Cooking With Kids

With fall in the air, I begin to think of baking with my kids--which can be a real pain, I admit. This appeared both in Focus on Your Child and later in Memphis Parent.



“May I be the stirrer?” my four-year-old squealed when she saw me cracking the eggs at breakfast. I held the bowl low, guiding her hand with mine to demonstrate before letting her have a go at it herself. She then skipped away, her culinary curiosity satisfied. On the whole, the process added an additional 45 seconds to my cook time.

I know from experience that my daughter was not the only four year old asking to help in the kitchen this morning. The thought of cooking with young children, however, is enough to cause any parent to approach the kitchen like a spy on a mission. If that is often the case at your house, follow these clues, call in reinforcements (i.e.: your kids) and create memories that will linger long after both the mission and the dishes are done.

Educate
Cooking is an essential part of life that, like it or not, we all need to know how to do, stresses Marianne Dambra, founder of Kidsrcooking.com. Dambra, who teaches “Cool Cooking” workshops for parents and kids around the country, urges parents to focus on the variety of skills involved in cooking—math, science, reading, cooperation and problem solving, to name a few. “When it comes to cooking,” she adds, “we must ask ourselves not what a child learns, but what doesn’t a child learn? That's why cooking with children is so important.”


Anticipate
Probably the number one thing that keeps parents from cooking with kids is the inevitable mess that will accompany the cooking lesson. Laura Hatcher, Covington, Tennessee, mother of five, says that anticipating the mess helps alleviate frustration. By simply reminding herself that her kids are going to be messy, Hatcher says, she is ready to accept it from the beginning.

Starting with simple recipes is one “less mess” strategy parents can use. Playdough is a good starter, in addition to recipes such as pudding or frozen orange juice concentrate in which no cooking is required. If you’re in the kitchen with spoons and bowls and ingredients, in a child’s mind, you’re cooking.

Celebrate
While parents may anticipate the mess, kids will anticipate the fun. Again, parents should simplify to help keep the stress level at a minimum. For those who have to work at having fun when kids are in the kitchen, opting for short cuts is one way to cut stress. Whether kids are slicing refrigerated cookie dough or adding toppings to ready-made pizza crusts, getting a glimpse of the grown up world is what makes cooking such a celebration in the mind of a child. But parents needn’t save cooking with children merely for cookie baking or pizza topping but rather use the cooking opportunity to encourage their kids to broaden their horizons and try new foods.

Motivate
For Sue Wynn, teacher at St. Louis School and mother of Dino and Mario Grissanti of Memphis, Tennessee, restaurant fame, fun quickly turned to inspiration. “From the time the boys were very young they would help me at home with the baking or rolling out dough,” says Wynn, “then as they got older, they wore the aprons and waited tables at the restaurant.” The inspiration they found in the kitchen as children has carried over into adulthood, as both boys pursued culinary careers.

Even if your kids don’t grow up to be chefs, regular exposure to food preparation is still valuable. Wendy Owen, Knoxville mother of two, finds her children gain a sense of pride and joy when they are able to help shop for and prepare meals. Even very young children can check off a list, help weigh and wash vegetables and set the table.

Initiate
It is important for parents to identify what hampers them from cooking with their children. Some parents, for instance, may not trust their kids around kitchen tools. Instead of keeping tools off limits, however, parents could instead take the initiative and incorporate kitchen safety into the cooking session.

Most parents testify it is difficult to find the time and energy to enter the kitchen with kids. In just a few designated hours, however, what began as bothersome will evolve into beneficial for parents who stay on task. The key is to capture their interest while they’re at their peak of enthusiasm—usually age 8 or 9—and foster it so they can grow more independent in the kitchen. With a little organization and forethought, kids and parents will exit the (clean) kitchen with the same satisfying assumption in mind: mission accomplished.



Sidebar: Tips for cooking with kids (Source: kidsrcooking.com)
• Don't worry about the end product
• Remember: The less you do the more the children will learn and retain
• It does not take a lot of equipment or a real kitchen to cook
• Choose foolproof recipes for your first cooking activity such as orange juice or playdough
• The rewards will outnumber hassles in cooking
• Have the children be a part of everything -- setup, cooking, cleanup, etc.
• Not all recipes need to be baked or cooked
Remember, have fun!



Sidebar: Sources for Cooking with Kids

• Forty Carrots 4690 Spottswood Ave. Audubon Place Shopping Center A gourmet cooking supply store, offers classes in Christmas cookie magic November 3, 10-12:30 6835187
• Kidsrcooking.com Founder Marianne Dambra’s whimsical website merits a visit. A surplus of ideas and recipes plus descriptions of a variety of workshops for parents and children (toddlers through school age).
• Kids’ Culinary & Chef Noni A program that fosters the safety of cooking, making memories, manners and clean up. Call Dino at 278-9127 to schedule.
• University of Memphis Continuing Education 678-6000. Tentative cooking classes are planned for 2002. Look for new catalogue in the January 6 edition of The Commercial Appeal.

Sidebar: Kid-Friendly Recipes (Source: Bonnie Roelofs)
FRENCH BANANAS WITH CREAM

¼ cup butter
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
½ cup half-and-half
5-6 firm bananas, halved lengthwise and crosswise
whipped cream for garnish

Melt butter in a large skillet. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in half-and-half and cook until slightly thickened. Add bananas to skillet; heat for 2-3 minutes, spooning sauce over them. To serve, place 2 banana pieces with a little sauce for each serving, and top with a dollop of whipped cream.

CHICKEN HOT POCKETS

2 cup cooked chicken, chopped
1 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. diced chives, optional
salt to taste
2 8-oz. refrigerated crescent rolls
½ cup seasoned bread crumbs, crushed
¼ cup melted butter or margarine

Mix together chicken, cream cheese, milk, chives and salt for filling. Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent rolls; each tube will contain 4 rectangles of dough with a diagonal perforation. Press dough along each perforation so the rectangle halves will not separate. Place about ¼ cup of chicken mixture into the center of each rectangle. Fold dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal tightly, or crimp with a fork. Brush each pocket with melted butter and coat with bread crumbs. Place pockets on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 8.


Bonnie Roelofs, a U of M Continuing Ed. instructor, encourages parents to allow children to experience small culinary victories at first. Simple steps such as stirring, pouring or holding the mixer are great confidence builders. Roelofs stresses the importance of parents including children in the things they are going to do anyway in order to educate and equip them with this basic life skill.