Kid Baltimore | Family Activities with Children in Baltimore, Maryland

Akbar Restaurant

We've been neglecting our kids. Really. Back in the day, when we just had one little tot, we took her to fancy restaurants, and plays, and what not. We patted ourselves on the backs as our well-mannered darling nibbled on ginger at the sushi bar, or politely asked for a drink refill. But somewhere along the line, we slid into the land of chicken nuggets.

My twins think they are in a fancy restaurant only if they get a toy in the deal. Now, don't get all smug. You can only judge me if you have 3 or more kids AND if two or more are under the age of 5. Are we clear on the rules?

So, after a fun trip to the American Visionary Arts Museum this weekend, we headed up to Akbar's, one of our all-time favorite restaurants. There are a couple of things that work in favor of kids here, and one is the crispy papadum that arrives at the table really quickly. Second, and maybe the most important, is the family style of serving here. We ordered three entrées to share: palak paneer, vegetable jalfreji, the tandoori mixed grill, and a couple orders of nan. We had a slightly picky eater with us. He was pretty happy to eat multiple servings of the jasmine rice and nan, but in truth, I saw him nibbling on the tandoori chicken too.

There is enough hubbub going on in the restaurant to disguise the fact that we don't always use our "inside voices" and that's probably a good thing. Either way, by the time we headed out the door, I was holding my head high.

Note: Check out the online coupon for $5 off 2 entrées, or $10 off 4 entrées.

410-539-0944

Akbar Restaurant
823 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21210

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Stone Mill Bakery

Three words. Brown sugar lemonade. I don't know about you, but those high-fructose corn syrup people with their snazzy new commercials aren't fooling me. Yes, I know, I'm exactly who they are making fun of. I get it.

We ordered chicken quesadillas and a Greek salad to share. The "Not Just For Kids" section of the menu has plenty to offer, and check out the hand pressed thin crust whole wheat pizza too.

410-821-1358

Stone Mill Bakery
Green Spring Station
10751 Falls Road
Lutherville, MD 21093

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Tomato Canning

 

We've been in squirrel mode lately. I'm determined to be ready for winter this year. I grew up canning. My special job when I was little was stuffing the jars because I had the littlest hands. Eventually I was promoted, to chief-tomato-peeler and a few other odd jobs, but I was never in charge because I am, after all, still the baby of the family. Of course, now I am in charge (more or less) and I try to pretend like I know what I am doing as I hand out the jobs. It's okay though, because Mom is just a phone call away if I blow it.

But here is the best part. Now that my youngest ones have reached the ripe old age of 3, I've realized something that my mom probably discovered ages ago. I have my very own assembly line.

Baugher's

We pulled up to Baugher's and I knew I was sunk. A tractor pulled up, towing a trailer with rows of school bus seats. People carrying little tiny baskets of apples were climbing out. My daughter screamed, "I wanna go on that!" I didn't know where it was going, but I knew we would be on it. So I talked to the driver/farmer and found out he would take us to pick apples and/or peaches. How could I possibly say no? Mind you, I didn't come here to pick fruit. I came here to buy tomatoes, and maybe pet some animals, but really, the baskets are T-I-N-Y. What can go wrong? Off we go and I have to say that the tractor ride itself is worth the trip. The kids were loving it and I was happy and chatting with a fellow MOT (mother of twins) on the way. Farmer guy drops us off near some peach trees, and takes some time to move an old bus so that we can grab some baskets. Ahh... here's the problem. It turns out that in addition to those tiny baskets, there are also 1/2 bushel boxes, and they seem so much more reasonable in size. So maybe I can make some cobbler, or fruit leather, or well, I don't know.

We take a 1/2 bushel box and start picking. The trees are loaded with peaches. It doesn't take long before our box is full, full, full and we wait a bit for farmer guy to come back, but he magically reappears just when certain people are getting fidgety. Okay, so now what do I do with all these peaches?

1-410-848-5541

Baugher's
1236 Baugher Road
Westminster, MD 21158

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Mingodale Farm

Sometimes I get side-tracked. It's not always a bad thing, as long as you do it the right way.

