cooking with kids - Page 2

[cyndimo]

I'm not very good at having my little sous chef around, but I'm working on it because he loves it soooo much.
Right now, he almost always gets to run the food processor and open cans. I try to have my kitchen clean enough and set up the cooking show thing, where everything is pre-measured and in its own little bowl.
The other day we made chili, which was mostly rinsing the beans and then dumping a bunch of cans and (premeasured) spices into a pan. He LOVED it and was so proud when DP came home and complimented the dinner! It was a little soupy because he really got into the act and added all of the reserved liquid... but DP likes soupy chili and I just served mine with a slotted spoon, so everyone was happy.

The other thing that I have DS do is "wash" dishes while I'm cooking. If I can get all the real dishes done and out of the way (at least the sharp and breakable ones), he can play with water and a plastic cup forever. And I don't want to discourage him from liking to wash the dishes!

[MelW]

I've been pretty impatient in the kitchen lately, since we have a galley kitchen and I'm 37 weeks pregnant, which means I can't get my belly around the chair that my daughter drags in to stand on!

I let her eat a lot while we cook together. If we're making dinner, I cut extra veggies for her to snack on, or pull out some nuts or another little snack while we cook or bake. It keeps her occupied while I do the "adult" prep work and she's happy to help when I have a task. My biggest frustration is that she always uses the whisk to eat flour when we bake together, but I'm getting pretty good at ignoring the mess and making sure that I add extra dry ingredients to compensate for the amount of she'll eat/spill.

[Lingmom]

I would have them help you cook when you're not in a rush... so that you can focus on process over product.

With your 7 yr old, at least... you might have more success by actually handing the role of chef over. Either be the sous chef and have her give you jobs to do or actually just walk out of the kitchen and let them have control. So far, my girls have enjoyed making soups, biscuits, pancakes and cornbread (from a mix) by themselves. I can't say it's very good, but it is very authentic and they love it.

If I'm in a hurry and there's nothing that they can help me with, sometimes I'll pretend that I'm on a food network show and just explain what I'm doing, as if I'm giving them a lesson or something. It sometimes works and I figure at least they'll learn some good cooking vocabulary.

Also, they love adding the "secret ingredient". I let them choose one non-traditional item to add whenever we cook together. Sometimes I veto it, but usually I'll add at least a little of it... For instance, we've added a little bit of allspice to a chocolate cake or a little bit of apple juice to some beef stew or maple syrup to pancake batter. I figure it helps them know what flavors are good together and it makes them feel as if they had an important part in it.

[proudmamanow]

I love cooking with dd AND I get really impatient sometimes, so I totally get where you're coming from.

What works:
-routine--we always make pancakes together on Saturday morning. So I know that I will be putting up with her foibles (she likes to make pans & pans of teeny tiny bite sized pancakes), and we all let go of the product.
-Picking a time when I'm not tired or rushed (not always possible!)
-Most important: we only cook together when a) it's tried & true, we've done it 18 times (pancakes, scrambled eggs, muffins etc). OR b) don't really care about result (so NOT when we have company!)

That said, as much as I love baking with dd (and she loves the sense of competence she feels), I also love cooking without dd! And I try to get a chance to do that at least a few times a week or bake something fancy after she's in bed so I get my fix.

But yeah, I am not always as Zen as I'd like to be when baking with her. But it's good practice. A lot of biting my tongue and taking deep breaths as the flour spills etc.

[cyndimo]

Also - Mollie Katzen has a series of kid's cookbooks that are mostly snacks, so they can be made when nobody is starving and trying to put dinner on the table. The recipes all have 2 versions: one that looks like a regular recipe for the grownup and one that is formatted for a kid to follow, and there are setup notes for the grownup to make it all go smoothly.

[proudmamanow]

we LOVE the Mollie Katzen cookbooks!! Dd loves picking recipes from them and they are guaranteed winners.
And dd (not quite 4) can make scrambled eggs and buttermilk biscuits. Lots of fun!

[Murph12334]

dd almost 3 LOVES helping in the kitchen. her and dh mad checx mix last night. She loves stirring batters and stuff