Focaccia With the Kids!

What a delicious and wonderfully surprising recipe this is! The kids had so much fun making this very savory bread. And, I had the chance to teach more about herbs: plants that you can eat!

Thank you to Mrs. Dory for procuring beautiful long stems of fresh rosemary for the kids to explore. We examined the rosemary by smelling it, then talking about what it reminded us of. Everyone had  a chance to pull leaves off of their own sprig.

Then, I literally sprayed Olive Oil cooking spray directly on the kids hands. It was hilarious.

Then, we used our hands to spread the dough out into the baking pan.

Then, we "painted" on olive oil...

...sprinkled on our freshly chopped rosemary, and baked our focaccia for about 15 minutes.

Then, we painted on more olive oil, sprinkled with salt...

and sampled our homemade bread! We even had aged balsamic vinegar to dip it in!

Quotes of the day:
"This kind of bread is really yummy."
"I ate three pieces!"
"I ate a lot of that bread."

Thank you to Allana Taylor, Ella and Tate's mom, for volunteering on Thursday. She was accompanied by Ella and Tate's Aunt Micha and their grandmother! We love family events! Everyone was marvelously helpful and we had a great time. Thank you so much!

Focaccia With the Kids!

1 store-bought pizza dough (We used the ones from Trader Joe's.)

Nonstick spray for hands and baking tray

1/4 olive oil

3 tablespoons minced rosemary

1 to 2 tablespoons kosher salt

1) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees and spray a 13 x 18 inch baking tray with non stick spray. add the store-bought dough, straight from its package, and push and stretch it into a rectangle about 10 x 15 inches.

2) Brush generously with olive oil and sprinkle with the minced rosemary.

3) Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly brown on both the bottom and the top.

4) Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes, then let your children (child) brush on more olive oil and sprinkle with a little kosher salt.

5) Eat!

Yield: one 10 x 15 inch rectangle

A big thank you to Penny Willimann, Cole's mom, for donating the unbelievably delicious balsamic vinegar that the kids used for dipping. Some classrooms barely left a single drop of vinegar in their bowl...and others had less favorable reviews. But, the ones who did like it (those after my own heart), REALLY liked the vinegar. It was so much fun to see them try something new.

I had the fortunate chance of visiting Penny's store, Olio, this past Friday night for a private olive oil and vinegar tasting. The event was an auction item won by a St. Clement family from last year...and it was fabulous. In addition to the beautiful cheese and charcuterie platter and the red and white wine, we had the chance to sample aged balsamic vinegars and high quality extra virgin olive oils. In addition, 10% of the proceeds from the party was donated to St. Clement! In case you haven't had the chance to drop by, the store is located at 1223 King Street. Stop by for some summer recipe inspiration! I can't wait to make bruschetta with the White Balsamic Vinegar (the white vinegar keeps your bread from turning brown) and make a fresh new salad with the Black Walnut Balsamic Vinegar (an unbelievably unique flavor). Who wants to come over for dinner?