Kids learning to cook with Julianna Banana

Juliette with her strawberry shortcake. We rushed the final step and the whip cream went on to a still warm cake so while not as tidy as Juliette hoped, we were able to share a delicious dessert with family.

[image of a 12 year old white girl sitting at a table with her face down low, behind a green plate with a home made strawberry shortcake.]

Making sure my kids learn to cook from a young age has always been a priority for me - partially so I know they have the skills they need when they move out, but also so that I don’t have to do as much of the cooking while they’re still at home.

That’s one of the reasons that I love that Julianna Banana is all about teaching kids these skills - and teaching them way better than just how to make Kraft Dinner or how to throw a frozen pizza in the oven! :)

Juliette got to try out the Holiday box last December, and this month she got the Summer box (and even made her first unboxing video - see below!).

Julianna Banana aims to inspire kids and families to get baking, cooking and creating in the kitchen all while learning about food, having fun, and gaining an appreciation for the importance of community and giving back.

They provide culinary experiences for kids and families, ranging from Classes to Culinary Boxes for Kids which combine the fun of a class with a collection of kid-friendly recipe cards, kitchen tools, science activities and more.

What exactly is a culinary box?

Finished pizza ready to eat!

[image of two 12 year olds standing in front of a patio door at night holding plates with pieces of the pizza they just made, ready to eat]

This box is a great mix of recipes, an experiment, an activity, kitchen tools, and support (you can join live online classes for some of the recipes!). My two 12 year olds were able to complete 3 of the recipes in a couple of days with very minimal support from me.

The Julianna Banana Summer Box contains

• A collection of kid-friendly recipe cards and booklet, summer faves like homemade strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake, homemade pizza, charcuterie and more.

• Locally sourced kitchen tools to get your junior chef cooking

• Teacher-crafted food science activity ; the science of ice cream!

• DIY Honey Lip Balm Kits; includes local HONEY 🍯 and Beeswax, tins, plus tags, gift pouch for gifting activity. Make one for a friend!

• handmade fabric jam jar covers and accessories. Make some jam, jar it and gift it! Recipe, fabric, tags and ribbon included.

• Julianna Banana Apron

• Functional storage box to store tools and recipes

• A complimentary LIVE virtual class August and September (we’ll make Pizza together), recipe included.

• Recipe notebook and additional kitchen tool, plus FREE shipping to Ottawa provided with Subscriptions ( set of Summer, Harvest and Holiday Boxes)

• Each one is individually curated and addressed to your junior chef.

A fundamental pillar of Julianna Banana is to support local businesses and to give back to the community. Materials in our Culinary Boxes including kitchen tools and accessories are sourced whenever possible from local vendors. Recipe cards are designed and printed in Ottawa and our Julianna Banana apron is made and printed in Canada.

Quinn adding the sugar to the strawberries as they made the jam

[image of a 12 year old white boy pouring sugar into a large pot of strawberries on a table top burner with a variety of kitchen tools around them and his sister’s arm in the corner]

What did we think?

• Juliette: Julianna Banana was awesome! It was super fun and I really enjoyed  making the recipes. And the meals were so delicious (the strawberry shortcake was my favourite)! I’ll definitely make them again!

• Quinn: Julianna Banana was good. It gave instructions that were easy to understand to make yummy meals that are just so good. My favourite recipe was the strawberry jam. I would do it again because it made cooking fun. I recommend it.

• Mom:
  The variety of kinds of recipes and activities was great! Desserts, something that will last a long time (jam), a main course and things for gifting (jam and lip balm.)

• I often think there aren’t enough activities that are easy for parents to do with their kid. This would make a great gift for a parent looking to have an activity for some quality bonding time.

• Aside from a few moments where I had to let go of how the kids interpreted the instructions and let them do their own thing (because I was looking for something I DIDN’T need to be involved in 😀), it was amazing. The kids were able to make 3 very different recipes independently that all tasted delicious!

• This was the first activity my twins have done together without arguing in a long time, and for that alone it was a great win!

3 jars of delicious strawberry jam made from scratch. Perfect for gifting, or, eating yourself if you’re these two! [Photo of two white 12 year olds standing in front of patio doors with a play structure and trampoline in the background, holding three jars of strawberry jam up while one gives a thumbs up]

How can you purchase one

You can sign up for the summer box, a bundle of three boxes, or individual online cooking classes from the Julianna Banana Web site. Summer boxes are ready for pick up and delivery this week!

Individual boxes are $65 and you can pick up at several locations around the city or for a fee have it delivered.

