“I found one,” a small voice said among the rows and rows of berries on a recent Wednesday morning.

“It is juicy?” another responded.

Juicy it may have been, but more important to the kids was pointing out the red juice from the freshly-picked olalieberries running down their fingers.

“It looks like blood,” 8-year-old Zoe said. Her key to finding the perfect berry is by examining the color.

Zoe was one of the people wandering around Phipps Country Store and Farm in Pescadero picking berries.

Cooking is a wonderful way to introduce your children to a variety of food. But kids may not put together where the food came from. Are berries endlessly available at the neighborhood grocery store? If not, how do they get to the store?

The farm offers a chance for families or individuals to wander around, see the animals, buy fresh produce and even hand pick berries.

Olaliberry, pronounced oh-la-leh berry, season is soon ending, but the tart berries are still available. Simply wandering the fields can offer a great lesson. The vines aren’t always green. Color of the berry can greatly change the berry’s flavor.

In the instance of the olaliberry, darker is better — a little too light and watch for the super sour face! The process isn’t too difficult.
After a beautiful, coastal drive to Pescadero, pull into the farm and pick up a small bucket and a liner. Ask for advice on looking for the perfect berries.

These tart, sweet and juicy berries were developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of Oregon State University in 1949 by crossing a Loganberry with a Youngberry. Despite being developed in Oregon, the cross between a blackberry and a red raspberry is primarily grown in California. In San Mateo County, the berry is most known in pie form served at Duarte’s Tavern, which visitors to the farm will pass before arriving. Opened in 1894, olaliberry pie is one of the restaurant’s specialties. To make your own at home, start with picking the main ingredient fresh.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine 6 cups of olaliberries with 3/4 cups of sugar (maybe more if the berries are really tart), a pinch of salt and juice and zest from one lemon. Taste for sweetness. Add 3 tablespoons minute tapioca and let sit for 15 minutes, according to a recipe by www.tastebook.com.

Line a 9 inch pie plate with dough rolled out to 14 inches, letting the dough hang over the rim of the plate. Fill with the berry mixture, smooth the edges and dot with butter (It should take about 2 tablespoons of butter cut into small pieces). Cover with a second piece of dough. With a pair of scissors, trim the dough so it extends an inch beyond the rim of the plate. To seal, fold dough under so it sits on the edge of the plate. Pinch into a decorative border. You can crimp with a fork.

Whisk 1 egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of milk to create an eggwash which will be brushed over the dough. Sprinkle the top with sugar. With a sharp knife, cut a few vents into the dough.

Bake for 25 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce to 250 degrees, place pie onto a baking sheet, then bake an additional 30 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the crust is dark and the olaliberry juice is bubbling through the steam vents.

The country store at Phipps opened in 1978 as an old garage building with a dirt floor, picnic table countertop and a cigar box for keeping the cash. It allowed the children to sell produce, and kept them busy during the summer, according to the farm’s website.

Today the store has a bean room, herb and spice room and a plant nursery.

A variety of farm animals and birds live just outside the store year round. Anyone who visits has access to enjoy the various aspects of the farm, including berry picking.

The Phipps Country store is located at 2700 Pescadero Road in Pescadero. From the north, take State Route 92 toward Half Moon Bay. Once in Half Moon Bay, take a left on Highway 1 south. Continue on Highway 1 for about 17 miles. Turn left onto Pescadero Road. Follow Pescadero Road into town, about 1 to 2 miles. You will come to an intersection that has a small market/gas station on the corner. Do not turn here. Continue straight for about 1 miles on Pescadero Road and you’ll see a sign on the right side that reads, “Welcome to Phipps.” Park in the lot to the right of the store. The store is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through October. It’s $3 per person, for individuals 5 to 59 years old, to enter the farm. Each pound of berries is an additional $3.

As professional chefs we begin with safety first! This entertaining and educational book provides hours of fun.  Small children will safely identify kitchen tools through a color, cut and paste activity which is a great introduction to everyday kitchen utensils.

This fun engaging book comes with a small recyclable card board “toolbox” to carry their culinary items. Just like a real chef . This activity will also teach small children about items that could be hazardous if handled without the proper introduction!

“Given the right equipment and an opportunity to use it correctly, your child will be able to manage peelers, paring knives, and other kitchen gear with surprising dexterity and confidence…but, only with the proper training; those tools can also be hurtful to small hands!” ~ Chef Gigi

At Kids Culinary Adventures we think it all sounds as if everyone needs to just get back around the kitchen table! This year designate a day each week to prepare a meal together! And allow the kids to be a part of the journey. When you’re in the kitchen with your child, how often do you find yourself pouring the flour, dumping the spice, washing the bowl… and before you know it, the child has just had a chance to watch, or stir! Of course, it is only natural for us as parents to drive these skill sets, as they were driven for us. Successful parenting time in the kitchen will be a rewarding experience for your whole family.

