Pirate Food!

What do you do with sick, grumpy pirates? You try to cheer them up with pirate-themed food!

Pirate Pancakes

Fill a ziplock bag with a portion of your pancake batter, snipping off a bit of the corner. Pour your batter into the pan to make traditional pancakes. Flip over and using the bag, add a pirate face to the cooked side of the pancake. Flip again to finish.

If you're really brave, try drawing a pirate ship using the plastic bag to drizzle your batter into the pan. This was my best attempt. For a much more impressive ship, check out Filth Wizardry.

 Pirate Banana

Cut a portion of banana for the pirate body. Add a strawberry bandanna by slicing the strawberry at an angle. Add a chocolate chip for the eye patch, a raisin for the good eye, and a craisin for the mouth. Use a toothpick to draw the eye patch strap with melted chocolate. Another toothpick and raisin form the sword. Piles of yellow smarties become the pirate's booty.

For once the girls happily obeyed me when I called them to the table. What really cracked me up, however, was that they both came carrying books!

I must be doing something right. :) 

(For more pirate ideas, including an adorable pirate treasure snack map, check out Katherine Marie.)

Pirate Pete by Kim Kennedy

While a little long for young children, this fun tale of pirate adventure is just right for older preschoolers and young school-aged children. When Pirate Pete steals the Queen's treasure map, he makes haste for Mermaid Island to find the buried treasure. On the way his path crosses several islands, all of which hold promise of pirate booty... and where there's gold, he's a'going! But will he find gold or will the Queen catch up to him?

The story follows a familiar rhythm, repeating at each island but with enough surprises to make the story exciting. Your kids will love the brilliantly colored and clever illustrations of the different islands: a candy island, a sleeping island (full of beds and with palm tree night lights), a leprechaun island, and a dragon island! It's a fun little story full of pirate speak and just enough danger to satisfy the most demanding little pirate.