When you purchase the 3 box bundle it comes with free shipping in the Ottawa area.

We love working with Julianna Banana because the kids really do love the resources and all of the people we know who either purchased boxes or have taken classes have found them to be really well done and keep coming back to buy again. We also love that they are committed to supporting local and giving back to local charity. They are currently fundraising $3000 from Culinary Boxes and Classes for the Ottawa Network For Education.

Check them out!

Please note, Julianna Banana is a Kids in the Capital sponsor and we were provided the summer box. All thoughts and feedback are based on our personal experience with the box.

Strawberry Season in Ottawa 2021

Every year my mother-in-law takes my daughter strawberry picking. It's a yearly tradition for them. My mother-in-law loves to pick multiple baskets of fresh, local strawberries and make jam, muffins and strawberry shortcakes with them. She even freezes them by the pound and uses them throughout the winter months for smoothies. Ottawa is lucky to have many nearby strawberry farms to both purchase and pick delicious local strawberries from.

Here is a list of some tried and true Ottawa strawberry farms with details as to whether or not they allow "pick your own" (of course this could change as the crop diminishes, so again, always best to check with the farm). 

Ottawa Strawberry Farms: 

Acorn Creek Garden Farm
928 Acorn Creek Road
Carp, Ontario
613-836-2613
http://www.acorncreek.com
Pick your own? No.

Avanmore Berry Farm
16365 4 Road,
Avomore
613-346-2336
http://www.avonmoreberryfarm.com
Pick your own? Yes!

Beckwith Berries
9961 Cavanagh Road
Carleton Place, Ontario
(613)  253-4171
http://www.beckwithberries.com/
Pick your own? Yes!

Duquette Strawberries
2236 Champlain
Clarence Creek
613-488-3284
http://www.duquettestrawberries.com
Pick your own? Yes!

Orleans Fruit Farm
1399 St. Joseph Blvd.
Orleans, Ontario
http://www.fermedorleans.com/wpferme/
Pick your own? Closed for 2021.

Miller’s Berry Farm
6158 Rideau Valley Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
613-692-2380
http://www.millersfarmandmarket.ca/
Can you pick your own? Yes, but contact them for details.

Proulx Berry Farm
1865 O'Toole Rd. 
Cumberland (Ottawa), ON K4C 1N2
613-833-2417
https://proulxfarm.com/berries-veggies/strawberries/
Can you pick your own: Yes

Purple Cow Strawberry Farm
1439 Sale Barn Road
Greely, Ontario
613-821-1345
Can you pick your own? Best to call to make sure.

Richmond Nursery Strawberry Farm
5740 Old Richmond Road
Richmond, ON
613-838-2282
http://www.richmondnursery.com/
Can you pick your own? Pre-picked only for 2021

Rideau Pines Farm
5714 Fourth Line Rd
North Gower ON
(613) 489-3601
http://www.rideaupinesfarm.com/
Can you pick your own? Best to call ahead.

Shouldice Berry Farm
Three locations in Bells Corners, Barrhaven and Nepean
http://www.shouldicefarm.com/pick-your-own-strawberries.html
Can you pick your own? Yes!

What you need to know about strawberry picking

·      COVID-19 restrictions are in place. Remember to social distance and bring masks!

·      It’s always best to call ahead to make sure they are still open for picking or if they are pick-up only.

·      Dress for the weather! There isn’t a lot of shade at most strawberry patches so don’t forget your hat, sunscreen and a bottle of water.

·       Local strawberries need to be cooled as soon as possible (so try not to leave them in a hot car all day or they may turn to mush) and plan on washing and consuming them within three to four days – maybe less if the weather is hot!

My favourite strawberry recipe

When I think of local strawberries I also think of rhubarb! Every June and July I bake this tried and true Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler Cake recipe from Dinner with Julie. It makes a large pan so it’s great for summer BBQs! I guarantee it will become a family favourite! Click here to get the recipe!

Did we miss a great Ottawa strawberry farm? Let us know in the comments below and we'll add it to the list!

Apple Picking at Orleans Fruit Farm

It’s apple picking season and we headed out to our favourite local apple orchard located right in Orleans.

Orleans Fruit Farm is located at 1399 St. Joseph and the apple orchards are now open on Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm for apple picking.

While there are less activities for the kids here than other orchards we have visited (they usually have a barn to play in and a play structure) the location and ease of getting there make it our favourite easy day out for apples.

