An Erin Cooks Contest: The Gastrokid Cookbook

What exactly is a “gastrokid?” Well the authors of The Gastrokid Cookbook have developed a Gastrokid manifesto that states:

Gastrokid: noun. A combination of “gastronomy” (the study of food) and “kid.” Coined by, Hugh Garvey and Matthew Yeomans founders of Gastrokid.com, a Web site popular among parents dedicated to feeding their children the best food possible. A Gastrokid is a child of heightened gastronomic awareness, sometimes the progeny of parents who describe themselves as “foodies.”

The basic tenant of The Gastrokid Cookbook is essentially to provide you with a repertoire of sophisticated, nourishing and kid-friendly recipes that are substantial enough for adults while still being appealing to children. It’s certainly much less tantrum inducing if you whip up an alternate meal for your child at dinner time if you’ve decided to enjoy a nice Bolognese that evening, but Yeomans and Garvey are here to encourage you not to. Their delicious array of recipes from Citrus-Cured Chicken Breast to Mod Mediterranean Braised Beef Brisket are sure to please everyone who sits down at your dining room table whether they are three, thirty-three, or one-hundred and three.

While entrees like Orange and Ginger Soy Pork Ribs might sound impossibly time consuming and difficult you’ll be shocked to learn that the entire recipe consists of only nine ingredients and the instructions are presented in barely more than two succinct paragraphs. This is exactly how each recipe is laid out. Yeomans and Garvey know that you don’t have time to peruse a three-page cooking tome when you have a baby, a toddler, and a dog all swarming at your feet.

After looking through the cookbook I decided that I had to try their Roasted Chickpea Bruschetta. It was beyond simple and really only involved opening two cans of super healthy chickpeas, the pitting of a few olives, a quick chop, slice, and a drizzle of oil. I adore olives of all shapes, sizes, and colors so I feel that it’s essential to own a good olive pitter. This will also cut down on time significantly in the recipe below should you choose to include olives with pits. One evening I attempted to pit olives by hand and gave up after only twenty minutes of insanity. Then I promptly sent CK to Whole Foods to pick up this great OXO Olive Pitter (it’s also sometimes called a Cherry Pitter but it works perfectly for anything small with a stone in the center).

I’m just in love with this simple savory dish and I thoroughly enjoyed the salty combination of olives, tangy vinegar, and garlic. They all melded perfectly with the delicately roasted chickpeas and were an excellent topping for freshly toasted baguette slices. And as per the author’s observation in the text, kids will undoubtedly enjoy frolicking after the little round beans as they inevitably tumble from their bread slices. My cats had quite the field day with runaway chickpeas last night. In addition I fully intend to use the leftovers as a topping for salad tonight.

So are you ready to test your luck at potentially winning a copy of The Gastrokid Cookbook? If so, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.

In addition, If you share the link to this contest on your own blog, Twitter, Facebook etc… you may have one additional entry for a total of two possible chances to win. If you choose this option please leave a link to your shout out as your second comment.  A winner will be selected via the nifty random number generator next Wednesday, August 19th at 5:00 PM EST and then I’ll promptly arrange to have the cookbook shipped to your home. Best of luck!

Roasted Chickpea Bruschetta
Adapted from the recipe originally published in The Gastrokid Cookbook.

2 15-ounce cans chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
Olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
A handful or two of chopped parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped olives (recommended: a mix of some good green olives filled out with super cheap, jarred martini-style green olives and kalamatas)
Garlic
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 baguette loaf, sliced and toasted

Pre-heat the oven to 450ºF. On a cookie sheet or baking sheet, spread out the chickpeas and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix it all up. Roast for 20 minutes or so, until golden brown.

In a large bowl, mix the chickpeas with the chopped parsley, olives, garlic, and balsamic vinegar. Serve on toasted slices of baguette. The spherical little beans tend to roll off the bread if you’re eating too hastily, but chasing down stray chickpeas makes it all the more fun.

Purchase The Gastrokid Cookbook. You can also visit Gastrokid online or follow them on Twitter.

Tagged as: bruschetta, chickpea, cookbook, family, foodie, gastrokid, Hugh Garvey, kids, Matthew Yeomans, meals, olives, roasted