Hostess Gift, Made by Kids 

3/5/2013

 
At the beginning of this post, we should apologize to Godiva Chocolatier for sharing the secret to making Chocolate Covered Strawberries ... in fact, the process is easy enough for children to help, and develop their confidence in the kitchen at the same time.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

You will need:

Whole Strawberries
Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
White chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (optional)
Oil
Parchment Paper

Method:

1. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Wash and dry the strawberries.

3. Place the semi-sweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and melt it, making sure the chocolate does not burn. This step, along with step 4 should  be completed by an adult as the bowl containing the chocolate can get very hot. *

4. Add a few drops of oil to the melted chocolate and mix it in with a spoon, to make the chocolate a little smoother.

5. Let the chocolate cool for a few minutes, taking care to make sure the outside of the bowl and melted chocolate isn't still hot before your child takes over with the truly fun part in step 6.
 
6. Each strawberry can now be dipped in the chocolate by your child and placed carefully on the parchment lined tray.

7. If you and your child want to get even fancier, melt the white chocolate in a similiar fashion to the semi-sweet chocolate in steps three to five, once all of the strawberries have been dipped. Then have your child take a spoon, and drizzle the white chocolate across the strawberries, to create a zig zag pattern.

8. Place the tray of strawberries into the refrigerator for the chocolate to harden.

* The chocolate can alternatively be melted in a double-boiler and transferred to a bowl to cool.

Chocolate covered strawberries provide a great hostess gift or dessert for your own table. Best of all, it can be kid-made with beautiful results. 

Delicious Pizza Dough Recipe 

9/3/2013

 
Home-made pizza dough offers lots of great advantages:

1) It is a recipe that kids love to help you make, and so the process helps to develop their kitchen skills, and their need to knead.

2) Pizza dough recipes use ingredients that most people have on hand in their cupboards.

3) Pizza is one of those foods that most kids enjoy eating, making it a great option for weeknight meals and dinner with family friends.

... and that's why we are pleased to share a delicious pizza dough recipe we recently found. 

See: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/master-pizza-dough/

Bon Appetito!

Calzone Dough Recipe

25/11/2012

 
In Creative IQ (TM): Giving Young Learners the Creative Edge in a Competitive World, there is a delicious recipe for Calzones on page 144 of the A Camping We Will Go! chapter. It calls for one pound of pizza dough to make the process as quick and easy as possible.

However, if you would like to add to the experience by creating your own dough, we found a great one that comes together easily and tastes delicious. In fact, it has been picky eater approved. ;)

See http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Real-Italian-Calzones/Detail.aspx for the dough portion and follow the filling instructions in the book.

Bon Appetit!

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seed Recipe

24/10/2012

 
Picture
Pumpkins are a very important part of Halloween  and the fall. If you carve a jack-o-lantern this year, have your child scoop out the pumpkin seeds inside for you to make the Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seed Recipe below.
 
Roasted pumpkin seeds can be a healthy  snack to give the  trick-or-treaters, before they head out in search of candy.  This particular recipe uses egg whites instead of  the usual  butter or oil required in most roasted pumpkin recipes.


You will  need:

·1 egg  white
 ·¼ cup white sugar
 ·½ teaspoon fine grained sea salt
 ·1 cup fresh pumpkin seeds (washed and dried)

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven  to 375°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. 

2. Spray the baking  sheet with non-stick cooking spray (Parchment paper is an alternative).

3. In a medium-sized  bowl, whisk together the egg white, sugar and salt. 

4. Add the pumpkin seeds and toss well. Drain off any excess egg white (using a colander) and place  seeds in a single layer across prepared baking sheet. 

5. Bake for 10-12  minutes or until seeds are golden in colour. 

6. Remove from oven and allow to cool.  Seeds may be kept up  to 3 days in an airtight container.

Welcome to CreativeIQ.ca and our Blog

15/10/2012

 
Welcome to our CreativeIQ.ca blog. We are excited to connect with you and collectively spark creativity. Please check back often for new posts and share your feedback through the comments feature.

It feels so good to get our website (and thinking about creativity) 'out-of-the-box'.