Cooking with Kids: Beginner-friendly bakes, and how to go picking blackberries
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A sheet of puff pastry is a good starting point for children in the kitchen.
It can be used to introduce them to both sweet and savoury baking, from quite complicated pastries to simple ones that are easier for little hands.
The pastry can simply be cut into thin strips to wrap around cocktail sausages, or into shapes with a cookie cutter.
The stars included here are sprinkled with a little cinnamon and brown sugar, which melts as they bake. If you prefer a savoury snack, you can use some grated cheese instead.
Puff pastry often comes frozen but once defrosted then can be safely cut with a butter knife.
I find the sheets easier to work with than a block, but if you have a block leave it to defrost fully then roll it on a lightly floured surface. You can involve children when doing this.
Care will be needed when putting trays in and taking them out of the oven because it is heated quite high when baking puff pastry.
If it is not fully preheated the pastry will come out soft and unpleasant.
The vegetable tarts can be made with other ingredients if broccoli or tomatoes are not so popular. Peas work well as do little pieces of chicken or bacon.
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It is almost blackberry season; you will begin to see nice juicy blackberries on the bushes in the coming weeks.
If you want to spend an afternoon blackberry picking first thing to do is to ask an adult to come with you.
You will need to find a good spot away from the roads, and it is best not to pick the berries on a wet day as they will go mouldy quicker.
Wear good thick clothes as the thorns on the bramble bushes can really scratch.
It is good to have a few buckets or tubs with you. Buckets work well as you can put the handle over your arm as you reach for the berries.
After you have picked your fill, the berries can be eaten with yogurt or cereal, made into tarts or even into jam.
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