5 Ways Kids Can Help Fight Hunger in CT Kids Bites Volunteer kids activity Kid Friendly Stephanie Webster March 18, 2013 People often write in to CTbites asking how their kids can get involved in helping the hungry in our local community. We decided to go to the source, Connecticut Food Bank, to see how best to assist in their efforts. It turns out there are quite a few ways kids can get involved. Here are some places to begin: Organize a Team to Walk Against Hunger. We just opened Registration for the 2013 Walk Against Hunger, www.ctfoodbank.org/walk. There are now four dates to choose from. There also may be opportunities for young people and families to volunteer at the walk. It’s truly a fun family event. Organize a food drive at school, with a sports team/club or the neighborhood, here’s a link to the info. on our site, http://www.ctfoodbank.org/how-to-help/donate-food Volunteer. Contact Kim Damien, our Volunteer Coordinator to learn about volunteer opportunities for young people and families. There’s volunteer information the CT Food Bank's volunteer page, or you can contact Kim at kdamien@ctfoodbank.org, or call 203-469-5000. Read More
Kids Review: Greenleaf Organic Bakery & Café in Wilton Kids Bites Restaurant Bakery Organic Wilton Lunch Kid Friendly Dessert Sunday Diners February 06, 2013 This article first ran on Sunday Diners, a kid's guide to the best diners and breakfast joints in Fairfield County, Connecticut and beyond. Written by 4th Grader Alex (with a bit of help from his dad). Usually, at this time of the year, many people make resolutions to eat healthier or not eat junk food all of the time. One of the ways that you can do this is by eating more organic foods which are healthier for you. Today, we went to Greenleaf Organic Bakery and Café, in Wilton, where everything is organic, fresh and TASTY! The first thing I noticed when I walked in were the displays of amazing pastries, croissants, cupcakes, tarts and the BIGGEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever seen. The second thing you notice, is how good it smells! The walls are decorated with photos of food and fruit, and it is a good place for kids and adults too. I looked at the menu before we left the house and already knew what I wanted — The Fruit Explosion - Fresh organic cream, layered with organic strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, yogurt, granola, all topped off with chocolate hazelnut spread. It was beyond good and… healthy at the same time. It was also BIG! Do you know what else was BIG? The Organic Hot Chocolate – which is made with real melted organic chocolate and whipped cream – it was GIANT! Bigger than our cereal bowls at home – now that’s BIG! Read More
Little House Molasses Snow Candy via "Fix Me A Snack" Kids Bites Features kids activity Recipe Kid Friendly Dessert Fix Me A Snack January 01, 2013 The other day, we finally made Molasses-On-Snow Candy from The Little House Cookbook. And let me tell ya that nothing enlivens a snowy New England day like playing with molten sugar! Last winter, books from the Little House series dominated our bedtime reading. I don’t recall reading them as a child so I was enjoying them as much as the kids were. Laura Ingalls Wilder’s retelling of her childhood transported us back in time. Given our heartfelt connection to the Ingalls family, it’s unclear who likes the whole idea of making foods out of the Little House Cookbook more, me or the girls. Either way, they did a spectacular job making molasses candy. Nobody had to go to the hospital with third degree burns. Another successful day of parenting! Read More
Visions of Gingerbread @ The Stamford Museum Opens Nov 17 Kids Bites Education Holiday kids activity Kid Friendly Sarah Green November 10, 2012 CTbites is proud to be the media sponsor for Stamford Museum and Nature Center's “Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects” exhibition. Every year, I buy one of those boxed gingerbread house kits and my kids and I go at it. We glop it together with that glue-like petroleum by-product substance that they call icing, we decorate with the stale jelly beans and mini gum balls they provide, and we call it a day. It’s fun and the kids enjoy it. Do yours? If so, head to the Stamford Museum and Nature Center (SM and NC) this month and next to see how the pros do it. “Visions of Gingerbread: The Sweetest Architects” is the name of the exhibition that the museum is presenting as both a showcase for local bakers and as a fundraiser for the SM and NC. Read More
