Food that fools your tastebuds
I love things that look like something else - you know those trompe l'eoil (French for "fool the eye") paintings, or furniture items cleverly shaped as other objects or animals.
You can create a similar effect with food - except not only are you fooling the eye; you're also fooling the taste buds.
Here's an example: These "cupcakes" on the right are actually little meatloaves iced with colored mashed potatoes. Get the recipe here.
Fool-the-eye-and-tastebuds recipes are popular on April Fool's Day and Halloween but they're just as much fun in the summer - especially if you have kids who are complaining of boredom. Recruit them into helping you create meals and snacks that don't taste like they look.
This activity actually has educational value: It will stimulate your kids' creativity and flexible thinking.
Just one ground rule:
Make sure that people with certain food allergies are not fooled into eating something that is not safe for them. For example, in this pizza, the "mushrooms" are really cashews - and can be dangerous for people with nut allergies.
Here's the recipe, by the way, from Family Fun Magazine:
1 teaspoon each of strawberry and apricot jam
Flour tortilla, individual size
Black licorice stick
Fruit Roll-Ups, 1 green roll
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
Cashew halves
In a small bowl, stir together the two jams until well mixed. Spread the jam on the tortilla, staying away from the very outer edge so it will resemble a pizza crust.
Slice the licorice stick to resemble black olives and cut the fruit roll into pepper strips.
Microwave the white chocolate at half power for 1-minute intervals, stirring the candy each time to see if it's melted (the chips won't change shape on their own).
Make sure the spoon is dry, as water will affect the candy's creaminess. Quickly spread the melted white chocolate on the pizza.
Pile on the olives and peppers, then arrange the cashews to look like mushrooms. Makes one pizza.
MORE FUN RECIPES:
Meringue Mushrooms
These take a bit of finagling with a pastry tube. Perfect activity to keep occupied for an afternoon.
Get the recipe here.
"Hamburger" cookies
4 drops green food coloring
1/2 teaspoon water
1/4 cup flaked coconut
48 vanilla wafers
24 chocolate covered thin mints
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
In a bowl, combine food coloring with a few drops of water. Add coconut and cover the container, shake until coconut is tinted. Set aside.
Place 1/2 of the vanilla wafers, flat side up, in an ungreased cookie sheet. Top each wafer with a peppermint patty. Place in the oven about 1 minute or just until chocolate begins to soften.
Remove cookies from oven and sprinkle each mint with 1/2 teaspoon coconut (for lettuce). Place another vanilla wafer on top and press gentle. With a clean paint brush, brush the top of each hamburger with just enough water to moisten so that the sesame seeds will stick when sprinkled on top of each cookie.
NOTE: You can use canned chocolate frosting in place of peppermint patty, then eliminate the baking.
Kitty Litter Cake - I admit this looks disgusting, but that's precisely why it could be a good project for a pre-teens who love to dare one another with ewwy and icky things.
1 (18 oz.) box spice or German chocolate cake mix
1 (18 oz.) box white cake mix
1 pkg. white sandwich cookies
1 large box vanilla instant pudding mix
12 small tootsie rolls
1 litter box (preferably a brand NEW one!)
1 plastic scoop
green food coloring
Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions (any size pans).
Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble.
Crumble white sandwich cookies in small batches in blender, they tend to stick, so scrape often. Set aside all but about 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup cookie crumbs, add a few drops green food coloring and mix using a fork or shake in a jar.
When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble into a large bowl.
Toss with half the remaining white cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. You probably won’t need all of the pudding, mix with the cake and “feel” it, you don’t want it soggy, just moist; gently combine.
Put mixture into clean litter box.Put three unwrapped Tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until soft and pliable. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly. Repeat with 3 more Tootsie rolls and bury in mixture. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over top. Scatter the green cookie crumbs lightly over the top, this is supposed to look like the chlorophyll in kitty litter.
Heat remaining Tootsie Rolls, three at a time in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with cookie crumbs.
Place the box on a newspaper and sprinkle a few of the cookie crumbs around. Serve with a new pooper scooper.
Pauline
teachmeinternet.com
