Peek-a-boo, I love you!

Welcome to the Festival of Food Carnival. In celebration of Valentine's Day, we're sharing recipe ideas for "love foods" or foods to share with loved ones. Hosted by Diary of a First Child and Hybrid Rasta Mama, you're welcome to join us next time, or if you have a previously published recipe you'd like to share, add it to the linky below. ******


Well, I've misplaced my heart-shaped cookie cutter, so my pumpkin one will have to do.  This meal can change as the seasons and holidays do, as your cookie cutters permit.

My kids love what we call Peek-a-boo eggs, and they're made with love in several ways.  I choose the best ingredients I can, they're made for any meal (the kids are involved with meal-planning and they can choose so-called breakfast foods for dinner, if they want), and the kids help make them.  It's a simple recipe,  very similar to one-eyed jacks, but we put a fun little twist on them.

First the kids put butter on both sides of a piece of bread.  For several reasons I'm not going to go into here, I think butter is a healthy fat.  :)

Then they use a cookie-cutter that doesn't have too many corners and skinny bits (pumpkins, hearts, and ghosts work well; snowflakes do not) to cut out the center of the bread.

Both the outline and the cut-out bit go into a heated pan (medium heat works well for us, we like our eggs over-easy.)  Rainbow and Cloud have both been cooking near a hot stove for quite some time, so they place the bits in the pan and I'm not too concerned, although I'm still vigilant.  If Cloud starts to get rambunctious or if they start bickering, their involvement in the cooking part ends.

Each of them, for their own bread, cracks an egg and hands it to me.  I open the egg and put it into the center of the outline.  After a few moments we salt and pepper the egg.  It cooks for a bit.  Then the kids flip the outline-with-egg piece (with my help), and they use tongs to flip the cut-out bit.  Tongs are something we use regularly as part of our homeschool-preschool activities, fulfilling part of the manipulatives category, and I've found them and the kids' proficiency in using them to be quite helpful in the kitchen.  

Wow.  This picture really does not want to move to the center for me.  Oh, well.

Then the outline-and-egg bit goes onto a plate, the cut-out bit gets some jam, and the cut-out bit goes on top of the egg, like the egg is hiding.  Rainbow thinks it's great when a bit of the egg can be seen from under the cut-out.  After putting the meal on the plate, I just take care of the cast iron real quick.

PEEK-A-BOO! 

We don't eat much sugar, so the jam is considered a special treat, and we only use about a teaspoon of jam. The kids love this meal, they love how involved they can be in its making, and they hate to jeopardize their involvement by fighting or being crazy around the stove.  I like using sprouted bread--I'm not sure if it's that much healthier, but we don't get hungry as quickly after eating it as we do when we eat regular flour bread and I don't get heartburn.  I think feeling that much better must mean something.  I love how excited the kids get when we make this meal.  We find locally-made and no-sugar-added jam.  We find the local-est eggs with the darkest yolks possible.  :)  I try.  I also have a budget and have never met the chickens to give me my eggs.

This meal drips love, explodes with love, leaks love in our house.  One time I quickly made myself a fried egg and ate some bread with it; the kids were so disappointed...I won't be doing that again.  I like participating, feeling their excitement, and sitting at the table, waiting for the inevitable, "Peek-a-boo!  I love you!"


*********** Please take a moment to visit the blogs of our other Festival of Food participants. The links in this list will be live by the end of the day, as participants are all in different time zones.

• Mercedes at Project Procrastinot shares Well-Traveled Muffins, A Family Recipe, which is the recipe that's followed her around the globe and won her husband over: banana-carrot muffins.  You can also fine Mercedes on Facebook.
• Mari at Honey on the Bum shares Peek-a-boo, I love you!, a recipe she loves because her kids love it and love to help make it, and it can change as the seasons and holidays change with just the switch of a cookie cutter.
• Angela at EarthMamas World shares a delicious vegetable black bean soup recipe. She adds a special Valentines Day twist for her kids! You can also find Angela on Facebook.
• Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama shares two super easy coconut themed Valentine's treats; No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Truffles and Chocolate Coconut Macaroon Truffles. You can also find Jennifer on Facebook.
• Sarah at Why Food Works shares WFW: Know your numbers - the IMPORTANT ones!. Love your health first - heart disease is a big problem in America, and eating a higher fiber diet can improve our cardiovascular function: try Sarah's Nutty Quinoa Pilaf to show your loved ones you care about their hearts! You can also find Sarah on Facebook.
• Amy at Anktangle shares her recipe for simple and delicious coconut macaroons. They're sugar-free, gluten-free, and most importantly: free of any processed additives you'll find in many store-bought desserts. You can also find Amy on Facebook.
• Lindy at Poppy Soap Co. shares a cheeky recipe for Chocolate Love Waffles! These are sure to be a Valentine's Day hit!  You can also find Lindy on Facebook. 
• Jorje of Momma Jorje shares a painful recipe that required some love for her to make. You can also find Jorje on Facebook. 
• Luschka at Diary of a First Child lists the ten foods commonly regarded as aphrodisiac foods, and shares three recipes that include eight of those foods, with a printable menu for your easy three course dinner. You can also find Luschka on Facebook.
• In a guest post at Hobo Mama, Crackerdog Sam shares his son's favorite soft pretzel recipe: half whole-wheat and a lovely upgrade to a mall treat.You can also find Hobo Mama on Facebook.
• Need a wholesome treat for your honey's sweet tooth? Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares her recipe for amazing homemade heart-shaped nut butter cups. With natural nut butter and coconut oil chocolates, these are two great tastes that will certainly taste great - and healthy - together. You can also find Code Name Mama on Facebook.

Stay connected! Be sure to "Like" the Festival of Food Carnival Facebook page.

<a href="http://www.hybridrastamama.com/p/festival-of-food.html"><img src="http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c173/Rastakitty/FestivalofFoodBadge_zps00831708.jpg" alt="Festival of Food Carnival" width="150" height="84" border="0" /></a>