Below are lists of items that can help you get started ; please remember… as adults we view the world differently. In the kitchen we all will have to address a child’s natural interest in the variety of shiny small wares we have in the drawer. Because we use peelers, mashers, and cutters in our home kitchens on a regular basis, children will naturally be curious about them; parents and caregivers look at that overstuffed utensil drawer as something that fulfills a purely functional purpose. But what does a child see? Well… now that’s different!

Through the eyes of a child that over stuffed drawer looks like a toy box full of fun gadgets, and this can be dangerous, and while successful parenting in the kitchen implies us to allow a child to do for themselves; it doesn’t mean to leave them unattended with hot or sharp kitchen materials!

Also, when making your determinations, keep in mind every child is different. You should make the decision based on the child’s ability to focus, their desire to learn, and their dexterity. A child should always be supervised in the kitchen but allow them to take the task, unless you see danger ahead!

Children under 7 years old should be given tasks of measuring, additions of ingredients stirring kneading or mixing ingredients by hand, shaping dough, spreading, mashing, shredding or tearing herbs and lettuces. Shucking peas and legumes; shopping, test tasting, and cleanup.
Children 7 to 9 can handle peeling tasks. Guide a small hand with your own hand at first. The more often they hear, “Always peel away from your hands, not toward them,” the better. Have them peel over a paper towel for easy clean up.

Children 11 and older are usually ready to begin using a paring knife. While peeling vegetables with length like carrots help keep their hands and the peeler further and further apart from one another. Start this age group put with vegetables that offer a little less resistance, and are easier to cut, such as zucchini and peeled cucumbers.

Kids 13 and older can use larger knives and tackle more challenging cutting jobs. Even though these kids show more dexterity keep an eye on them. Usually this age breeds confidence which will lead to increased speed…increased speed which can lead to cuts. A gentle reminder to slow down is often the best way to keep someone on the right road. Make sure all your knives are sharp. If by chance, (and let’s hope not) someone does get cut a cut from a sharp knife the cut be as bad as one from a dull knife. Keep your cutting board on top of a damp towel to prevent it from moving and always work clean, it’s safer.

Chef Gigi will be whipping up some fun with Simon Kidgets Super  Duper Mini Chefs Club at The Standford Shopping Center this Saturday June 5th, 2010.

You wont want to miss this- an interactive kids culinary event that combines food family and fun! Mini Chefs can come and explore the fun side of food by getting involved in hands-on learning activities ! Chef Gigi will be doing  exciting food demonstrations  and sharing the fun with Sprinkles Cupcakes, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn Kids!

Kidgit club members are encouraged to bring a non perishable food item to donate to our local food shelter. For registration in your area or to learn more about The Simon Kidget Club click here!

Chef Gigi is on at noon and 1 o’clock come join the fun! 660 Standford Shopping Center, Stanford Ca.

The History of Barbecue

The Spanish explorers arrived in the new world to find the natives preserving meats in the sun. This was a successful preservation method but the problem was that the meats were often infested with bugs and this meant spoilage. The indigenous people learned to build smoky fires to keep the insects away and help preserve the meat, which would be hung on racks over the fires.

The native Indians called this process “barbacoa” and this is where the history of barbecue begins. The barbecue process developed further when Africans and Europeans migrated to the United States. They brought cattle and pigs with them and replaced the fires and racks with large smoke houses and pits.  Polynesians had been cooking pork in this way for thousands of years, but it was a new and successful idea in the new world.

Pigs were very easy to keep and were the most commonly barbecued animal at the time. Meat had to be eaten quickly after slaughter or preserved by smoking because refrigeration was not available. Spicing was an alternative to bbq. The direct descendant was the pit barbecue, which could hold a whole hog. Meat cooked in this way would have to be cooked for as many as fourteen hours before it was done.

Poor cuts of meat were slow cooked in the early colonial era to reduce their toughness. Better cuts of meat did not need to be smoked in this way because they were already tender enough.

Salt was used in large quantities to dry the meat so it would not be contaminated. Smoking had the same effect. Cold smoked meat was a type of early barbecue when the meat would be preserved by smoke and dried by sun exposure.

The History of Grilling

The history of grilling is a lot more recent. Grilling over a barbecue was reserved for picnics and campsites until the 1940s. As the middle classes began to move into the suburbs, backyard grilling became popular. George Stephen, a metalworker who lived in suburban Chicago, was bored with the flat, open brazier type grills available at the time. He cut through the middle of a harbor buoy, put a grate on top and used the top of the buoy as a lid. He cut vents to control the temperature. This was the first Weber grill we know today.

Where Did the Word Barbecue Come From?

Nobody knows for sure but the most likely theory is that “barbecue” derives from the West Indian term “barbacoa”. Others claim that it comes from the French “barbe a queue”, which means “from head to tail”.