Jamie Oliver's 10 recipes

[avendesora]

I just watched Jamie Oliver's TED talk about curing obesity in America. One of his ideas was that by the time a kid graduates from high school, they should have some basic food-knowledge, along with 10 basic whole-food recipes that they can whip up, even after a long day of work/childcare/whatever. One of the problems, as he described it, is that no one knows how to cook anymore. It's all fast food, processed food. Teaching kids to cook is one of the most useful gifts we can give them.

Here's the question. If you were to compile a list of 10 basic recipes that kids should know before they leave the house, what would it be?

Aven

[abiyhayil]

subbing

[avendesora]

Here's my initial list (more in menu form than recipes):

1. Scrambled eggs and toast, crudite.
2. Lentil soup (feeds a family cheaply or easy to freeze in individual portions for singles or DINKs).
3. baked chicken, brown rice, steamed broccoli.
4. spaghetti and tomato sauce (bolognese, veggies)
5. something mexican for variety
6. baked oatmeal (better than cold cereal!)


Trying to go with lowest common denominator here, without going as low as 'put a frozen pizza in the oven.'

Aven

[cristeen]

Not so much recipes as techniques, but I think these are some crucial skills to have:

How to roast a chicken
How to cook a steak
How to bake a potato
How to read/follow a recipe

These basics can be applied to any number of other things (roast beef, hamburgers, squash, etc.).

As for recipes, I think everybody should have one set of "Sunday Dinner" recipes that they can make - for a date, for guests, for whatever. And I also think they should know how to make their own favorite dishes (those dishes you always ask your mom to make for you).

With those skills and those recipes, you can get by quiet well.

[velochic]

1. Omelet
2. Baked Chicken with fresh veggie sides
3. Roast meat (beef with yorkshire pudding, pork with apples, etc.)
4. Grilled or broiled fish
5. Pasta and sauce (a million varieties with this, get the basics of tomato, cream and oil sauces and the french mother sauces)
6. Sauteed breaded cutlet of whatever meat, veggie patty, etc.
7. Soup (chili, split pea, tomato, potato/leek, vegetable, stew, etc.)
8. Roasted vegetables
9. Grilled meats
10. Rice pilaf (a million varieties of this)

(off the top of my head... I'll think more on it, as it's an interesting topic)

[BetsyS]

Interesting topic!

1. eggs. Of course.
2. whatever their starch of choice is--rice, mashed potatoes, grits
3. roast chicken
4. tacos
5. spaghetti
6. grilled cheese
7. how to fry--not the healthiest, but boy is it easy, and it keeps you out of the drive-thru--specifically chicken tenders
8. steamed and roasted vegetables
9. white sauce. Once you can make this, you can make so many other things
10. Cornbread

[kittywitty]

1. Pancakes or waffles
2. Roast chicken
3. Roast turkey (would Thanksgiving count as one thing? If you can cook that-you can cook about anything!)
4. Chicken pot pie
5. Lemon meringue pie
6. Chocolate chip cookies (good ones! This probably doesn't count b/c of the sugar, but I find knowing how to make a decent cookie can lead to knowing how to make decent healthy snacks, too, and makes you consider them more extravagances than quick processed food bites. My kids savor a cookie it took me 30 hours to make but will inhale a box of cookies.)

7. Homemade pudding
8. Vegetable soup
9. Homemade bread
10. Matzoh ball soup

My 9 yo can make most of these without any help-all but #5. Of course she wants to be a chef when she grows up...

[ollyoxenfree]

Excellent topic!

1. Eggs (scrambled, poached, fried, omelettes)
2. Muffins - how to handle a quick bread batter
3. Salad Dressing - a decent vinaigrette
4. Rice
5. Stir Fry
6. Pasta and sauce
7. Grilled meat/seafood
8. Roast meat/seafood - chicken/pork/beef/fish
9. Roast or steamed vegetables (both actually)
10. Soup

I debated about certain items - a never-fail risotto, a good curry, a decent meat loaf, a sure-fire casserole...I'm sure I could come up with another 10 (or 20 or 30) items that are basics for us. Thinking about it though, it seems that if a child is taught how to read and follow a recipe, and not to fear the ingredients, they will be able to manage almost anything in the kitchen.

[Storm Bride]

hmm....I'm going to think about this. I do want to do a bit better with ds1. I haven't done a great job on making sure he can cook, although he can at least follow a basic recipe. (I keep meaning to do more of this, but I fail to keep track of his schedule.)

He does meet up with three friends, on the first Friday of every month, to cook a meal. They've done homemade pizza, fondue, and...can't remember the other one. I think they plan to keep it up through the end of grade 12. So, that will give him some practice, at least.

[KristyDi]

Rather that 10 recipes, I'd rather kids get basic cooking skills. I guess you could choose 10 recipes that covered basic skills that could then be applied to other meals.

My list off the top of my head.

