Food Independence Day, an organization looking to promote eating locally grown food for July 4 celebrations and throughout the summer, is asking little green thumbs to share their budding love of gardening and farming. Small agricultural enthusiasts can submit a homemade video about why they like to grow their own food, whether because they enjoy pulling carrots out of the ground or just playing in the dirt, and their video could be one of five selected to be shown at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Food and Society Fellows Summit in Washington, D.C., this September.

Kid's nutrition expert and author of the classic First Meals, Annabel Karmel is coming out with three new books in 2009. First Meals and More: Your Questions Answered contains extensive Q&A on establishing good eating habits, weaning off breastmilk, and meeting nutritional needs, and includes fifty recipes that will appeal to every unique young eater. I Can Eat a Rainbow teaches kids  that color is a plus when it comes to their eating habits, as the brighter their diet, the more nutrients they are taking in and Cook It Together, the most recently released title, is all about teaching kids new flavors, engaging them in the cooking process, and making recipes they will enjoy. Here, one of our favorites from Cook it Together.

Honey and Soy Salmon Skewers

1. Mix together 4 tablespoons honey, 4 teaspoons soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar. Pour half of the mixture into a pan and set aside. Add 1/4 teaspoon grated ginger to the remaining mixture in the bowl.

2. Pour the ginger mixture onto the salmon. Mix to coat.

3. Thread 6 ounces of skinless salmon fillet, cut into cubes, onto the skewers, then put them on a foil-lined baking sheet.

4. Spoon on sauce from the bowl. Broil the salmon for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked. Add 1 teaspoon water to the sauce in the pan. Simmer for 30 seconds, then serve with the salmon.

In a saucepan, sauté 2 ounces of diced pancetta in a bit of olive oil until it's crispy. Add 1 tablespoon of flour and stir until combined. Whisk in 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan, and let it cook for 4 minutes, until it has thickened. Add 1 cup of shelled fresh peas and season with salt and pepper. Cook 4 cups Gemelli pasta in salted water until tender, drain well, and add it to the sauce.  Mix well and serve, finishing with additional grated Parmesan and basil.

While preparing for my son's birthday party, I kept thinking about the two dozen eggs that had somehow collected in my refrigerator. Wasn't there something easy I could make using those aging eggs? Then my Cooks Illustrated arrived with the perfect solution: Spanish tortillas cut into little squares and served with garlic mayonnaise! Well, perfect for the adult guests, anyway, and don't the grown-ups deserve something tasty, too?

I made one tortilla with diced Yukon gold potato, onion, roasted red pepper, and fresh peas, and another with just potatoes and peas. Instead of making my own garlic mayonnaise, I mixed minced garlic with my favorite French mayonnaise, Delouis. Then I filled a pastry bag with the mayo and made little garlicky flowers on each tortilla square. Bonus--my son actually ate one!

See another great tortilla recipe at Epicurious.com.

If you're lucky you can still find garlic scapes (shoots that grow from garlic bulbs) at your local farmer's market. I usually chop scrapes crosswise and toss them into salads, but this week I tried garlic-scape walnut basil pesto.

It's sensational--but one bite told me the pesto would be too spicy for our 5-year-old. I reserved one tablespoon of the pesto and mixed it with one tablespoon of ricotta and one tablespoon of butter. His verdict? Still spicy--but he ate it anyway!

Also try Dorrie Greenspan's garlic-scape pesto.
More garlic-scrape recipes from the New York Times.

Julie Alvin

What's the new cilantro? Is drunken goat cheese at a dinner party too 2003? If I send my kid to camp with a Capri Sun, will he be teased? Am I supposed to only be buying food harvested within, like, a mile of my house? We checked in with chefs, bloggers, and Cookie contributors to see what food trends are affecting you and your family today.

As Local as Locavore Gets

Thanks to Michelle Obama's White House backyard garden, growing your own fruits, veggies, and herbs is catching on in households countrywide. The Obama's "victory garden" was created to teach Americans about sustainable, organic foods and to offer a launching point to show children how to eat nutritiously. For a worthwhile summer outing, take your kids to the New York Botanical Garden's summer-long edible garden exhibitions, or check out PBS's garden guide for destinations across the country. To get started on your own, check out NY Times tips on creating a home garden, follow PBS's advice, or pick up Catherine Woram's Gardening with Kids (Ryland Peters & Small), or the Brooklyn Botanical Garden's own Gardening with Children.

Big Names for Little Kids

If last year's most obvious cookbook trend was food memoir meets recipes, this year it's food manifesto meets parenting. Look for Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma for Kids (Penguin), and Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals (Houghton Mifflin) out this fall. 

Quick Pickling

As we scrambled for ramps last month, we couldn’t help but wish that some of our favorite greenmarket foods had a longer growing season. Other foodies seem to feel the same, hence the trend in restaurants and homes toward quick-pickling everything from spring onions to rhubarb. To enjoy spring veggies all summer long, check out the new Well Preserved cookbook, or try this recipe from chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier of Arrows restaurant.

Brain Food
Gerber, Juicy Juice, and Breyers, among others, have started infusing their products with DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid that boosts essential brain development during the all-important ages of 6 months to 2 years. Look out for other products taking this smart step.

Recession Specials
With the economy still in the toilet, even the most food-obsessed among us probably won’t spend this year’s anniversary dinner at a $100-a-head prix fixe joint, and the powers that be at schmancy dining establishments have taken note. Pricey NYC spots like Per Se, Del Posto, and Jean Georges have accommodated for the downturn by offering previously unavailable à la carte menus or gently priced tasting menus, so you can justify dining in high style.

Hello, Pork Belly!

They say it’s in hard times that creativity really flourishes, and what’s true in literature and art can be true in your own kitchen or favorite restaurant. Expect to see restaurants executing slicker versions of down-home classics and working wonders with the cheapest ingredients and cuts of meat. On your own stove, whip up some of Cookie's most wallet-friendly recipes:  scrambled-egg pasta, Caribbean rice and beans, fagioli on toast, and braised short ribs. Care to entertain on a budget? Check out cookbook author Rick Rodgers suggestion for a four-course meal that tastes far pricier than it is, and Mark Bittman's ideas for a $20 dinner party.

Highbrow-Lowbrow
Along the same lines as the above, Caviar and Wagyu are no longer in vogue, with haute cuisine chefs instead satisfying tough-times cravings for comfort food with elevated versions of lowbrow classics. Truffled grilled cheese, pizza with radicchio and zucchini blossoms, and burgers topped with tomato confit are all high-low combos you can enjoy at your favorite gastropub or your own table. We swear by this recipe for truffled mac and cheese.

Asian Street Food
Simple, savory, and satisfying, Asian street foods will continue to cement their place in the restaurant landscape. Make your own hearty recipes for banh mi, noodle soup, bibimbap. "Peasant foods" from other cultures like coq au vin, shepherd's pie, and chicken and dumplings make for simple, cheap, and hearty meals.

Fresh Flavors
Last year it was salted caramel, and Cookie recipe developer Victoria Granof expects that “spicy sweet” will be the next trendy flavor combo. Look for it in desserts or snack food, or take matters into your own hands by adding a dash of chili powder to dark-chocolate dishes or bags of kettle corn (try our favorite momandpopcorn.com).