Sushi Sake in Richardson

Having eaten sushi since he was 18 months old, my 6 year old, Pikelet has become quite the connoisseur of raw fish. He especially loves octopus and clams and he knows just where to get some of the best in Dallas. His favorite is Sushi Sake.

If you don’t happen to live in Richardson or Plano, heading up to the no-reservations Sushi Sake takes a little planning especially on weekends. Try on a Friday night a little after 6.30pm and the waits for a table are grueling. But one look at the Japanese sushi chefs behind the sushi bar and one instinctively expects mastery.

Easter Eggs Your Kids Will Love

In the tradition of our Easter post from last year, I’m using real eggs again. I found a wonderful book full of the cutest egg recipes called Funny Food, 365 Fun, Healthy, Silly, Creative Breakfasts by Bill and Claire Wurtzel. I love how they’ve used fresh wholesome ingredients to make a good breakfast, snack or healthy dessert.

Family Dinners & the Dine-in Date Night

We are big proponents of eating together as a family. Gathering for dinner is a time for sharing not just the food on the table but also to catch up on our day’s events. Pikelet and Lollo like to tell us about the ‘best bits of the day’ and also talk about solving the challenges they’ve faced during their day. Although the kids are just four and six years old and life isn’t too dramatic at this stage, Beefcake & I want to set this framework now so they know that the channels for openness are always there. We also use the time to teach table manners and try new foods in a familiar environment.

Babble.com Top 100 Mom Food Blogs 2011 – VOTE for IttyBittyFoodies

I’m gushing a little. Maybe not as much as Sally Field in her famous Oscar “You like me” acceptance speech in the 1984 for her role as Norma Rae. I haven’t won anything but I am excited to announce that IttyBittyFoodies is in Babble’s nomination list for Top 100 Mom Food Blogs for 2011.

So please ‘LIKE’ me and vote by clicking on the link here. Just click on view ALPHABETICALLY and search for CHERYL COLLETT of IttyBittyFoodies.

Thank you for supporting IttyBittyFoodies and please share the site using the buttons below with likeminded & very cool (like you) parents.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother – Itty Bitty Foodies Style

No doubt we’ve all heard of Amy Chua’s new parenting memoir “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” . When I first read her article “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” on the Wall Street Journal, I thought it was a satirical piece and kept waiting for the punchline. I read in horror the part about her daughter, Lulu (age 7) when she couldn’t play “The Little White Donkey” and Chua writes, “We worked right through dinner into the night, and I wouldn’t let Lulu get up, not for water, not even to go to the bathroom”. (Watch a video of a different 7 year old girl here playing it. Note - it’s not an easy piece). I felt polarized over the article and judging by the 7000+ comments posted on the article, I’m not the only one.

Feelings of outrage are easily understandable. I would never call my children, ‘garbage’ nor will I force my children to those extremities  (no dinner? no bathrooms breaks over a piece of music? That’s not me). But it was being sympathetic to Chua that conflicted me the most.

Thanksgiving at every meal

Many happy meals are eaten off these dishes

We have one set of dishes in our house. I remembered buying them 5 years ago and how ‘grown up’ we felt to have a ‘proper’ set of dishes. It was bought from one of our favorite lifestyle design companies, notNeutral. Beefcake and I discussed whether we should still keep our old hodge podge set and keep these as our ‘good’ dishes for special occasions, afterall… what if we *gasp* broke one? In the end, we did away with the old set and decided enjoy them on a daily basis and see what happens. Today, as I look at them, the dishes are like a metaphor on how we aim to live our lives.

Boo! To Halloween Pancakes!

Halloween Pancakes

Everybody loves pancakes and they are easy enough to make. This month we’ve been experimenting with Halloween faces and letting  our itty bitty foodies, Pikelet & Lollo, decorate their pancake with fruit. What a fun and healthy way to add more fruit to their diets!

Best tako in Oak Cliff – Zen Sushi

Zen Sushi @ Bishop Arts District

Pikelet’s first encounter with tako (Japanese octopus sushi) was at the opening of Zen Sushi in the Bishop Arts District, in 2007. He was nearly 2 at the time. Although, Oak Cliff is famous for their taco joints, as far as my little foodie child, Pikelet’s concerned, this is the only tako that matters.

Main Street Garden – eat, play & splash

Lily Pad Cafe @ Main Street Garden

Take a break at Main Street Garden, the green oasis in downtown Dallas that is bordered by Main, St Paul, Commerce and Ervay Streets. With its gorgeous grounds, cafe, spray park, children’s playground and dog run, Main Street Garden  is a haven for families, even Fido.

Who are Pikelet & Lollo?

Lollo & Pikelet

I’ve just updated a new page on Pikelet and Lollo. Click here to see who these itty bitty foodies are.

Thanks for your support and joining us on our yummy adventures!

Spread the word.

What’s ‘Home Made’ at your home?

I’ve added a section called ‘Home Made’. It will document my blogging journey as I’m ‘making’ this blog at home as well as recipes and sometimes… disasters that I try at home with Pikelet & Lollo. I’d love to hear from readers what they’ve been cooking at home for their own itty bitty foodies.

So tell me… what did you have for dinner this week?

Si Tapas! Me tapas!

The infamous Chee Japa

“Chee japa! Chee japa!”

For the longest time Lollo would say these words over and over again. As said in my About page, he had only a handful of words so whenever he said something consistently, we’d try and figure out what he was saying. Finally one day when we drove by Allen Street in Uptown and he excitedly cried out the same phrase “Chee japa, chee japa”. And finally the mystery was solved. He was of course referring to ‘Si Tapas’.