Do your children or grandchildren like to cook?

[shannon in KS]

I mentioned in the what's for dinner thread my daughter kicked me out of the kitchen cause she wanted to take over dinner duty! Any stories about kiddos in the kitchen to share?

 

[cartwheelmac]

My Mom said to someone one day "I have been cooking less." "Why?" said the concerned friend. "Because my kids do it for me!" lol!

Cameron

 

[kadesma]

Not much when my kids were small, I was afraid they would get burned or cut them selves so I did most of it..Now with my oldest grandson Cade, I started him out at about 2 helping me make cookies and he now knows the chocolate chip cookie recipe almost by heart..I try to fool him by asking gee, how many eggs or how many chocolate chips, he remembers and will say 2 eggs Ma, or the whole bag Ma.. He uses the beaters, is getting pretty good at measuring the flour..by the time he is 6 I can most likely sit and watch him make the cookie..Next I guess comes letting him bake them too Cade is also along with 18 month old Ethan are learning how to knead bread..They have so much fun the bread dough is a tad gray when they finish, but, who cares, those little hands are precious and the bread is great

kadesma, enjoying cooking school with the boys

 

[corazon]

My avatar 2 year old son likes to help with the baking. He likes to dump the ingredients in the bowl, at the end I'm not exactly sure how much flour or baking soda actually ends up in the bowl and not on the counter but we have a good time doing it.

 

[licia]

Mine like to do some things in the kitchen. I suppose we will get a crash course next week. They will all be at the farm with us, Christy, Elizabeth, Samantha, Owen, Annabelle and Charlie (aka Chachi, but only to himself). He can't say Charlie yet. He will be 2 later this month.

 

[lindatooo]

What a delightful thread! My son was in the kitchen with me when he was in an "infant seat" (remember those plastic things?) and whisked his first eggs at 18 months while standing on a chair. He's loved the kitchen all his life and it's been our bonding place. Today at close to 35 years he is a wonderful cook and we still enjoy our time in the kitchen together! It's a wonderful way to teach reading, math, responsibility and trust!

Hugs to all parents who bring their kiddies into the kitchen!

2

ummmmm could you tell I feel strongly about this?

 

[Andy M.]

My two daughters are adult and not really into cooking.

My eldest called the other day to tell me she is cooking her first Thanksgiving dinner this year. She's nervous but I'm excited for her. I spent this evening with her in a Chinese restaurant telling her how easy it is if you're organized.

I expect a phone call or two through out the process.

 

[Dina]

Oh I love this thread Shannon! Thanks for bringing it up. Now, you'll never hear the end of me. My 11 year old son is a "chef in training" by far. He's been so interested in cooking for a little over 2 years now. Ever since I started watching Foodnetwork channel, my son has been hooked on it too and wanting to try out something new in the kitchen. He admires Emeril and other famous chefs because of their accomplishments and he wants to become a chef and restaurant owner one day. He'll ask to cook dinner with me at least a couple of times a week (depending on how much homework he has). He gets in there and peels shrimp and chops veggies to get dinner started. He impresses me when he uses the culinary terms like sautee and braise. He's a cutie! He knows that the trick to making food taste great is by carmelizing veggies, like onions, to extract all the flavors. His favorite dish that he takes great pride in are the beef and cheese enchiladas that we make from scratch. From browning the beef to carmelizing onions and peeling skin off tomatoes, he takes pride in making the enchilada sauce. He's also a great breakfast chef. He makes the most incredible buttered eggs and tosses some skillet ham, shredded cheeses, and hot sauce over them followed by some french bread toast. To say the least, he bakes some amazing chocolate chip cookies. Mmmm! My little guy is amazing! I'm very proud of him. I'm waiting to see what he'll come up with for the holidays.

Dina

 

[crewsk]

Both of my kids enjoy cooking with me, TC more than Savannah though. They both love helping me mix up a big batch of peanut butter cookies & then sitting around the table rolling the dough into balls. We have some pretty great conversations during this time.

 

[licia]

This thread reminded me of when my kids were growing up. They helped in the kitchen some, but usually with a little coaxing. One thing that was rather surprising: When we would talk and I saw they were troubled about something, nothing brought out the feelings like doing the dishes by hand. We always had a dishwasher, but sometimes even they would say "Mom, we need to do the dishes". I knew then they needed to talk. Many things were discussed that didn't seem approachable sitting across the table.Something about being immerse in suds that brings out the truth in some of us.

 

[amber]

My daughter and I cooked alot together when she was younger. She learned alot by watching and by helping. Now, at age 14, she can make alot of things on her own. Whenever I make something for dinner that she doesnt like, she creates a meal for herself.

 

[urmaniac13]

Cris's daughter Lucilla (just turned 10) is obviously interested. She always enjoys giving her contribution when we are making something in the kitchen. I don't think she gets a lot of opportunity as her mother (who she usually live with) lost interest in cooking and only do bare minimum for their dinners. I like involving her to our kitchen activity, also because she is much less finicky when she helped cooking the food herself, she likes to eat what she worked on.
I remember while I was growing up I was practically "banned" from any kitchen activity, as my mother had this conviction that I would either chop off my finger or blow up the whole kitchen. I taught myself everything from scatch about cooking when I started to live independently. I always wished I could have started much earlier, so I would encourage any children who are interested to participate.

 

[licia]

My grandson, Owen and I made peanut butter chocolate cookies this afternoon (from a mix with chocolate kisses on top). He took most of them home with him. They were good.

 

[aussie girl]

I remember while I was growing up I was practically "banned" from any kitchen activity, as my mother had this conviction that I would either chop off my finger or blow up the whole kitchen. I taught myself everything from scatch about cooking when I started to live independently. I always wished I could have started much earlier, so I would encourage any children who are interested to participate.

This happened with me also urnmaniac. Mum was always shooing me out of the kitchen (even into my late teens) with a terse "Out - you're in the way". Not that the kitchen at home was small in any way, but I think Mum was just 'territorial' so to speak. I cant think of any other explaination.

On the positive side, I think that my own interest in cooking peaked when I became independent also. It was a case of having to learn when I lived solo for a few years, and discovered how much fun it was. The fun hasn't stopped.

 

[licia]

My grandson helped me "pop the beans" last night. My dd used to call it "pinch the beans" and my mom always said "snap the beans". One more generation and I have no idea how we will treat the poor beans.

 

[cartwheelmac]

All of us love to cook (except the 14 month old) and we all look forward to the 4-H food show that pops up in October!

Cameron