COVID-19 updates

This year there have been a few changes to how they operate:

• There is no climbing in the trees and all structures and the barn are closed for playing.

• Masks must be worn in areas where you’re close to others.

• You now pick a bag (small is $18 and large is $30) and fill those and there is no weighing the apples as you leave. I’ve heard this is how many orchards have run for a while now so that may be a permanent change.

One of the reasons I love going to the orchard every year is because we’re always able to get great photos of the kids in the trees. This year, while they couldn’t climb the trees, still yielded some fun photos. :)

In these COVID-19 times we haven’t gone out quite as much as usual so it was a fun way to get out and do something outside.

And we got a full family masked selfie too! :)

If you’re wondering what to do with your apples, try out these apple recipes from our archives:

BBQ apples

Apple sauce
Apple crisp

Take your newly made apple sauce and make this breakfast sandwich

Share in the comments - what’s your favourite orchard and what are your favourite apple recipes??

Recipe: Kid-Approved Frozen Fruit Smoothie

Smoothies are a delicious and easy way to get in a healthy dose of fruits (and vegetables!) into your diet. My eleven year old daughter loves smoothies and insisted we share one of her favourite recipes that she began making herself (with a little supervision) a few years ago. She loves smoothies as part of her morning breakfast and sometimes makes enough for several smoothies to either share or save for later. You can also freeze the blended mix into popsicle moulds for a tasty frozen treat! The below is her recipe as written by her and she also took the pictures. :)

Kid-Approved Frozen Fruit Smoothie

The main ingredient is frozen fruit! We buy whatever is on sale that week, but mango is always in the recipe because it tastes the best.

Blend together:

• 1 avocado (or 1 medium banana) - this makes the smoothie creamy

• 1 cup frozen berries

• 1/2 cup frozen mango!

• 1/4 cup of vanilla or your favourite yogurt (or one of the small lunch containers)

• 1 teaspoon honey

• 1 cup of water or milk (or more depending on how much frozen fruit you used - sometimes I put in too much and it jams the blender)

My mom sometimes adds some spinach or kale. I don’t.

Blend all ingredient until smooth then pour into a big cup and enjoy! Or if you made too much put it in the fridge for later. Yum!

5 Best Places to get Ice Cream in Ottawa's West End

Following Misty’s post on the 5 Best Places to get Ice Cream in Ottawa’s East End, I thought I would share my family’s top five favourite spots to get ice cream in Ottawa’s West End. Over the years, we have sampled a lot of ice cream in Ottawa’s West End including these five spots:

Brett’s Ice Cream

1 Beaverbrook Road, Kanata

Whether you are craving soft serve or a milkshake, Brett’s has that and more. Simply delicious and a perfect way to beat the heat while in Ottawa West!

Carp Custom Creamery

3763 Carp Road, Carp

Known simply as “Carp Creamery,” this ice cream shop serves up delicious homemade ice cream and makes ice cream cakes (among other things). They have over 60 flavours, which means there is a flavour (or two) for everyone in the family. They even sell it by the 1L tubs, should you want to indulge at home too!

Carp Custom Creamery has also opened a small location within the new Kichesippi Beer Brewery in Bells Corners! Yum!

Jo-Jo’s Creameria

1573 Stittsville Main, Stittsville

Jo-Jo’s makes ice cream even more fun with specialty cones and unique creations such as the “Cookie Monster" “Baby Shark” and the “Unicorn". Your kids eyes will be almost as huge as their ice cream cone when the see these fun creations. Note: it’s not inexpensive by any means, but it is definitely a fun summer treat for all ages - and they even serve vegan flavours!

Purple Cow’s Ice Cream

111 Colonnade Rd, Nepean

Located within the Merivale Acres Business Park, Purple Cow’s Ice Cream offers many different flavours of ice cream, homemade waffle cones as well as other sweet treats including fudge! This place is a hidden gem!

Redd’s Ice Cream

1523 Stittsville Main St. (Behind Quitters Coffee)

Open in the summer only, this bright red food truck located behind Quitters Coffee, serves ice cream from Carp’s Custom Creamery. There are always at least half a dozen flavours and there is outdoor seating if you want to eat your treat on site.

Honourable mention: Scoops Ice Cream

111 Waba Rd, Pakenham

A bit of a drive, but well worth it, Scoops is only open in the summer, but the drive to Pakenham is scenic and well worth it. We tend to grab our ice cream and then go sit by the stone bridge, located nearby. Scoops services soft serve and they make their own waffle cones! If you go, be sure to check out their specialty, the Hurricane!