My garden had a nice tomato crop this year – too many to eat all at once, but not enough to can. I love having canned tomatoes through the winter to make big pots of chili. My family always takes pity on me and shares their surplus, but I run out by December anyway, so this year I thought I would can some of my own. I stuffed the kids in the car and went out in search of more tomatoes. Real tomatoes that haven't traveled halfway across the world to get here. Mingodale Farm sounded promising.

Here's where the side-tracked part comes in. See, they do have tomatoes, but more importantly (at least at the moment) they have pick-your-own blackberries and cut-your-own flowers. We were introduced to the dog, Blue, handed containers and directed to the berry patch. The kids have to hunt a bit for the berries, but managed to fill 3 containers. I would recommend showing up right as they open in the morning to get the best picking. We arrived a bit later and still did very well.

Then we headed back for pick-your-own flowers. Zinnias and sunflowers. The key here is getting your kids to not pick every single flower on the farm. We picked a couple of nice big bouquets of zinnias, and a mammoth sunflower head just for fun.

And oh yeah... why did I come here in the first place? Tomatoes. I picked up two nice big baskets of those too.

410-357-0403

Mingodale Farm
17201 Masemore Road
Parkton, MD 21120

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Let’s Dish

How often is it that you can combine kid entertainment with household chores? Practically never. And if you can, efficiency is a concept that never enters the equation.

I signed up for an in-store session with my daughter at Let's Dish - a restaurant quality food preparation store. We put on our fancy schmancy aprons and bandanas and then were given a quick "how to dish" lesson. Each food preparation station has a meal ready for us to assemble. The directions are super clear, and the ingredients are beautiful and fresh.

My daughter and I stumbled a bit through our first recipe, but by meal two, we were pros. We spent about two hours assembling eight meals: two meals each of Portabello Mushrooms Stuffed with Wild Rice, Chicken Casablanca, Shrimp Scampi with Linguine, and Fajita Steak with Chile-Lime Dressing. When we needed a break, there were fresh scones and drinks.

Of course, the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. We decided to taste test the portabello mushrooms first. And because they looked so good we invited our extended family. The mushrooms disappeared before I knew what happened so I would say they were a big hit. I can't wait to try the other meals. Budget-wise, it's less expensive than carry out (ours worked out to $24 for each 6-serving meal).

(Note: For health and safety reasons, this activity is best for kids age 8 and up. The height of the food prep stations may also be hard to manage for some kids, but you are allowed to bring a step stool.)

Let's Dish
Timonium Commerce Park
9620 Deereco Road
Timonium, MD 21093

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Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

My sister beat me to it. The story of my life. But maybe it doesn't matter, because after all, I still get to savor the spoils. I had no idea how easy making homemade cheese could be until my sister showed me during our most recent cousin get-together. We had seven kids gathered around the stove waiting for turns to separate curds from whey. And yes, for good measure we had to repeat the nursery rhyme. For mozzarella, the temperature stays pretty low, so while there are a few parts that require a grown-up to take over, there are many parts for kids to help too. The whole process takes about 30 minutes and involves only a handful of ingredients: milk (the fresher the better), citric acid, rennet, and non-iodized salt.

Mother Earth News had a great article this month and you can see the recipe on their site. The supplies are available from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.

Cherry Picking at Shaw Orchards

The cherries are ripe at Shaw Orchards, but the season only lasts about 3 weeks so hurry! The drive to Pennsylvania is beautiful, and more importantly short. When we arrived at Shaw Orchards we grabbed some buckets and headed over to the sweet cherries. The trees in most areas are low enough for toddlers to pick all by themselves and they are absolutely loaded with fruit. My youngest two decided to forget the buckets and filled up their hats instead. Very effective.

Of course we ended up with way too many cherries, but that's what freezers are for. When it was time to pit the cherries, all my helpers disappeared. Seriously, after about 15 minutes, the crickets were chirping, but that's okay. I had my trusty paper clip. No fancy-schmancy cherry pitter for me.

Martha does it the same way, so apparently, I'm a domestic goddess.

Note: Blueberries are ready too and have a longer season.

