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February 2010 LGK Newsletter
Hi there! For those who haven’t visited for a while, I wanted to share with you that, my website has a new look and, I hope, a more user-friendly feel. Take a look to the right and see all the new features.
Now, you can finally search through all the information on the site! And, asking me a question has never been simpler!
You can also now watch all 45 cooking segments from my Cooking for a Delicious Life Video Series on line and in their entirety, for free! Each of the five catagories are still available for purchase either individually or as a set, on high-quality DVD format.
You’ll also see that, in addition to my work as a cooking/baking mentor, there’s a new professional service that I am offering, as a Certified Professional Life Coach–This expansion has been extremely gratifying and, although I have been teaching and coaching in this capacity for some time (for high-risk populations), I have finally said “YES” to offering this dimension to YOU! You can learn more about life coaching and about the potential benefits to you, either by clicking on the link provided to your right, or on the home page. And, if you reside in the New York (Tri-State) area, I hope you’ll come to my upcoming Motivational/Personal Transformation Workshop, on May 1, 2010. I’m so excited to teach you what I’ve personally learned and have applied on my own journey –So, if you want to create and sustain a life that really cooks in all areas, I hope you’ll join me! A pre-registration form as well as a press release will be available on the site in early March.
Exciting things are also happening with my not-for-profit company, Hands-On-Food, Inc! More information about a new culinary/self-mastery program that will soon begin at the Brooklyn Residental Center, in Brooklyn New York, is coming.
And, Now–A Little Something Delish, To Prepare and Share On Valentine’s Day–
An Adult-Like Candy with a Real Kid-like Flavor!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
All packaged and ready to be presented…
Here’s Another Candy Recipe That’s Perfect to Make with the Kids!…
About Making Chocolate Candy with Children
When cooking or baking with children it’s important to remember that, depending on their age, their physical strength, dexterity and precision is not like yours, as an adult. So, you’ll need to allocate only those steps appropriate to them, to keep things happy and positive. So, from one parent to another, I thought I’d fill you in on some things to expect, when working with chocolate and small children.
Leave certain steps to someone with muscle! Since tempering is the key to success when making chocolate candy, it’s best to leave the vigorous stirring to a person with some muscle. Folding in any additions to the melted chocolate, once the tempering process is complete, is an appropriate step to be done by a child. This is also true with cutting a slab of set chocolate into shapes. If you’ve over chilled the chocolate, it will take some strength to get a decorative cutter to penetrate so it’s best to, at that point, just leave this part to an adult. Actually, if very hard, this might not be so easy for you either, so putting a pot holder on top of the dull side of the cutter before applying pressure will help you to repetitively cut the chocolate into shapes, without hurting your hand.
Kids have hot little hands (literally)! So, even when working with tempered chocolate, you’ll need to help kids to keep from over-handling things, causing the chocolate to start to melt. Here are some tips:
1) When wrapping chocolates with kids: Before your child picks up an assembled chocolate have them place the foil wrapper directly on top, using the wrapper to lift the chocolate, folding any overhang over the sides and underneath, enclosing the chocolate fully. If there are many scraps surrounding the cut chocolate (after cutting shapes out of a “set” slab), remove the scraps so your child has an easier time grasping each one.
2) When not using individual wrappers: The best way for a child to transfer the assembled chocolates to either paper candy cups or to a tin, between sheets of was paper, first have your child hold a paper towel in their nonworking hand. Then, he or she can use their working hand to pick up the chocolate, one at a time, and immediately lay it on the paper towel. This will help shield the chocolate from the warmth of your child’s hand, as they then transfer it into the tin or onto a tray.
3) Making drop candies are a great alternative for very young children: If younger than 5 years of age, children can take several minutes to wrap an individual chocolate. This can be frustrating for a child and can also cause the chocolate to melt. As an alternative to cutting a slab of tempered chocolate into shapes, you can simply make “drop candies” which don’t require spreading, cutting or wrapping. Once your tempered chocolate mixture is assembled, ask your child to drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto baking trays lined with wax paper, separated by an inch or so, on the sheets. Then chill for about 30 minutes and, once set, each candy gets placed into paper candy cups or into a tin, separated by sheets of wax paper, using the handling process previously described.
4) Some suggestions for drop candies: To the tempered chocolate, stir in one or a combination of the following: mini M & M candies, mini marshmallows, coarsely chopped walnuts, cocktail peanuts, chocolate covered raisins, Goobers, cut up peanut butter cups. Then, simply drop, chill and store, as described above.
I hope you’ll click here to “hear my take” on how important it is to help our children to be good givers. (And, if you’re feeling a bit bummed about not being romantically connected this Valentines Day, I hope you’ll go to the same page, scroll down, and click on my thoughts on these types of holidays…)
Love, Laur..
