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p 10 economist sunthe tribune tuesday june 3 1997 msmm drink coo caroline dewar correspondent did you hear about the guy who runs the fruit stand he s berried in his work pineapple honeydew you want to marry me watermelon yes but i can taloupe kids and cooking who can think of a better combination kids are a wonderful addition to any kitchen they are creative imaginative and curious all neces sary attributes of a good cook and if we encourage our children to come into the kitchen when they are young they will continue to enjoy culinary creations and accomplishments for many years to come cooking has it all it offers an exciting way for children to learn a variety of different skills in the comfort of their own home and with a great teacher you it pro vides real work for young chil dren as they develop their small motor skills and their senses of touch taste and smell and it develops childrens abstract think ing skills with experiences in cause and effect recall and sequence in the end the rewards of cooking with your children are much more than simply the results of the final product its the caring sharing and time spent together planning shopping and preparing your cook- fun food kids can have great fun cooking fun food as shown by from left spencer young 7 kris- ten dewar 5 andy dewar 10 and christopher young 10 who are helping mom make some treats ing project all of these elements will contribute to your enjoyment of the entire project the cooking process begins at home with the discovery of a favorite recipe or at the grocery store with the selection of toppings for friday nights pizza the fun continues as children get involved in the different steps of meal prepa ration depending on the age of your child there are many different roles they can play in the preparation of a family meal younger chil dren are great fruit and vegetable washers lettuce tearers table setters and cake beaters as children get older their tasks can reflect their level of maturity and responsibility they can become involved in many different tasks in the kitchen with a bit of help they can easily prepare a cookie or pancake recipe they can even help out with the cleanup and party pops and watermelon cookies chocolatesdipped party pops wrap these party pops with plastic wrap and tie with a rib bon for a party favor or end of year school treat ingredients a fjjuj butte oi rpne cups crisp rice cereal cups miniature marshmallows tsp vanilla extract and sprinkh cup semisweet or milk chocolate wooden craft sticks v preparation 1 in a large saucepan over low heat melt butter add marsh- mallows and stir until mixture is smooth and marshmallows are melted remove from heat and stir in vanilla add crisp rice cereal and stir until cereal is well coated with marshmallow mix- 2 press mixture into a buttered i3x9inch pan cool and cut into 2024 squares insert one craft stick into each bar 14 5 5 1 a3 flip 2024 jjjj jis 112 5tsps baking powder 12 tsp salt red paste food coloring 13 cuph- scmisweet mini chocolate chips 1 12 cups icing sugar 24 tbsp water green paste food coloring preparation 1 beat butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl at medi- um speed with an electric mixer until creamy gradually add sugar beating well add egg milk and vanilla mixing until ut blended ffigs kles place on waxed paper and allow to set watermelon cookies i 1 2 combine flour baking powder and salt gradually add to butter mixture mixing well knead a small amount of red food coloring into dough to color as desired shape dough into a ball 3 melt chocolate in a double boiler over low heat dip top of cover and chill the dough for at least three hours bar into chocolate mixture and then sprinkle with candy sprin- 3 divide dough in half store one portion in fridge roll remaining portion to 14 inch thickness on a lightly floured sur- 4 cut dough with a three inch round cookie cutter cut each circle in half place on ungreased cookie sheets press several mini chocolate chips into each cookie repeat with remaining dough rake at 321 for 8 tn 10 minutec an tint hrnwnl remove tn grcjjocool thats a real bonus as the summer approaches par ents will find themselves at home with kids who have a great deal of time on their hands a fun way to spend time together away from the television is to cook up some spe cial family treats the watermelon cookies and party pops are not only easy to make they are fun to eat for children and adults of all ages food for thought lisa cartwright treats are easy to make fun to eat watermelon cookies and chocolatedipped party pops most children love to bake with mom and dad and not only are watermelon cookies and chocolatedipped party pops easy to make they are also good to eat watermelon cookies both dominion and ap has lactantia margarine for 99 and iga has smart choice for 69 village grocer carries crisco shortening for 159 and pure vanilla extract for 899 no frills has large eggs for 169 and four litres of two per cent milk for 299 one per cent is the same price and is lower in fat both loeb and no frills has flour on sale for 499 what gives the cookies their watermelon look is the red and green frosting food coloring is at the bulk barn for 1 69 and icing sugar is 59lb mini chocolate chips pressed into the dough before baking looks like watermelon seeds i sugar baking powder and salt are also needed for this recipe chocolatedipped party pops the price chopper has becel margarine on for 1 99 kelloggs rice krispies are on at loblaws and food basics for 299 and no frills for 249 miniature marshmallows in a 136 kg club pack is on at no frills for 299 the recipe also calls for vanilla extract candy sprinkles and semi- sweet or milk chocolate all which can be purchased at local grocery stores this recipe calls for the mixture to be on a stick the sticks can be purchased at a craft store or by eating popsicles a big glass of icecold white or chocolate on at ap or dominion for 1591l carton milk is need ed to wash both treats 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