march break activity booklet from random house of canada
DESCRIPTION
Have a browse through our March Break booklet for treats, fun crafts and great books to read - there's something for everyone!TRANSCRIPT
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149
Chicken Chili Tacos
This dish is an SPC favorite that got a new spin from my sister-in-law, Amanda, who is as passionate about cooking as she is about a good taco. I can’t stress enough how delicious and easy this dish is. I use it a lot for casual entertain-
ing and I’ve never had a nose turned up at it. And believe me, this dish has been placed in front of some pretty picky noses. lk
Place the chicken, pico de gallo or salsa, lime juice and
cumin seeds in a slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover and
cook on low for 6 hours. (You can cook on high for 3 hours.)
Allow to cool a bit. Scoop the chicken out with a big slotted
spoon and place it in a large bowl. Use two forks to pull the
meat apart. The chicken will shred easily. Stir in some
cooking juices from the pot and add the cilantro.
Place the shredded chicken, your taco shells and desired
fixings on the table and let everyone put together their own
perfect taco.
Serving SuggestionsSour cream
Guacamole
Pico de gallo or salsa
Shredded lettuce (or try arugula, cabbage, baby spinach)
Shredded cheese such as Monterey Jack or cheddar
or try crumbled goat cheese for a flavor change
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 5 cups (375 ml) prepared pico de gallo
or salsa
4 cup (60 ml) fresh lime juice
(about 1 ½ limes)
2 tsp (10 ml) cumin seeds, lightly toasted
4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh cilantro
12 taco shells (crisp or soft/flour or corn)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings
Keog_9780449015735_8p_all_r1.indd 149 4/23/13 9:43 AM
70 adventure time crafts
You Will Need
BMO’s 8-Bit Fuse Bead Coasters chart (page 137)
Fuse beads in various colors for each character:
• Ice King: white, yellow-orange, light blue, black, dark red, and red
• Princess Bubblegum: hot pink, light pink, yellow-orange, black, purple, and white
• Marceline: black, light gray, red, white, and pink
• Finn: tan, white, medium blue, lime green, dark red, pink, and black
• Jake: yellow-orange, black, white, orange, dark red, brown, and pink
• BMO: teal, light blue, white, black, blue, yellow, lime green, and red
Fuse bead pegboard, at least 4" x 4" (10cm x 10cm)
Iron
Ironing board
Parchment paper (see notes)
One reason I love fuse beads is that they look just like retro video-game graphics. Straight-up BMO style!
Maybe you thought that fuse beads (also known as Perler® or Hama beads) were just a kids’ thing, but you’ll find that there’s so much you can do with them: make jewelry, hair bows, wall art, or these drink coasters. It’s the most fun you’ll ever have ironing.
BMO’s 8-Bit fuse Bead Coasters
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rhombus home decor 71
notes
• Some packs of fuse beads will come with a sheet of parchment paper, but you can also find parchment paper at your local grocery store.
• Try making your own patterns at http://kandipatterns.com. Mark the bead type as “square” and start designing.
Steps
1 Set the fuse bead pegboard on a flat surface. Following the 8-Bit Fuse Bead Coaster chart (page 137), place the beads on the corresponding pegs of the fuse board for one of the characters (A).
2 Once all the colors are placed, double-check the design to make sure all the beads are in the right spot and all the colors are correct. There’s no going back after you iron! Carefully move the fuse bead pegboard to the ironing board.
3 This part’s for adults only: Preheat the iron to medium heat and place the parchment paper on top of the beads. Before you iron, check that none of the beads have fallen off or wriggled loose. Gently iron the design in a circular motion, until the beads begin to fuse. This should only take about 10 to 20 seconds. Make sure you get those pesky edges, too (B).
4 Wait for the first side to cool and carefully peel off the parchment paper. Take the beaded design off the pegboard, and flip it over onto the opposite side.
