June – Warm Weather & Summer Yum…

Written by Jodi Fitz

At the Price Chopper/Market 32 Kids Cooking Club, we are ready for warm weather recipes and a whole lot of summer yum!

What’s on the Menu?

Fruity Toast Fun

Check out how blueberries and strawberries become a squid swimming on cinnamon raising toast.

¼ cup fresh blueberries

2 large strawberries

1 tablespoon PICS honey

1/8 cup PICS cream cheese

1 slice cinnamon raisin bread

Candy eyes

Wash the blueberries and strawberries, and pat dry.

Place the blueberries and honey in a mini food processor or blender and finely puree them.  Fold the blueberry mixture into the cream cheese to create a colorful and tasty spread.

Cut the green stem off the two strawberries.  Slice one of the strawberries into thin slices. 

Toast the bread.

Spread the blueberry cream cheese on top.

Place the sliced strawberries in a circle on the toast to create squid legs.  Place the large whole strawberry on top.  Spread a tiny amount of cream cheese onto the back of the candy eyes and place them onto the strawberry.

Toast:  You can use honey wheat or any other favorite bread too.

Did You Know there are an average of 200 seeds on the outside of each strawberry?

Frozen Blueberry Limeade

Ready to cool things down, but keep it fresh?  Check out this delicious frozen mix that will be a summer ‘flav fav’.

4 cups ice

2 cups water

½ cup PICS honey

½ cup fresh or PICS frozen blueberries

¼ cup lime juice, fresh squeezed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add the ice, water, honey, frozen blueberries, lime juice and vanilla extract into a blender.  Blend the mixture thoroughly and serve.

How Many Limes?  You will need approximately 2 limes to yield ¼ cup of lime juice.

Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice:  Cut each lime in half.  Squeeze the juice into a measuring cup either by hand or by using a citrus juicer.

Did You Know American Colonists boiled blueberries with milk to create grey paint?

Ice Cream Cake for Father’s Day

Dessert for father’s day is on!  Ice Cream cake is almost always the birthday/celebratory dessert at our house.  Here’s all the how-to’s to make your own ice cream cake at home. 

1.5 quart container PICS chocolate and vanilla ice cream

2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs

¼ cup chocolate syrup

1.5 quart container PICS peanut butter explosion ice cream

PICS whipped cream (aerosol spray can)

9” springform pan

When making an ice cream cake, remove the ice cream that will be the base flavor from the freezer 10-15 minutes before beginning the cake making process.  For this cake, it will be the chocolate and vanilla.  Spoon the entire container into the springform pan, spreading evenly for a smooth surface, and place pan in the freezer for an hour.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and chocolate syrup.  Spread mixture evenly onto the layer of frozen ice cream.  Place the cake back into the freezer for an hour.

Remove the top flavor of ice cream 10-15 minutes before adding to the cake.  For this cake, we are using PICS peanut butter explosion ice cream.  Spread the entire container on top of the cookie layer, and place the cake back in the freezer overnight. 

Using a sharp knife dipped in hot water, run it around the inside of the springform pan.  Unhook the springform pan, and carefully lift from cake.

Frost the cake with dots of whipped cream using the spray whipped cream approximately and hour or two before serving.  Place the cake back in the freezer until you are ready to serve.

Crushed Cookies:  You can often find crushed cookies in the baking aisle at your Price Chopper/Market 32 Supermarkets.  You can also make your own by purchasing your favorite chocolate cookies and crushing them in a mini food processor.

Lesson for Kids in the Kitchen This Month:

  • Measuring
  • Blending
  • Knife safety skills
  • Combining fresh ingredients
  • Using fresh fruit in recipes
  • List making
  • Shopping for ingredients
  • Crafting with food

Where you can find Jodie this month…

I’ll be out in the community and schools cooking up some fun, and here’s where you can see me this month:

June 29th

11am – 2pm   

Grilling and Sampling Event

Warwick Price Chopper

142 State Highway 94

Warwick, NY

This event is open to families. 

The Kids Cooking Club is visiting the following schools this month:

Schuylerville Elementary School – Schuylerville, NY

Rensselaer Park Elementary School – Rensselaer, NY

Glen Worden Elementary School – Scotia, NY

If you would The Kids Cooking Club to visit your school or event please email me at [email protected]

Hot sauce junkies, heat connoisseurs and spiciness fanatics: We’re comin’ in hot with our next monthly feature. Warm weather is finally here to stay, but we’ve been staying hot all year with our served-fresh Hot Sauce of the Month features!

Each month we’re bringing you fresh stories on a different sauce brand, sharing some flavor insights, stories behind the brands and more. Travel with us on an adventure consisting of varying degrees of heat each month!

June’s Feature: Horseshoe Hot Barbecue Sauce!

Hot sauce doesn’t have to be just hot sauce. Have you tried hot BARBECUE sauce? We’re big fans.

Rhinebeck NY’s Horseshoe Brand set out on their heat journey originally to craft unique hot sauces. After perfecting traditional hot sauce, they expanded their horizons into varying degrees of heat with unique flavor profiles like Kiwi Jalapeno. After they became a well-known player in the hot sauce game, they expanded their horizons even further and introduced their Barbecue and Hot Barbecue Sauce to the world, and we couldn’t wait to begin offering it to our shoppers!

What’s Horseshoe Brand’s big differentiator in their Barbecue sauces? No added smoke. The sauces are all natural, hand-crafted and produced here in the Northeast in New York’s Hudson Valley. And, something at the top of their priority list: creating a perfect blend of heat and flavor in all of their products. If you’re a hot sauce addict but haven’t thought much about spicy BBQ sauce, give Horseshoe Brand’s sauce a try. We’re fairly certain you’ll be hooked like we are!

Learn more about Horseshoe and view heat-friendly recipes at horseshoebrand.com.

Turn up the BBQ heat with Horseshoe Brand this month, and tune in next month for our July Hot Sauce of the Month!