Octoberfest On The Meadow & Harvest Fest @ Stamford Museum Kids Bites Restaurant Beer Kid Friendly CTbites Team October 09, 2012 A fall family tradition returns to the Stamford Museum & Nature Center on Saturday, October 20 and Sunday, October 21 with the 35th Annual Harvest Festival Weekend. This year, the weekend will be kicked off with a new event for adults-only – Octoberfest On The Meadow at 6:30 pm on Friday, October 19 @ 6:30 PM with proceeds supporting the Stamford Museum & Nature Center. The evening will feature seasonal Oktoberfest brews, as well as Octoberfest favorites including kielbasa with sauerkraut and cherry beer roasted pork shoulder. Guests will be entertained by live music from The Bavarian Boys. The weekend will continue with the Harvest Festival Weekend, an annual family event celebrating the fall season, from 11 am to 3 pm both Saturday and Sunday. Read More
Rizzuto’s: A Day of Italian Food, Wine & Cars, June 10th Kids Bites Restaurant Events Italian kids activity Kid Friendly CTbites Team May 30, 2012 On Sunday, June 10, 2012, NOON – 4 PM, Rizzuto’s, located in the Saugatuck community of Westport, has teamed up with The Ferrari Club of America and FIAT of Larchmont for a day-long event filled with Italian food, wine, and cars. The event takes place during the Formula 1 Grand Prix Du Canada race, which will be shown on 2 large screen HD TVs. Race car fans can take a virtual lap around the track in a GoSimRacer Race Car Simulator. Kids feeling the need for speed can race through an on-lot GoGo-Kart track presented byGrand Prix New York Racing. Rizzuto’s is pulling out all the stops with classic Italian dishes and an Italian wine tasting. San Pellegrino will be keeping things cool and Rizzuto’s will be grilling outdoors this year, preparing sausage and pepper wedges and meatball sliders. Read More
Kids Review: Cadiz Tapas in Bethel Kids Bites Restaurant Bethel Gluten-Free Spanish Special Dietary Needs Kid Friendly CTbites Team May 23, 2012 Most of the time at restaurants, I have no idea what to order because there are so many great choices. At Cadiz, however I can choose many different dishes. I can even order ten and share with friends and family. Cadiz is a place where you order several tapas and share among the group. Don’t be fooled though. It is located in the Bethel movie theater but that doesn’t mean it's cheap diner food. Plus, there are some great gluten-free options. My family started out with a basket of bread, a small plate of hummus with baked pita chips, and a bowl of Greek olives. The bread had a crunchy and flaky crust with a soft and warm inside. It tasted amazing; a great way to kick off the meal. Read More
First Annual Wakeman Town Farm Chicken Coop Tour Kids Bites Education Local Artisan Local Farm CTbites Team April 27, 2012 Wakeman Town Farm is giving local backyard chicken fans something to cluck about! Announcing the First Annual Wakeman Town Farm Chicken Coop Tour, in which local chicken coop owners in Westport and lower Weston will open their unique henhouses to the public. Wakeman Town Farm threw down the gauntlet to local chicken-keeping aficionados. We asked: Who wants bragging rights for building the Hautest Henhouse...the Cadillac of Chicken Shacks...the Coop De Ville? The result is Wakeman Town Farm's First Annual Chicken Coop Tour, Saturday, May 5 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., a fun-filled afternoon touring approximately 15 chicken coops in Westport and Weston and enjoying a casual After-Tour Sundae back at the farm, with ice cream generously provided by The Farmer's Cow! Read More
Kids Review: The Melting Pot Kids Bites Darien Lunch Kid Friendly Lily Schaeffer January 13, 2012 Lily Schaeffer is one of our junior reporters. She in the sixth grade and lives in Darien. How many times have you wished you could try something new and different for dinner but you didn’t know where to go or what to get? The solution is fondue! You can get freshly grated and melted cheese fondue or rich delectable chocolate fondue for dessert at a restaurant right in Darien, The Melting Pot is located at 14 Grove Street. At The Melting Pot, you will arrive to a beautiful flowing fountain right outside the door and enter the restaurant to find a welcoming modern atmosphere perfect for a chilly fall night. The friendly staff will greet you and fill you in on the menu options (we chose lightly spiced cheddar fondue). Another exciting feature is after you have ordered, your food will be thrillingly made right before you eyes at your table. You can sit back and dip delectable tidbits in strategically made melted cheese. Did I mention the dippable items come in a bottomless supply? Read More
