In my last post I talked about cooking with young children and the many things that they can learn while cooking. There are many other benefits as well. The time that the children spend cooking with their parents makes wonderful memories that they will carry with them forever. The sense of accomplishment that the children have when their food is eaten and enjoyed is a joy to behold. Children will try a food more readily if they help to prepare it with someone. I have a preschool teacher who often cooks with her three year old group. Since she likes to try new things, the children have made tofu and broccoli, purple fingerling potatoes, plantains, eggplant, and beef stroganof. Most of the children not only tried everything that they had made, but they also ate a great deal. The tofu and broccoli was a special favorite.
People often ask what kind of recipes they can make with children. There are no limits except for those imposed by the age and attention of your child and your comfort zone. Even very young children can wash vegetables, cut fruit and vegetables with a table knife, tear letttuce or bread, fill measuring cups, dump and mix ingredients, and break eggs. (Yes, I know, but the children love to break eggs more than almost anything else so we might as well live dangerously. Besides, kitchens wash!). The important thing is to cook real food. There are a number of "recipes" intended for children that involve sticking candy on some kind of cookie or cake and pretending that it is something. Children need to cook real food that can be eaten and enjoyed, that has nutritional value, and that is challenging.
This is where I have to make a confession. Many people are not aware of it, but I have an addiction. It has been with me for a long time, and I cannot seem to beat it. I know that there are many recipes available for free on the internet, but I am a cookbook junkie. I love cookbooks. Even though I know that I don't need one, I keep finding a new one that I feel I must have. When I pass the cookbook section of a bookstore my footsteps slow, my eyes glaze over, and my fingers twitch towards the row of books. I don't just read the reicpes - I study all of the pictures while my fingers caress the binding. My newest cookbook is From a Monastary Kitchen by Victor-Antoine D'Avila-Latourrette. Brother Victor, who writes about simple food that features seasonal produce, wrote this book at a monastary in Cold Spring which is near my hometown. I first saw when I was buying bread at the Abbey of the Genesee and had to try it.
Because of my cookbook addiction, combined with my years of cooking with children, I have had the opportunity to read many cookbooks that are written for children. Some of my favorites are:
*The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen
*There's a Chef in My Soup by Emeril Lagasse
*There's a Chef in My Family by Emeril Lagasse
*There's a Chef in My World by Emeril Lagasse
*Blue Moon Soup by Gary Goss and Jane Dyer
*Disney's Family Cookbook by Deanna F. Cook
*Peter Rabbit's Natural Foods Cookbook by Arnold Dobrin
There are many more cookbooks, as well as those intended for adults that have wonderful recipes that you can enjoy together and that will work well at home, at a preschool,or at a child care center. I realize that it takes money to build a collection. I have seen people use their cell phone cameras to take a picture of recipes when they see one in a book or magazine that they would like to try, but that seems very underhanded. Most libraries now belong to a network of libraries, which means that you can borrow from any of the libraries in the network. Join your local library and you can find almost any book on the network. (Note to self: write about why children love the library and why their parents should, too!). If you should find a book that you really like and want to own, check on one of the book sites like Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Most of them partner with used book sellers and copies in very good condition can be found for very good prices.
Happy cooking!
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