i get by with a little help from my friends.

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Hey guys.  I wanted to chat with you for a bit about some changes that are happening over here at Camp Kiddo. We’ve been doing this for a while now and we love every crazy moment….but we also think it’s time for a change. We’re going to be doing a site redesign and we’re also working on a stronger editorial calendar. In the coming weeks, look for a brief user survey that we would LOOOOOOVE for you to take a few moments to fill out. Just so we know what things you’re loving, what you aren’t too crazy about, and what you want MORE of!

As part of the changes going on, you’ll see that we have started to add contributors. This is very exciting for us. Our contributors are all people who we feel can bring our readers additional content that we love, but might not be able to deliver on our own. For example, food and recipes. Dottie and I both love to cook, but we’re not food bloggers. Which is why we were so thrilled to have those culinary geniuses Lindsay and John from Bird & Cleaver join our team. I first met these guys through their stunning Instagram feed (follow them @birdandcleaver, you won’t be disappointed!) and then via their gorgeous blog. We are SO smitten with the Tasty Bites they offer up each week and we hope you love them too!

Tomorrow we’ll be launching another new contributor and I’m SO excited. Back when we first started Modern Kiddo, I had a column I called Widdle Wednesdays. It was where I featured fun finds for the “under 6” set. I admit that as Wolfie has grown older, my priorities shifted and I’m just not as up on my toddler chic as I used to be, BUT I have always missed that presence. Enter Ashley, from The Stork and the Beanstalk. This sassy gal is going to take over the reins as our resident “Bebe Style” contributor (you’ll learn more about her tomorrow!).

Thank you so much, dear readers, for welcoming our new friends to Modern Kiddo—we’re so very happy to have them here! And don’t forget, we’ll have that fun survey for you to fill out and a VERY COOL PRIZE as an added incentive, ok??

TASTY BITES // buttermilk pudding + strawberry coulis

Tasty Bites

OK folks, this one is urgent! So, hopefully you read fast, otherwise it might be too late. It’s July. And this is the golden hour; that small window of opportunity when amazing things happen to otherwise normal produce. Sure, you can get supermarket tomatoes and corn-on-the-cob in November. But how do they taste? Ah ha! Trick question! The answer is, they have no taste! Especially if you compare these shamefully bland and mealy specimens to a bushel of their freshly picked counterparts from July and August. They are not even in the same league! So, despite the efforts of science and all of its modern conveniences, they will never best mother nature in the veggie department! Sunshine>Greenhouse.  Got it? Good!

Sorry, we’re getting slightly off track here. In fact, this recipe doesn’t even have anything to do with corn or tomatoes! But, it does have to do with appreciating the amazing qualities that you can only get from produce that is truly “in season”.

As far as fruits that hit their peak quickly and then fade away, strawberries probably take the cake. The window to pick these guys at their best is only a few weeks. Every year we go to our favorite “U-Pick” farm just outside of town and load up a couple flats before they are gone. As soon as we get home (or sometimes before) the feasting begins. It’s always the same thing, “they are so sweet!” and “can we have these for dinner??” or just “oooohhhhmmmmm!” It’s the simplicity of the berries that is always so striking. You don’t have to do much of anything to make them taste incredible.

So, that’s what this recipe is about. Showcasing all that natural strawberry goodness! I suppose that you could argue that no recipe is even necessary, and that if you really wanted to get the full “golden hour” effect you should just cut up some strawberries and go to town. And while that may be true, we also happen to really really like pudding! Who doesn’t!? The pudding itself is intentionally basic—really creamy and just a little tangy. The perfect accompaniment to those little red beauties! Plain and simple…just how we like it! So, go ahead and try it already, before it’s too late!

buttermilk pudding

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp gelatin
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
 Add gelatin over 1/4 cup of cream in a small bowl and let soften, about 1 minute. Add remaining 3/4 cup cream, vanilla and sugar and bring just to a boil over medium heat, stir until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture to hot milk mixture, stirring until dissolved. Quickly cool mixture in freezer or ice bath, stirring occasionally. Let mixture cool,  but not become thick, about 5-10 minutes.