5 Repeat the process of placing and ironing beads for the entire chart until you’ve made all the characters, for a total of six coasters.
a
b
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72 adventure time crafts
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rhombus home decor 73
I love to entertain, and a crafty get-together is the perfect excuse to turn on some jams and go crazy with your besties. Here are some of my favorite tips for hosting a totally math D.I.Y. party:
Pick a relatively easy project to do together. Your guests may have different skill levels, and most people like to finish a craft that they can take home with them. The Fan Fiction Finger Puppets and Stage (page 10), Princess Hair Adornments (page 60), and Shrink-a-Cow-Tastic Jewelry (page 42) are good projects for all abilities.
Have a clothing swap! Ask guests to each bring at least one item of clothing in good condition that they no longer wear. With a little paint or a stitched embellishment, you can turn that boring sweater or old pair of sneakers into a chic fashion statement.
Set up a nail art bar with a few shades of polish and striping brushes. If your friends finish their craft projects early, they can do their nails, too! Check out Chalkboard Nails’s tutorial for Oh My Glob, Nail Art! (page 56) for inspiration.
Craft Party Panic!
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bars aNd sLICes • 105
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a double boiler, or in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan
of simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate and whisk to
combine.
3. Transfer to a large bowl and whisk together with the eggs,
sugar and vanilla to combine. Add the flour and salt, and whisk
to combine.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and sprinkle evenly
with Smarties or walnuts.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until the
brownie has puffed up and cracked. This is a very fudgy brownie:
It will ultimately fall after being removed from the oven, to
create a dense bar.
6. Remove from the oven and allow the slab to cool completely.
7. Run a small knife along the two edges of the pan that do not
have parchment handles. Carefully remove the slab from the
pan and cut into approximately 2- × 2-inch bars. Make sure to
use at least a 10-inch knife to avoid cutting and dragging the
knife across the bars.
1 cup butter
3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
6 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup smarties or 2 cups walnut
halves
makes: 24 bars
you will need: (9- × 13-inch)
baking pan buttered and lined
with parchment paper (see
page 30)
aul says this is the perfect brownie—as long as I don’t sprinkle Smarties
on it. For such a liberal guy, he has a lot of traditional qualities. I told him to come
and join me on the wild side and give the Smarties a chance. If I am feeling a little
more serious, I swap out the candy for walnuts.
Smartie Pants Bar
these bars will keep in an
airtight container for up
to 1 week or in the freezer
for up to 3 months.
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o w l s whooo goes there? why it’s a mama owl, made from a small pom- pom stitched atop a larger one, and her single- puffball baby.
P O m - P O m a n i m a l sThese characters are easier to make than they look, thanks to a useful little tool called a pom- pom maker, available at crafts stores or online. Once you get the hang of winding and snipping and fluffing, you can put together a cuddly friend in no time.
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b u n n i e s shy rabbits hop along a field of tall shredded- paper grass, looking for veggies to bring to their picnic. if you don’t have a pom- pom maker small enough for a baby bunny, you can always make a larger pom- pom and trim it down to size.
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P O m - P O m a n i m a l s h O w - T O
b a S i c S t e p S :
1. O P e n the two arms on top of a pom- pom maker and sTa rT winding yarn at one end; g O back and forth over the arms with the yarn until it is wrapped as densely as desired. C lO s e arms and O P e n the arms on the bottom; r e P e aT wrapping.
2. Holding the pom- pom maker closed, use scissors to s n i P the yarn along the center of the rounded edges. Then C u T a length of matching embroidery floss and T i e the pom- pom in the center; pull tight and knot twice.
3. O P e n the pom- pom maker’s arms, then carefully P u l l the two sides of the maker apart and off the pom- pom.
4. T r i m any long or straggly yarn ends; if desired, T r i m the pom- pom further for a denser, smaller ball.
5. l e aV e the floss you tied off with intact if you plan to aT TaC h the pom- pom to another one.
S u p p l i e S :
• pom- pom maker kit in size small
• Yarn in various colors, sizes, and thicknesses
• Small scissors• embroidery floss• Needle• pom- pom animals
templates (see page 329)
• pencil• Felt in various
colors• Waxed thread in
white and brown• tacky (clear) glue
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t i p sFollow the instructions on the pom- pom maker’s package, but also keep these suggestions in mind:
• The more times you wind the arched arms, the denser and fuller the results. (You may want to wrap four or five times for thicker yarns and at least six to eight times for thinner yarns.)