717-993-2974 (PA)
410-692-2429 (MD)

Shaw Orchards
21901 Barrens Rd South
Stewartstown, PA 17363

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Pizza Night

Growing up, Sundays at my house were sacred, but not for the usual reason. Sunday night was pizza night. It was my dad's night to cook and that almost always meant pizza. But not just any old pizza -- pizza from scratch with a homemade crust, homemade tomato sauce and all the toppings. Dad would toss it in the oven and I would camp out by the oven door waiting... waiting... drooling. It was a ritual that has grown into one of those fond childhood memories that I'll never be able to live up to. But why not try?

I have a lot of little "helpers" in my kitchen and there are plenty of times when I feel the need to scoot them out as I get dinner ready, but this wasn't one of them. There were plenty of jobs to go around.

Here is my recipe. It will never be as good as my dad's, but maybe close.

For the dough you need:

3 c. flour (you can sneak in some whole wheat if you like)
1 1/2 t. yeast (or 1 packet)
pinch sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 c. warm water

Put pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven. Preheat to 500 degrees for 1 hour.

Proof the yeast by mixing it in the warm water. Add a pinch of sugar. If you see bubbling within 5 minutes, proceed. If not, toss it and start over with fresh yeast.

Mix in flour and salt (I use the dough setting on my bread machine for this, but kneading by hand is fun too). If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. Too crumbly, add more water.

Place kneaded dough in an oiled bowl and cover. Set in a warm spot until double in size (about 45 minutes). Punch down and divide into 2 equal pieces.

Roll dough out into circles. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a baker's peel (or cookie sheet without the sides). Place dough onto baker's peel and assemble pizza.

You know this part. Sauce, cheese, toppings. This is where those little "helpers" come in. Repeat with the other piece of dough.

Now the tricky mom part. Kids stand back while Mom tries to slide this thing off of the cookie sheet and onto the pizza stone. I got lucky and only lost one olive.

Bake for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Springfield Farms - Spring Update

Such a beautiful day today. We, no I, decided it was time for a trip back to Springfield Farm. Really, I was avoiding grocery shopping and this sounded like much more fun. So we visited a few animals, ran up a few hills, picked a few dandelions, and still managed to buy dinner -- locally made, and really good Bratwurst. The key lime pie ice cream I picked up for dessert was a huge hit too. Tomorrow morning? Duck egg omelets.

So what's new for this spring at Springfield Farm? Through June, they are hatching Narragansett turkeys for Thanksgiving. Lambs will arrive in July.  And they are hopeful that Miss Petunia, one of the Tamworth pigs, may be pregnant. Hopeful? I'm guessing it's a bit hard to tell with a pig.

Hours are Thursday - Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. Make sure you stop by the store to tell them you would like to visit the animals.

410-472-0738

Springfield Farm
16701 Yeoho Rd.
Sparks, MD 21152

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IKEA Restaurant

This must be the only restaurant ever that has a bottle warmer and microwave station located right smack dab in the middle of the dining area. We are talking serious kid-friendly stuff here. And, as if that weren't enough, right on the other side is a kitchen play area for the older kids. Everything is cafeteria style and that suits me just fine. Kid's meals cover the basics: mac and cheese, pb&j or meatballs. Grownups will find plenty to eat too; I chose a Greek salad.

Not fancy, just clean, easy and affordable.

410-931-5400

IKEA Baltimore
8352 Honeygo Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21236

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Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs

I spent a strangely large amount of my childhood peering into dye pots with skeins of yarn bubbling away inside. That's what happens when you have an art teacher mom. So when Kate Shatzkin at Charm City Moms mentioned naturally dyed Easter eggs, I just had to give it a try. The basics are simple:

beets = purple
tumeric = yellow
red cabbage = blue

There are lots of other things you can try to make natural dyes, but this group provided a good range of colors.

The basic idea is to grate your dye ingredient (if needed). Cover it with water and boil for a few minutes. Add a tablespoon or two of vinegar. Strain the liquid into a glass and wait for it to cool enough for those little fingers to handle. Submerge boiled eggs until you get the desired color. Oh, and if you are like me, you'll try and sneak in a few lessons about color theory while you wait.

The beets are a must and produced a strong color with lots of speckles. The tumeric and red cabbage dyes needed more time for the color to develop fully, but after 15 minutes or so, the results were good. But most importantly, the kids had fun and they are now all a lovely shade of purple.

For the complete recipe see recipetips.com.