Stir in buttermilk, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl , discard solids. Pour into serving cups and chill until set. That is, if you can wait that long.Top with coulis and additional strawberries.

*recipe adapted from epicurious

strawberry coulis

2 cups strawberries + additional for garnish
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tb water
Zest of 1 lemon
1-2 Tb sugar

Combine all ingredients in processor or blender. Mix until liquified, strain through sieve to remove solids.

ENJOY! We’ll see you next week.

Want more Tasty Bites? Go here. Also, if you are on instagram, be sure to follow @birdandclever for more stunning photos.

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Flashback Summer // Sleep away Camp

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Camp fires, s’mores, making friendship bracelets, silly songs and scary ghost stories….did you go to a sleep away summer camp?



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I never went to a sleep away summer camp, but in sixth grade we went away for a week to an archeological camp at Northwestern University. Yup, a whole week away. Our teacher’s must have been crazy! We sang songs, told camp fire stories and learned about working an archeological dig. It was really cool! Of course on that same trip my two best friends suddenly decided I couldn’t be their friend anymore which was heart breaking—oh the drama of summer camp! Despite the craziness it’s still a really great memory.

Our summers were spent driving from Michigan to Santa Cruz, California. And while I wouldn’t have traded my those memories for anything,  I was always intrigued by kids who went to summer camp!

How about you? Was summer camp a big part of your growing up? Fun memories? Crazy stories? Tell me more!

Love and heartbreak.

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My apologies for being absent from Modern Kiddo this past month.

As I mentioned earlier, my Dad was diagnosed with mantle cell leukemia in late March and I took the month of June off from work to help care for my father in Florida and Boulder.

Sadly, my beloved Dad died last Friday. His obituary ran in the New York Times today.  Unfortunately it doesn’t include the fact that he was the most supportive, loving Dad in the world who kept every crappy piece of pottery I made, would send me back my letters from college red-penned with edits, and came up with a dance called The Buzzard that Morris Day ripped off and called The Bird.  My mom said it best—the heart of our family has been ripped out.  And it hurts. A lot.

Thank you so much, friends, to everyone who reached out to me during the last month. Every hug, comment, text, email, call was so so appreciated. And especially big thanks to Alix, who has been running this site with amazing grace for the past few weeks since I’ve been out.

As you can imagine, I am gutted wit grief and still in shock—it all happened so fast—and will probably take at least the next week or so off from posting to focus on mourning and being with my family.

Thank you all for understanding.

TASTY BITES // Thai Noodle Salad

Tasty Bites

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Hello again, MK readers! We have another short and sweet meal for you. But this time, instead of tasty libations, we would like to share one of our all-time favorite little salads. This Thai salad has saved us on many nights, when we were suffering from a severe lack of motivation—and/or time—but wanted something fresh and homemade. It is refreshing and incorporates the spicy, salty, sweet and sour flavors that we love.

This dish is also great because it is infinitely adaptable. Most of the ingredients are things that you usually have on hand anyway. Noodles, veggies, soy, sugar, oil, that’s pretty much it. However, if you find yourself missing anything on the list, you can always substitute/omit to your hearts content. Just try to use as many fresh, local ingredients as possible, and you will definitely end up on top. This is also a good recipe to know if you have mutant, alien basil growing right outside your back door. Ya know, in case you were wondering.

thai noodle salad
for the salad: (all veggie measurements are based on our preference. feel free to adjust accordingly)

8 oz rice noodles, softened in hot water
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 small daikon, julienned
1 cucumber, julienned
3 medium carrots, julienned
thai chile, thinly sliced
basil
cilantro
lime for garnish
chopped, unsalted peanuts for garnish

for the dressing: (feel free to double if you like it saucy!)

1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil
3 tablespoons soy
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon sriracha
2 tablespoons lime juice

Combine noodles, sweet pepper, daikon, cucumber, and carrot.  Dress to taste.  Top with, chile, basil, cilantro and peanuts.  Serve with lime, sriracha and fish sauce.

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Enjoy! We’ll see you next week, friends….

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