French Kids Eat Everything (39 page)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Place the apples in a baking dish after pricking with a fork. Drizzle maple syrup into the hole in each apple, or do as the French do and use sugar and butter instead. Dust with cinnamon if you like.

3. Bake the apples for about 25 minutes, or until they have reached your desired consistency.

Warning:
Be sure to remove the apples from the oven at least 5 minutes before you plan to eat them. They stay piping hot inside, and can burn little tongues. Don't rely on the heat of the outside of the apple to judge whether it's safe to serve; the flesh inside will remain much hotter than the outside surface, which will cool down quite quickly. We cut the apples for our children, and let the pieces cool on plates on the counter before bringing them to the table.

Tip:
This recipe can be used to help transition babies to more solid food. Baked long enough, the texture of the apple is as creamy as applesauce. Reduce the baking time, and the consistency gets progressively more solid.

Preparation: 2 minutes

Servings: 4 per baguette

Long before prepackaged snack foods appeared on the shelves, French families were making delicious homemade treats for their children. This one is still a favorite when our children visit their grandmother. They hover around the table as she slices and prepares their treat, savoring the smells of chocolate and fresh bread.

Although it seems decadent, this snack is relatively healthy, especially if you limit the butter on the baguette. Chocolate provides essential elements like copper, magnesium, and iron. Butter provides vitamin D and fat—both essential for children's growth. The bread provides carbohydrates necessary for kids' active lives—but without any preservatives or additives.

3 to 4 squares of dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa or higher)

1 fresh baguette, unsliced, but cut into four equal pieces

Butter

1. Make a relatively shallow slit lengthwise in each piece of baguette (along the side, not the top). Pry the baguette open about halfway (but not completely open!). Slide your buttered knife inside, and butter the bread.

2. Split the squares of chocolate into pieces that will fit inside the slit. Stuff the baguette with the rectangles of chocolate placed parallel to the length of the baguette. That way, your child gets some chocolate—but not too much—with every bite.

Preparation: 10 to 15 minutes

Waiting: 2 to 3 hours

Cooking: None

Servings: 6

Mousse (whether lemon, chocolate, or any other kind) is amazingly quick to make. My French relatives need only about 5 minutes, but I've been generous with the time allowance here. The ratio of time spent to pleasure derived is probably the best of any dessert recipe I've encountered.

There are as many recipes for mousse as there are members of the family. Use this recipe as your point of departure. There are lots of little innovations you can try: serve with a bit of whipped cream if you like, or adjust the amount of sugar to suit your taste. But I like the minimalist version served below: dark and delicious.

The French are not, by the way, as fearful of raw eggs as are North Americans. I still can't shake that slight paranoia, so I make sure to buy my eggs from a reliable source to avoid any chance of salmonella poisoning.

½ pound semi-sweet Baker's chocolate

4 teaspoons butter

6 eggs, whites and yolks separated

Zest of half an orange

Pinch of salt

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in a
bain-marie
(double boiler). (Quick alternative: In the microwave, melt the chocolate in a fairly large bowl; I put a tiny bit of milk in the bottom to keep the chocolate from sticking.)
Allow the chocolate to cool!
Otherwise, you risk cooking the eggs. When the chocolate is melted (but not too hot), add in the egg yolks and the orange zest, and stir well.

2. In a standing mixer (or in a large bowl with a whisk or mixer), beat the egg whites until they reach stiff peaks (adding a pinch of salt at the start will help them stiffen).

3.
Gently
fold one-third of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Mix gently, then fold in the other half, mixing very gently. Spoon the mousse into little serving dishes and chill for 2 to 3 hours, or until firm. Serve with berries or crisp little cookies on the side.

Tip:
Served in a big bowl, this makes a big impression. But it will be tidier and more elegant (and the mousse will likely remain more firm) if prepared and served in little individual bowls (plus, no fighting about who got more!).

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking: 40 to 43 minutes

Servings: 6 generous pieces

Clafoutis
is a version of the French flan that is traditionally made with cherries (or other moist fruit such as plums, prunes, raspberries, or blackberries), enveloped by a simple cake batter. The fruit is polka-dotted in the cake, giving it a playful look that children love. Even the name is fun to say: kla-foo-TEE. Traditionally, this dish is cooked with the pits left inside the cherries (purists believe that this intensifies the flavor of the dish). I pit the cherries (or, when I'm in a rush, use small plums instead, which are easier to pit).

Our source for the cherries is an old tree at Philippe's aunt's house. Tante Odette's tree is the most productive I've ever encountered; the branches, weighed down with cherries, hang down almost to the ground. In late June, the extended family is mobilized for cherry picking, cherry jam making, and (of course) cherry eating.
Clafoutis
is my daughters' favorite recipe from this time of year.

2 cups pitted cherries or plums (or other moist fruit)

¹
/
3
cup granulated sugar

½ cup flour

Pinch of salt

3 eggs

1¼ cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar (or brown sugar
—
I like muscovado)

1. Place the fruit in a bowl with half the granulated sugar, stir well, and set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch baking dish.

3. In a large bowl, sift the flour with the salt and remaining sugar. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and milk to combine. Add the vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and combine well. Spread the fruit evenly in the baking dish and pour the batter on top. The cherries may float to the surface now (or later, during baking).

4. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is firm and golden brown. Cool, then sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately.

Note:
Julia Child recommends baking this twice (briefly baking a thin layer in the bottom of the dish, then adding the fruit topped with the remaining batter and baking until done). But the French parents I know use this “express” method, with wonderful results!

Tip:
Serve the
clafoutis
in the baking dish, as it is quite “wobbly” and won't transfer well. Fresh out of the oven, the cake is puffed up and golden. It will settle and sag a little bit, but that's exactly what it is supposed to do.

The North American food movement is enormous and is growing rapidly. These are just a few of my personal favorites.

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Paul and Pauline were the first to hear this idea, and enthusiastic supporters right from the start. Andrew Wylie kindly gave the proposal a read, and his words of encouragement took me a very long way. Martha Magor Webb is as much a muse as an agent; together with Chris Bucci and Anne McDermid, she saw more in this project than even I did. Without her, this book would never have seen the light of day. Kate Cassaday at HarperCollins Canada and Cassie Jones at William Morrow, editors extraordinaire, were also ideal readers: incisive, insightful, funny, and warm. I'm grateful to them and the entire team at HarperCollins.

In Canada, friends and family (Philippe, Roberta, John, Kristine, Deborah) devotedly read through drafts and (later) blog posts, listened to my stories, and told many of their own in return. Glen and Catherine inspired us with their real-life “slow food” example close to home. Kathy Wazana, Alexandra Greenhill, Leslie Paris, Paula Rosen, Step Carruthers, and Kia Robertson were enthusiastic early supporters. Sonja shared a love of France, and French nursery rhymes galore. And phenomenal illustrator Sarah Jane Wright provided delightful drawings and much-welcomed encouragement (including testing some of the French Food Rules and recipes with her own family).

In France, unfailingly delicious meals with with Janine and Jo, and the entire Le Billon clan, fuelled many of our conversations. Family and friends (Janine, Jo, Véronique, Benoît, Christelle, Laurent, Didier, Sylvie, Manon, Olivier, Virginie, Eric, Hélène, Rony, Frédérique, Antoine, Manu, and Cécile) were unfailingly gracious and patient with questions, faux pas, and more questions (I admit to learning as much from watching their children as I did from them). And I am still grateful for the dedication of many teachers and caregivers at École André Guigot and the Crèche de Saint-Alban, as well as folks at La Binée Paysanne.