Kids Review: Aux Delices Cooking School Kids Bites Cooking Classes Recipe CTbites Team December 01, 2011 And now a word from our 10 yrs old food critic.... Cake, bacon, and cinnamon; these are the words that my nose told my brain as soon as I walked into the kitchen at Aux Delices. I was so delighted that I was going to be cooking a scrumptious meal and not trying something that a professional chef created. The cooking class that I went to was instructed by Lynn Manheim. She is also the cooking school director. The first recipe that we made was scones. Most of the ingredients were out on the table but the sugar and the flour were in two big bins. Mrs. Manheim shows everyone exactly how to do each step and how much of each ingredient to use. She will wait for everyone to finish one step before she goes onto the next, and if you need some help Mrs. Manheim will always give you a hand (especially if you’re grating butter like I was). Read More
Visions of Gingerbread Opens Saturday, Nov 12 Kids Bites Events kids activity Kid Friendly Dessert Stephanie Webster November 04, 2011 A holiday tradition returns to the Stamford Museum & Nature Center on November 12th with Visions of Gingerbread III: The Sweetest Architects exhibition. Visions of Gingerbread is a tribute to architectural confections that truly make your jaw drop. Created by some of the area’s finest bakers, these edible wonders will display the chefs’ extraordinary creativity and gingerbread skills. It is the Museum’s desire to elevate these creative structures to the art form they so truly are, and put them on proper display. Last year, CTbites jumped on board and created an entry (much sleep was lost). This year, CTbites will help judge the winner. Read More
An Interview w/ Westport's Own Ramin Ganeshram Kids Bites Cookbooks Cooking Classes Kid Friendly Jessica Ryan October 19, 2011 I recently had the pleasure to sit down with Ramin Ganeshram to talk about her cookbook; her newly released Stir it Up! a novel written for young adults, as well as her involvement in the community. But before you start reading...In Stir It Up! heroine Anjali Krishnan enters a video cooking contest for a shot at a reality cooking competition show on Food Network. She does such a good job she makes it to the finals. If you have a young aspiring chef in your family, check out Ramin's video contest below. Ramin, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, was greatly influenced by the cultures of her Iranian mother and Trinidadian father. The marriage of two different heritages and lifestyles would result creating in new traditions; food was one of them. Ramin explained, “We had access to Middle Eastern markets growing up, but all Middle Eastern ingredients are not the same. Read More
Tokeneke's Pumpkin Carnival in Darien October 15th Kids Bites Events Holiday kids activity Kid Friendly CTbites Team September 30, 2011 Tokeneke’s annual Pumpkin Carnival will take place Saturday, October 15th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The rain date is October 16th. For over forty years, Tokeneke’s Pumpkin Carnival, held at the Tokeneke Elementary School on Old Farm Road, has been an annual tradition for families in and around Darien. The Carnival features attractions for all ages, including a haunted house, rides, games and crafts, rock climbing, bouncy castles, a bake sale and raffle prizes. In addition, food will be provided by Burgers, Shakes & Fries, Upper Crust Bakery & Café, and Heights Pizza. Read More
11th Annual Ambler Farm Day Kids Bites Events Local Farm kids activity Kid Friendly Stephanie Webster September 27, 2011 The 11th Annual Ambler Farm Day is Sunday, October 2, 2011, 12pm-4pm at Ambler Farm, 257 Hurlbutt Street in Wilton CT. This is a wonderful local family friendly event celebrating the Fall harvest with a hay maze, farm animals, children's crafts, live music and more. (Plus, you will want to visit your local pumpkin patch early this year. We hear the rains were tough on crops and pumpkins may not be as plentiful) Below is a full list of activities. Grab the family and head on over. Read More
Macdaddy’s Macaroni and Cheese Bar in Monroe Kids Bites Restaurant Monroe Special Dietary Needs kids activity Comfort Food Kid Friendly CTbites Team September 20, 2011 And now a word from our 10 years old food critic.... Hey kids, guess what? Want to win a free Mac Daddy’s T-Shirt? Mac Daddy’s will give the first 10 kids to correctly guess the amount of macaroni boxes used to fill the pan on the wall (described below) a free t-shirt Contest ends on November 20th. Mention CTbites to enter. What do you think of when you think of macaroni and cheese? A small box of Kraft mac and cheese? Well… now I think of Macdaddy’s Macaroni and Cheese Bar, an amazing macaroni and cheese restaurant with at least 20 different kinds of macaroni. I had thought that Macdaddy’s was going to be bigger than it was (they can seat about 25 people) but that didn’t mean it wasn’t good. Macdaddy’s is a quick service restaurant (which means that you order at a counter and they bring the food to your table). Read More