• it’s normal for a pom- pom to look imperfect when it comes out of the maker— trim it to give it a tighter appearance and to make it the proper size.
• Tie off the center with a length of the same yarn, if it’s strong enough to be pulled tightly. if not, choose a fine, strong yarn (or even embroidery floss).
• Once it’s knotted, you’ll have a two- strand tail— leave this long if you plan to attach the pom- pom to something like another pom- pom or a piece of fabric.
1
2
e a r s
e y e s n o s e
w h i s ke r s
to m a ke a b u n ny1. m a k e two light brown pom- poms, one for the
body and the other smaller, for the head.
2. sT i TC h the head to the body using a needle and the tail of the embroidery floss used to tie it (or attach with tacky glue).
3. Use the templates (page 329) to C u T out ears from tan felt; C u T tiny eyes and a nose from black felt. C u T whiskers from white waxed thread. g lu e in place.
3
d i d y o u k n o w ?You can use any kind of yarn you like
when making pom- poms; silk, mohair, wool, acrylic, or a blend of these will
work well, and each yields a different finished effect. in general, fuzzy,
soft, lofty yarn is best. and the smaller you want the pom- pom to be, the
thinner the yarn should be.
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P O m - P O m a n i m a l s h O w - T O
to m a ke a n o w l1. m a k e two pom- poms, a dark brown
one for the body and a smaller, striped gray-and-brown one for the head (see tip, opposite, for how to make stripes).
2. sT i TC h the head to the body using a needle and the tail of the embroidery floss used to tie it (or aT TaC h with tacky glue).
3. u s e templates (page 329) to C u T out the owl’s wings and facial features from felt. g lu e in place.
to m a ke a b u m b l e b e e1. m a k e two pom- poms, one striped with black and
yellow (see tip, opposite), the other slightly smaller and solid black.
2. sT i TC h the head to the body using a needle and the tail of the embroidery floss used to tie it (or aT TaC h with tacky glue).
3. u s e templates to C u T a pair of wings from white felt. For antennae, C u T two lengths of waxed thread, and k n OT at one end. g lu e in place.
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b u m b l e b e e The striped pom- pom of a handmade bumble is one piece crafted in alternating bunches of black and yellow. Felt wings and waxed- thread antennae complete his buzz- worthy suit.
t i pTo make stripes, wind one color around a portion of the pom- pom maker’s arm and cut yarn. switch color and repeat for as many stripes as desired. repeat process in reverse color order on other arm.
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Pere_9780307595652_4p_01_r1.s.indd 14Pere_9780307595652_4p_01_r1.s.indd 14 6/25/12 11:05 AM6/25/12 11:05 AM
breakfast 15
On my fi rst Mother’s Day, I decided I would host brunch for my
husband’s and my families. That morning, because I’m, well,
me— someone who considers the constant monitoring of pantry
staples exhausting, even though this always causes me trouble— I
discovered that I was nearly out of the white fl our I’d need for my
scones. Also heavy cream. And, heck, even dried fruit.
So I cobbled together my remaining white fl our with whole- wheat
fl our and ricotta and fresh raspberries. And here’s the thing about
scones and biscuits: If you try enough recipes, you realize that you’re
generally following some unspoken rules. Whole- wheat fl our isn’t a
friend to biscuity things, because it makes them too dense; ricotta
would just be weird; any fruit added must be dried. If you added fresh
fruit, such as berries, the dough might be too sticky, and in the oven
maybe the berries would melt into pockets of jam, and maybe they’d
look a little wild, with buckled indents from the cooked fruit and
craggy shapes . . . and . . . Wait, what? Why is this a bad thing again?
This is what I realized when I pulled them from the oven: Every-
thing I thought would go wrong had gone really, really right. Raspber-
ries plus ricotta plus whole- wheat fl our equaled everything I wanted
out of a breakfast baked good, tucked neatly into a portable shape.
