THE STIR

ADD A BONUS TREAT! Try our leprechaun cookies on page 64.

fun food

CELEBRATE ST. PATTY’S DAY

Get ready to go green on March 17! Your kids will feel extra lucky this year with these holiday-themed dishes that you can make and enjoy together.

Roll Up a Clover

With this hands-on recipe for Shamrockin’ Rolls, little bakers can put a new twist on a dinner favorite. Serve them with your rainbow meal!

INGREDIENTS

3½ cups flour ¼ cup sugar 1 packet rapid rise yeast 1 tsp. salt ¾ cup milk, warmed to 110°F to 115°F 6 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus 4 Tbs., melted for brushing 2 eggs, at room temperature

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, butter,

A B C

and eggs. Combine the two mixtures and stir until blended. 2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Add a little more flour if the dough is sticky. Place it in an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours. 3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Punch down the dough and knead it for a few minutes to release the gas bubbles. Halve the dough; return one portion to the bowl and cover. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the other half into a 4½x8-inch rectangle. 4. Cut the dough rectangle lengthwise into six ¾-inch strips. Cover them with plastic wrap. On a clean surface and working with one at a time, roll and stretch a strip into a 19-inch-long rope. Form a shamrock as shown above, then place it on the baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing six rolls on each baking sheet and spacing them 2 inches apart. Let the dough rise for another 45 minutes. 5. Heat oven to 350°F. Brush the rolls with melted butter. Bake, switching each pan’s position halfway through, until the rolls are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let them cool slightly before serving. Munch your way through the colors of ROYGBIV with this playful menu.

Red & Orange Salad

Thinly slice one red and one orange bell pepper and an apple. Toss them with a cup of matchstick carrots. Dress salad with 2 Tbs. each of olive oil and cider vinegar, ½ tsp. cumin, ¼ tsp. paprika, and salt and pepper to taste.

Yellow & Green Pasta

Cook fettuccine in boiling water, adding a handful of frozen peas at the last minute. Meanwhile, sauté thin-sliced chicken breast and trimmed sugar snap peas in olive oil. Remove from heat. Mix the chicken, peas, and pasta with ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, a handful of grated Parmesan, and about ¼ cup of reserved pasta cooking water. Serve with parsley, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Blue, Indigo, and Violet Parfait

Toss blueberries, blackberries, and purple grapes with cinnamon sugar. Layer with whipped cream or yogurt.

Yogurt is a great place to start. Look for a brand that contains “live and active culture,” and add it to smoothies or top it with granola. Miso is a fermentedsoybean paste that you might know best as a Japanese soup. To make the soup, boil a cup of water, turn off the heat, then whisk in a tablespoon of miso, some sliced scallions, and a few tofu cubes.

Kefir is an Eastern European cultured-milk drink that’s rather tart. Luckily, you can grab kids’ versions in squeezable pouches or frozen bars.

Eat Your Medicine

For belly woes of all kinds, try probiotics—the good-for-you bacteria that can help aid digestion and make tummies happier. These naturally fermented foods are packed with ’em:

Fermented

pickles can be found at a farmers’ market or in the refrigerator case of a natural-foods store. Look for just cucumbers, salt, and seasonings in the ingredients list. Sauerkraut is not

for the faint of palate, but lots of kids love it—and it’s a great way to turn a hot dog into a health-boosting meal. You’ve got the right kind when the ingredients are only cabbage and salt. EXTRA CREDIT: Kimchi is the spicy Korean version of salted and fermented cabbage and radishes, and it’s got the knockyour-socks-off impact of sauerkraut on steroids (and on fire). —Catherine Newman

kitchen skills

DINNER 1-2-3!

Is your budding chef ready to assist with a main course? Breading is a fun thing for bigger kids to try out. Teach them the process courtesy of the education cooking experts at Raddish Kids.

FLOUR Lightly coat your choice of food (like chicken) with flour, which creates a sticky surface for the eggs to cling to. EGGS Dip the food into whisked eggs, allowing any excess to drip off. The egg wash will act as “glue” for the breadcrumbs. BREAD Slowly lower the food into breadcrumbs and press to coat. This final layer will bake into a crispy crust! Go to Raddishkids.com for more on their cooking boxes, which include recipes, skill cards, tools, and more. (Score $15 off a year’s membership with the code FAMILYFUN.)

tktk tktktktk

Super Bowl Sweet

Score big with these no-bake cookie-dough pops! Start by beating ½ cup each of butter and peanut butter for 30 seconds. Add ½ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and ½ tsp. salt. Beat until combined. Then beat in 1¼ cups oat flour and ½ cup rolled oats (toast ’em in the oven first). Stir in 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate pieces. Roll dough between waxed paper to ¾-inch thick. Cut out footballs using a cookie cutter. Reroll and repeat with remaining dough. Melt 4 oz. semisweet chocolate. Dip pop sticks into melted chocolate and insert into footballs. Chill cutouts for 20 minutes. Melt another 12 oz. semisweet chocolate. Dip each pop into chocolate and let set on waxed paper. Melt 4 oz. white baking chocolate and use to pipe football laces onto pops.