Cooking with kids

"The Art of Cooking" has finally begun. I must say that there were a few things that I did not anticipate, but overall I could not be more thrilled with teaching young people and their parents creative ways to cook in the kitchen. 

Most would agree that cooking with your children is a brilliant way to bond with them and teach them pride and respect for food. However, we are all busy, over-worked and stressed. Sometimes it is really hard to come up with creative, healthy and most of all yummy meal options for your family. 

It was in this frustration that I decided to take control of it and start to really put emphasis on teaching my own daughter about cooking, even when she was a baby. I thought to myself, if she learned about cooking techniques, different foods, culture and cuisine and then combined it with her own curiosity and pride, we would have a solution to to our Tuesday night dinner blues. 

Children are naturally curious and can inspire even the most inexperienced cook. They are also very enthusiastic and creative. It is the adults in the world that suppress their natural appetite for creative foods and cooking, by feeding them awful fast food and processed junk. As we grow, we become more and more complacent, so starting young with our children in the kitchen is one of the best ways to keep a family bonded and our children on a life-long track to health and a love of food. 

The cooking class was messy, loud and most of all fun. We made our own kitchen cleaner that they used to clean their work stations. We learned that different knives serve different purposes and then begun our color theory through food. 

The kids made handmade pizzas with the different veggies that we learned to slice with our new knife skills. There was a moment of panic when my own daughter spilled crushed garlic all over her pizza. We got most of it off, but in the end I had to trade her mine for her vampire-repellent pizza. 

After the class, we all sat down to our creations and had a lovely little dinner. I must say, that I love working on campaigns, lobbying Congress and raising money for candidates. Yet, there is no comparison to the pride a child has after they eat what they just made themselves. 

I am happy I have made a decision to switch my career. I even caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, with my scarf wrapped tight around my head to protect the food from my hair and for the first time really saw myself as a culinary artist. Who knows how far I will go, but for now I am just humbled that anyone would trust me to teach their family cooking ideas. 

Cheers!  

One of the great kids learning about mushrooms and different kinds of eggplants as pizza toppings. Yum