Simple Sides: Savory Muscatos™ Grape Bowl
Children in this country consume an estimated 12 percent of their calories from fast food and 20 percent of all American meals are consumed in a car! The consequences are predictably unhealthy. Competing schedules in the day-to-day lives of a busy modern family make it difficult to share a home-cooked meal together, but possible. In fact, with a little planning, cooking together can become a fun family event and learning opportunity. This feature will focus on providing a child or a group of children, working together under the supervision of an adult, with one uncomplicated, healthy, and delicious side dish recipe. The dishes, focus on seasonal fresh produce items and will always contain tasks that allow even the youngest kitchen helper to contribute to the family meal. Parents should always read each recipe carefully to judge the division of labor based on age and ability as well as to identify where adult attention might be especially needed.
Many of the recipes presented here will seem extremely basic, this is by design. These simple preparations will provide the culinary foundation and confidence to inspire kids to try more challenging recipes as their experience and confidence in the kitchen develops. Melissa’s encourages parents to find the time to gather as a family unit at least once a week for a dinner that everyone pitches in to prepare. It is a wonderful way to teach a child some basic culinary skills and, more importantly, cooking with your children will build memories in all your hearts forever. Enjoy your kids in the kitchen, they will be grown and gone before you know it! “No one is born a great cook; one learns by doing” – Julia Child.
Here is a simple recipe, perfect for the beginner in the kitchen. This dish, with two separate components, will teach the youngest of sous chefs how to follow a recipe and measure out the ingredients in both components. For a slightly older helper with basic knife experience, there are grapes to halve, a pepper to mince and a couple of green onions to slice. Great practice with three different rudimentary cuts all in the context of a building a tasty salad of multiple flavors in every bite. Best of all, there is no cooking – one culinary step at a time!
I timed the task of slicing four cups of Muscatos™ grapes in half, which was only about 20 minutes without rushing. Though it should be added, this job was “wind aided” with the extra ingredients of a glass of a favorite adult libation as well as background music to slice by, so the time rushed by enjoyably. However, be aware that all four cups may come very close to the limits of the attention span any child doing a tedious task. In this case it’s a child holding a sharp object – be watchful. Take over, if necessary, before a bandage or stitches are needed.
As stated earlier, this recipe is a great introduction to the kitchen for a beginner with components he or she is familiar with in the fall grape harvest. Yet the fruit is used to create a savory side dish for the whole family to enjoy instead of the usual hand fruit snack. The takeaway lesson here is that the flexibility of many fresh items means they can be used in meals or snacks in very different ways. Grapes used in a spicy salad contain another lesson that none of us ever seems to learn through life so might as well start early with the reminder to “assume nothing” that unfortunately will continue for a lifetime!
The jalapeno pepper is also something not paired with grapes that could be an optional ingredient, though I felt this dish needed that little extra kick that the pepper provides to make it interesting. Leave it out if tastes collide, though this variety of pepper really adds more flavor than heat. A tip for less heat in all peppers is to scrape out the inside top surface of the pepper interior, where the heat-generating capsaicin lives, as well as the seeds, for a milder heat. Besides, the feta cheese’s other role besides texture and extra flavor is to reduce the pepper’s impact on the palate in a creamy, enjoyable way. Enjoy!
Savory Muscatos™ Grape Bowl
4 servings
Ingredients
For the dressing
1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons agave syrup
1½ tablespoons lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
For the salad
2 cups Red Muscatos™ grapes, halved
2 cups Green Muscatos™ grapes, halved
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, leaves only
1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper, minced
2 green onions, sliced thin
Zest of 1 lime
¼ cup crumbled Feta cheese (garnish)
What the supervising adult should do:
Oversee the halving of the grapes – an easy job for an older child, but also an accident waiting to happen for a younger helper. Best for a younger sous chef to be tasked with the measures in the two parts of this recipe.
What the kids can do:
To make the salad: Prepare and combine all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.
To make the dressing: Put all ingredients in a jar and shake, shake, shake until thoroughly combined. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, toss to combine. Serve immediately in a large serving bowl, garnished with crumbled feta cheese, family style.