Kids Review: Stir It Up by Ramin Ganeshram Kids Bites Chef Talk Cookbooks Kid Friendly Rebecca H. Ryan August 22, 2011 Rebecca is a 7th grader at The Unquowa School in Fairfield, CT. She loves to read, write, draw and cook. This is her review of Ramin Ganeshram's new book, Stir It Up. [Note: Don't miss the great recipe for Coconut Dark Chocolate Cookies below.] In Stir It Up by Ramin Ganeshram, the thirteen year old main character, Anjali, causes quite a stir when she chances losing some of the most important things in her life. Anjali loves to cook; she loves working in her family’s roti shop. Her dream is to have her own Food Network cooking show by the age of fifteen. On the other hand, her father wants her to take an entrance exam to get into the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Read More
Cooking for Kids: Camp Fine Dining w/ Chef Paul Desiano Kids Bites Cooking Classes Education kids activity Amy Kundrat August 01, 2011 Camp Fine Dining is a two week camp for teenagers that will run this August led by Paul Desiano, Chef and Owner of Cello (formerly Plate) located in Copps Hill Plaza in Ridgefield. In the first week, Camp Fine Dining will focus students on basic skills including knife cuts, butchering, sauces, and pasta making. By the second week, the students and Chef Desiano will brainstorm a 5-course tasting menu. The class will spend the first week preparing and the program will conclude with the students cooking that menu for their families. Dates and time: August 16 -18, August 23 – 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Read More
Kids Review: Bond Grill Hibachi and Asian Bistro in Norwalk Kids Bites Asian Japanese Norwalk CTbites Team July 27, 2011 Carly Monson is our roving 10 yrs old food critic. She hopes to get Fairfield County kids excited about eating in new venues like this one... Do you love to have fun while eating delicious food? Well, then Bond Grill Hibachi and Asian Bistro in Norwalk, C.T. is the perfect restaurant for you! I felt very welcomed when I first walked in. Bond looks very modern and most Asian restaurants look very ancient. Bond offers Hibachi and traditional Asia food, we chose Hibachi. The Hibachi dining room has a totally different vibe (from the main dining area), you feel like you’re in Asia. The walls are painted a dirty green and the texture looks created by hand. Read More
Caramel Popcorn & Pretzel Bars via The Parsley Thief Kids Bites Features Recipe Kid Friendly Dessert katie vitucci May 20, 2011 This weekend, I once again volunteered to organize the Bake Sale at my children's school carnival. Last year, I made bags of caramel popcorn, which was a big hit! I planned on making it again this year. But, due to time constraints, I needed to find something easier. While these Chewy Saramel Popcorn & Pretzel Bars taste a lot like caramel corn, one batch made 24 {big} bars...which could be cooled & wrapped individually in plastic wrap. This ended up being a lot easier than stuffing little cello bags with sticky popcorn. I also loved the idea of mixing sweet, chewy caramel popcorn with salty, crunchy pretzels...I'm a huge fan of the sweet/salty thing. Read More
Kids Review: Swirl Ice Cream & Treats in Redding Kids Bites Ridgefield Kid Friendly Dessert CTbites Team May 05, 2011 Carly Monson is our roving 10 yrs old food critic. This week, she reports on a kids classic... Is your sweet tooth pulling you towards some candy and a scoop of ice cream? Then you have found your place, SWIRL! Swirl has about 11 different flavors of ice cream and millions of different candies. My new favorite ice cream flavor is Swamp. Swamp tastes very much like Oreos and the chocolate chips and M&M’s in it give it a nice crunch. Another flavor of ice cream that I love is good ol’ fashion chocolate. I think that Swirl’s chocolate is a little sweeter than other places but definitely in a good way. They have recently added a new flavor, Eggnog. I thought their Eggnog surprisingly tastes a lot like peppermint and is very sweet. My brother’s favorite flavor is Mud. I think that Mud tastes like a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. I don’t like peanut butter but my brother says Mud is awesome. Swirl also has one of my mom’s favorite, vanilla frozen yogurt. Read More