1. Scrambled eggs and how to add diced veggies, cheese or meat.
2. How to bread and saute a boneless chicken breast/thigh, then finish in the oven. Maybe Chicken Parm would be a good recipe to teach this skill.
3. A Basic marinara sauce from canned tomatoes. It's so versatile. It can top pasta, go in lasagna, be used as pizza sauce, top the chicken parm.
4. Chili or some other type of stew.
5. Homemade Mac and Cheese. Everyone loves mac and cheese and you could use it to teach making a roux/white sauce, which is used in tons of other recipes.
6. Pork Roast, then teach how to use the leftovers. Shredded and add sauce for BBQ sandwiches, or shred and add Mexican type spices for filling tacos or burritos etc.
7. A basic stir fry and the rice that goes with it.
8. Oven Roasted Veggies. It'd be nice to teach a few different options specifically b/c lots of people have never seasoned things w/o pre-mixed packets. You could do potatoes w/ rosemary, sweet potato fries w/ cinnamon or a pinch of cayenne, and a mixed veggie one w/ just salt and pepper. You could easily add a basic baked potato to this lesson.
9. How to steam various fresh veggies.
10. How to roast a whole chicken.

Through all of this you would need to teach the skills necessary to read and follow a recipe. How do you chop an onion? A green pepper? A tomato? What is a simmer? A rolling boil? How do you broil something? What type of pan or pot do you use to do which jobs? All that stuff.

ETA After reading other responses I like the idea of adding something w/ a quick bread batter. That gives you muffins, breads, pancakes etc. A good cookie recipe would good too.

[KatWrangler]

I am going to add food safety and food storage to the list.

Proper Temps to cook meats, fish and poultry.
Avoiding cross contamination.
Sanitizing cutting boards/surfaces/knives.

[bella_stranger]

1. Fried eggs, poached eggs, scrambled eggs. etc.
2. A delicious omelet with all the fixins
3. Steak/pork chops
4. Beef stew
5. Coleslaw/Greens
6. Roast Beef/Pork/Chicken
7. Shrimp/Clams/Scallops etc in garlic butter!
8. Coq Au Vin
9. Chocolate mousse!!
10. Jambalaya

[bandgeek]

1. Some type of soup with lots of veggies.
2. Spaghetti or some other easy but yummy and filling pasta dish.
3. A hearty, filling salad with plenty of protein.
4. Healthy pizza.
5. Green smoothies (ok not really a meal, but a great thing to be able to make).
6. Rice with veggies and rice with beans or some combo of the two.
7. Some basic baking skills.
8. A couple of casseroles.
9. How to cook veggies so they taste good!
10. How to cook meat, should he decide to eat it.

Yeah I know mine is kind of vague. I can't pretend to know what his diet is going to look like 15 years from now, with a veg*n mom and an omni dad. I'm definitely very concerned with making sure he has the life skills he needs before I send him out in the world though. Not just cooking, but also laundry, cleaning, shopping, basic sewing, managing money, ect.

My mom cooked and cleaned and managed our money but I left not knowing how to do any of it! It's taken me 10 years to really learn to cook a decent meal from scratch. Up until now I always relied on mostly processed ingredients thrown together and called it "cooking".

[isign]

This thread is really interesting, and I'm looking forward to reading more responses. I was never taught to cook, and am trying to learn.

[Grace and Granola]

I love this thread! What a great idea and a great goal to have. It's got me thinking about the next 10 years and what I can teach my kids.

I love all the suggestions made by the pps, but I would add that it would be good to teach our kids a few healthful desserts along with all of these nutritious meal ideas. If we can teach them how to make cookies/pies/breads that aren't loaded with sugar, then they won't get hooked on the processed junk when they need a sweet treat.

[JessicaS]

1. How to bake a chicken and poach chicken (I use poached chicken for enchiladas/chicken salad/soup/chicken pot pie)
3. Omelettes, scrambled eggs and how to hard boil eggs
4. How to cook a steak
5. How to Grill and steam veggies
6. Basic chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles
7. Basic marinara
8. Salad dressing
9. How to cook Rice and whole grains
10. Simple salmon or shrimp


Geez...there is a ton of stuff isn't there. It is hard.

[lilyka]

I have never heard of jamie Oliver until a couple days when his show came up in my hulu list of suggestions.. I thought I would watch it. I good looking nutrition super hero....I am IN LOVE!!!

and what a great topic!!

We are vegan so my list will be slightly different

1. lentil soup
2. pinto beans and rice
3. broiled tofu
4. baked potatoes
5. chili and home made corn bread
6. yeast bread
7. basic bean soup (or stone soup as we call it here)
8. greaky green beans ( i forget the greek name for it)
9. hummus
10. pasta and red sauce

and not a meal but they also need to know how to make a decent vegan cupcake, frosting and chocolate chip cookie. none of this flat, healthy, nasty, crap that often passes for vegan sweets, but streight up sigar goodness junk food anyone would feel honored to pig out on.

I think I just found our summer family project!! Thanks!

[Honey693]

1. eggs
2. roast chicken
3. rice (I'm 25 and can't make rice )
4. homemade mac and cheese
5. hamburgers
6. hamburger and rice/noodles
7. some type of casserole
8. real oatmeal, no the packets
9. potato salad
10. cake or some dessert from scratch