (I used Trader Joe's Just Chicken, which sells for $5.99 in the prepared meal section. Just add a little mayonnaise and salt to taste (I don't use pepper in my kids classes but would for this dish at home) and add chopped asparagus into the chicken mixture. We use whole wheat at home, but for teas I always use half whole wheat and half white (one of each per sandwich). Then you can easily flip the sandwiches and make a clever checkerboard-like presentation of your tea sandwiches.

I used a cream cheese frosting for the cupcakes. I think this is my favorite cupcake frosting because it is much easier to make than a buttercream as there is no time spent over the stove cooking sugar, but much tastier than the standard kid frosting you will find on the side of any box of powdered sugar. The cream cheese cuts the sweetness of the frosting and just brings a depth of flavor to the whole cupcake.

 Here is my recipe for cream cheese frosting:

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 package (7 ounces) cream cheese at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat on medium speed the butter, cream cheese and vanilla until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sifted powdered sugar (be sure to sift so that there are no lumps of sugar in the frosting). Beat on low speed until blended, and then on medium speed for 1-2 minutes until frosting looks light.

 So when Patricia Wells, the food critic for the International Herald Tribune wrote a book about how to make vegetables the center of attention (and the plate), I was intrigued. The photographs in Vegetable Harvest alone are enough to inspire one to drop everything and head to the Farmer's Market, and the recipes don't disappoint. My kids (most kids, really) love to make and eat risotto, so we tried her Pea and Mint Risotto. The recipe was pretty straightforward, though our stirring time was almost double what Wells suggests (though this I attribute to the very low heat I was using as the kids were taking turns stirring). From an adult standpoint, the mint was surprising and refreshing. From the kids standpoint, peas rule, so we actually only used about 1/3 c cup of mint, in contrast to Wells's direction of 1 cup. I think in the future we'll make this again, but serve out the kids portions before adding the mint. Asparagus would be a good fit for a spring risotto, so maybe we'll try that too.