[Plaid Leopard]

My 9yo dd and 11 yo ds are making dinner right now.

They found a recipe they liked in a cook book, made a list of the necessary ingredients for me to pick up at the store, and are now busily frying "deluxe turkeyburger" patties, slicing cheese, pickles and onions, rinsing lettuce...
I asked them to be responsible for one meal a week now. They can already make things like grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, eggs, and pasta and dd is pretty good at baking simple cakes - but I want them to learn to cook "real" food, and also about food hygiene and kitchen safety. (I made sure they washed hands and utensils after touching the raw meat, and helped ds a bit with getting the patties in the pan, checking to make sure they were done etc.)
DS just came in and said his feet hurt and he was bored of frying the patties. lol
Welcome to my world, dear one.

 

[amnesiac]

Awesome!! My 14 yo ds just finished making rice pudding for dessert tonight. He loves to cook & was telling me a couple of hours ago that he thinks he might like to go to culinary school after he graduates. I think it's a fantastic skill for all kids to develop even if they aren't interested in it as a career. Enjoy your burgers!!

 

[mtiger]

My kids have been cooking on their own since about those ages (they are 18 and 16 now). I found the key to be starting them help me make "real food", as opposed to recipes created for kids. Both are involved with planning meals for the week, including being responsible for one or two, and there are many evenings I come home to find dinner either close to being ready or the ingredients prepped for me.

It is definitely an important skill for kids to have. My son has cooked TDay dinner for us, he has cooked for numerous girlfriends and their families - LOL Talk about a way to endear oneself to her parents! Just last night, my daughter made dinner for us and my parents.

 

[mami to 3 :)]

My 14yo LOVES to cook and bake, she's planning of going to culinary school after graduating as well. My mom is thrilled as she's a chef so cooking is important in our family, coming from grandma

She cooks dinner twice a week, she loves to make pasta and brownies.

 

[ollyoxenfree]

My kids were responsible for each cooking 1 meal every week. We fell out of the routine after a lengthy time without a house (we were traveling) last year, and haven't really returned to it. We keep meaning to get back to it, but it seems like they have become so busy that family dinners are getting squeezed.

It is awesome when tweens/teens take on this kind of responsibility and contribute to the family in this way.

 

[Plaid Leopard]

cool! I love to hear of your teens loving to cook (and actually doing it)
That's encouraging.

 

[Oriole]

DSD doesn't usually cook meals, but she loves to bake, so much so, she needs to be reminded to slow down, as we can't consume bakes goods at the speed she is producing them.

Couple of years ago, the two of use started to keep a scrapbook-style cook book.

 

[Plaid Leopard]

I like the idea of a scrapbook style cook-book. I usually tweak recipes or make up my own and need to write them down for the kids. And I would like them to save their favorite recipes, maybe even take pics of the meals they have prepared...

 

[velochic]

I came here from the main page and didn't realize it was pre and teens. My dd just turned 8 last week and she does a really good job with known recipes. She's good with soups, quick breads and things like meatloaf. Her knife skills (I let her chop with my best and sharpest chef's knives) are better than my 70 yo mother's (who could never cook). My only problem is dd likes to ad lib sometimes with some interesting combinations... for example I once had to really convince her that lox salmon would probably not go well in the fruit salad she was preparing. But she follows recipes well.

I think it's great to have kids in the kitchen and wonderful to foster that interest in being connected to your food. Kudos!

I have a really nice leather-bound book with blank pages where I write our family favorites. I write a story about the recipe and give my tips and tricks. Handwritten, I know that one day this will be a treasure for dd when she grows up and I'm gone.

 

[mtiger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velochic My only problem is dd likes to ad lib sometimes with some interesting combinations... for example I once had to really convince her that lox salmon would probably not go well in the fruit salad she was preparing.

But... she will never really learn that on her own unless she's allowed to give it a try. Tell her you're not sure how it would go together, so she may want to try it with just a single portion to taste it.

 

[velochic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtiger But... she will never really learn that on her own unless she's allowed to give it a try. Tell her you're not sure how it would go together, so she may want to try it with just a single portion to taste it.

We are VERY adamant in the house about not wasting food. We waste almost nothing. If she were to make something and not like the taste, then she would be stuck between gagging it down or breaking a house rule that we don't waste. And making a single portion of anything is hard because once you cut, peel, open, etc. the food has to be used or go to waste.

I do let her experiment within reason. I think it's best to guide her and let her explore within boundaries... just like we've been doing with every other thing in life since she was born. Not to beat my own drum, but I'm actually a pretty good cook and I do know ahead of time what will and will not work. I've been cooking for nearly 40 years and feel it's appropriate to guide her with my own lessons learned. It certainly doesn't squash her creativity, but it saves us money and food.

ETA: I did, in the above example, explain to her that the acid in the citrus would cook the delicate lox, ruin the smokiness of it and that it would turn to rubber in the fruit salad... so I don't just tell her "no". I do explain why.

 

[karne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velochic If she were to make something and not like the taste, then she would be stuck between gagging it down or breaking a house rule that we don't waste.

Yikes. Seriously?

My dd is an emerging cook and her very picky brother will eat almost anything she cooks! I love it. She does experiment widely, with some good results, and some, ah, interesting results. We don't have issues with food waste because what doesn't work often goes to the chickens, and they aren't picky.

 

[velochic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karne Yikes. Seriously? We don't have issues with food waste because what doesn't work often goes to the chickens, and they aren't picky.

Yeah... well we don't have chickens or any other animal and it can't go into compost. If I let her experiment all she wants, our grocery bill would be twice what it is. This wouldn't be an isolated incident. Plus, at 8, it's just her personality that she would eat something she makes herself and doesn't like rather than to admit that it was not good. She's not a picky eater, but there are things *nobody* would eat.

 

[mtiger]

Well... if she will eat it (regardless of why), then it's not going to waste. Just sayin'.

I've been cooking for more than a few days, myself. Probably about as long as you. And I'd rather take the chance on a lousy result to let my kid(s) learn on their own (mine are a bit older than yours, so I have learned that lessons learned on their own are usually the ones they tend to remember better). Yep, sometimes we toss something ('cause even the dogs won't eat it LOL). Not the preferred choice, but such is life sometimes.

But, at the end of the day... diff'rent strokes. We each do what works for us.

 

[velochic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtiger But, at the end of the day... diff'rent strokes. We each do what works for us.

Yep!