* * *
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parch-
ment paper.
In the bottom of a large, widish bowl, whisk fl ours, baking powder, sugar,
and salt together.
with a pastry blender Add the butter (no need to chop it fi rst if
your blender is sturdy), and use the blender to cut the butter into the
fl our mixture until the biggest pieces are the size of small peas. Toss in
the raspberries, and use the blender again to break them into half- and
quarter- berry- sized chunks.
without a pastry blender Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife,
and work the butter into the fl our mixture with your fi ngertips until the
yield: nine 2- inch (5 cm)
square scones
1 cup (120 grams) whole- wheat fl our
1 cup (125 grams) all- purpose fl our
1 tablespoon (15 grams) baking powder, preferably aluminum- free
¼ cup (50 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams) unsalted butter, chilled
1 cup (4¾ ounces or 135 grams) fresh raspberries
¾ cup (190 grams) whole- milk ricotta
∫ cup (80 ml) heavy cream
whole- wheat raspberry ricotta scones
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16 the smitten kitchen cookbook
do aheadScones are always best the day they
are baked. However, if you wish to get a
lead on them, you can make and divide
the dough, arrange the unbaked scones
on your parchment- lined baking sheet,
freeze them until fi rm, and transfer them
to a freezer bag. If you’re prepping just
1 day in advance, cover the tray with
plastic wrap and bake them the day you
need them. If you’re preparing them
more than 1 day in advance, once they
are frozen transfer them to a freezer
bag or container. Bring them back to
a parchment- lined sheet when you’re
ready to bake them. No need to defrost
the frozen, unbaked scones— just add
2 to 3 minutes to your baking time.
mixture resembles coarse meal. Roughly chop the raspberries on a cutting
board, and stir them into the butter- fl our mixture.
both methods Using a fl exible spatula, add the ricotta and heavy cream
to the butter mixture and stir them in to form a dough. Then use your
hands to knead the dough gently into an even mass, right in the bottom
of the bowl. Don’t fret if the raspberries get muddled and smudge up the
dough. This is a pretty thing.
With as few movements as possible, transfer the dough to a well- fl oured
counter or surface, fl our the top of the dough, and pat it into a 7- inch
square about 1 inch high. With a large knife, divide the dough into nine
even squares. Transfer the scones to the prepared baking sheet with a spat-
ula. Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, until they are lightly golden at
the edges. Cool them in the pan for a minute, then transfer them to a cool-
ing rack. It’s best to cool them about halfway before eating, so they can set
a bit more. I know, way to be a big meanie, right?
cooking note The trickiest thing about these scones is the dampness of
the dough. Yet that same trickiness yields something that seems impossibly
moist for a scone and, especially, for a whole- wheat one. Remember to keep
your counter and your hands well fl oured and you won’t have any trouble
getting the scones from bowl to counter to oven to belly— which, after all, is
the whole point.
whole- wheat raspberry ricotta scones (continued)
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tiffinPREPARATION: 30 minutes,
plus chilling
COOKING: 5 minutes
MAKES: 36 squares
generous 5 tbsp unsalted butter2⁄3 cup corn syrup
1 tbsp brandy (optional)
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
powder
7oz shortbread, roughly chopped
generous ½ cup raisins
scant ½ cup hazelnuts, toasted
10½oz milk chocolate, broken
into pieces
a small piece of this nutty cookie-like “cake” delivers an intense
chocolate hit, so you can cut it up into small pieces—perfect for serving
as a petit four with an after-dinner coffee.
1 Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper. Gently melt the
butter and syrup in a pan, stirring to combine.
2 Put the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate, into a bowl
and mix well. Pour in the butter and syrup mixture and stir until
thoroughly combined.
3 Pour into the prepared pan and level. Chill until solid.
4 Put the chocolate pieces into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently
simmering water. Let melt, stirring once or twice until smooth. Pour
evenly over the cookie base and let set at room temperature.
5 Once set, cut into ¾–1¼-inch squares. This tiffin keeps for up to two
weeks in an airtight container.
The delights of chocolate 105
