Tag Archives: easy

Bread? It’s in the Bag!

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It’s been a little while since Pop Goes the Page’s test kitchen rolled out a post (see: Bridgerton cream puffs). So today, Katie’s combining a recipe test, story time, kitchen science, and simple project all in one!

The test recipe was first met with incredulity. Bread in a bag? Really? Could you make bread that easily? Ice cream, sure. But bread? The potential for fail seemed likely. Hmmmm. Take it away, oh brave Katie!

There’s nothing more delicious than a slice of fresh warm bread slathered in your favorite jam or jelly. It’s even better if what you are eating is homemade bread. And not much can beat an easy recipe that has few ingredients and simple instructions. But a recipe designed as a kid friendly activity that you can mix, bake and enjoy together with your little ones? Priceless!

I fully admit I was skeptical when I discovered Susie at Busy Toddler’s Bread in a Bag blog post, but that skepticism definitely made me want to try out this unique recipe. I already had all of the ingredients in my kitchen, so I was ready to bake a fresh loaf of bread – in a bag – to welcome my college-aged kid home for the summer.

Under the careful supervision of my curious pooch, who probably would have helped squish and smoosh the mixing bag if I had let him, I put the ingredients together and made bread. The instructions were clear and straightforward, and the bread came out of the oven perfectly baked. It was super easy and surprisingly fun!

The only step I probably didn’t follow precisely was kneading the dough long enough before letting it rise prior to baking. My loaf of bread was a little denser than expected, but it didn’t make it any less delicious.

For families with young children who are eager to help in the kitchen or for adults who are kids at heart, this bread – in a bag – recipe is fantastic and one I highly recommend!

As it turns out, there are a number of fabulous books to pair with this delightful exploration of bread. Here are a few (with projects!) from our blog!

Bread is Love by Pooja Makhijani, illus by Lavanya Naidu (Roaring Book Press, 2026) Sun Bread by Elisa Kleven (Dutton Children’s Books, 2001)
Hooray for Bread by Allan Ahlberg, illus by Bruce Ingman (Candlewick, 2013)
Nanette’s Baguette by Mo Willems (Hyperion, 2016)
Toasty by Sarah Hwang (Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House Books, 2021)

Strawberry for the Win!

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It’s a grand day for a dash when Dog decides to challenge Strawberry to the greatest race of all time! There’s plenty of action! Drama! Excitement! But…is Strawberry even aware of any of this?

We read Dog vs. Strawberry, written by Nelly Buchet, and illustrated by Andrea Zuill (Random House Studio, 2024). When Dog’s owner innocently offers her a strawberry, Dog takes it as an open challenge for a race. Dog sprints, jumps, leaps, chases her tail, and even takes a power nap. But the stoic (and completely unaware) Strawberry always seems to have the advantage. Narrated in a NASCAR commenter’s voice, this book is hilarious, with escalating laughs as our story time kids realized that the race was very one-sided indeed. Highly recommended!

The project was relatively simple. We crafted a box dog with poster board ears, tail, and a paper cup nose. We paired it with a red plastic ball pit ball made to look like a strawberry. Then we had some races!

The thing that really elevated the project was the dog’s super boop-able black foam nose. It’s a repurposed costume clown nose, securely hot glued to the paper cup. The foam nose made pushing and bumping the strawberry extra fun.

First, we raced down tables with the kids boop-ing the strawberry to the finish line. But then things segued into a form of soccer, where kids tried to boop the strawberry past me into a “goal.” Very appropriate for World Cup time! We had a blast!

Coloring Cotsen: Tigers Sis Boom Ah!

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The weekend before Princeton’s commencement, jovial alumni return to town for Reunions and to reminiscence on their time spent on campus as students. To commemorate their annual return and celebrate the Great Class of 2026, we wanted to share several iconic tiger images from our Special Collections for Coloring Cotsen.

The tiger is a common mascot for many schools, colleges, and professional sports teams in the United States, but Princeton University is the first academic institution to officially start using the tiger nickname. In the early 1880s, Princeton’s football players would wear orange and black striped jerseys, socks, and knit caps during their games. Sports writers at the time began calling the team “tigers” and the moniker was quickly adopted across campus.

Tigers are now a regular part of life at Princeton. Tiger sculptures appear on and around campus buildings, magazines and publications have tiger related names, and university cheers and songs include tigers in the lyrics. Princeton’s fight song, “The Princeton Cannon”, was written in 1906 by J. F. Hewitt and A. H. Osborne, both members of the Class of 1907. Hewitt and Osborne incorporated “And Nassau’s walls with echo with the Princeton Tiger’s roar” in the song’s intro and the verse lively proclaims “Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Tigers sis boom ah!”

We extend our heartiest congratulations to the Class of 2026! Rah! Tigers sis boom ah!