Kitchen Kids 2

Grainews

January 2021. When my Millennial kids were young, on the last Friday of each month I showed up at school early, having first made a trip to the recycling centre to return our household’s flotsam. “Noon dismal,” my kids called it, that early discharge. We made it into a family ritual by going out for Vietnamese pho, the modest cost usually covered by what I had pocketed at the recycling centre. I figured it was a good lesson in the tangible upside of recycling, but it also gave my boys an early and lasting fondness for food from another culture.

Eating out was a rarity in our household, reflective of my job as a chef, and of the era: a recent study reported by Dalhousie University shows that 64 percent of Millennials ate home-cooked meals while growing up, down considerably from the 94 percent attributed to those born before 1946, but more than Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012), 55 percent of whom were raised on home-cooked meals.

Since the pandemic, 60 percent of Canadians regularly cook at home, which anyone in charge of their family’s weekly shopping trip is aware of – shelves bare of flour and yeast, denuded fruit and vegetable bins in grocery stores attest to our hands-on habits of late. Home cooking is enjoying the biggest surge in decades, with even Millennials and Gen Z adults swerving from their habits of buying meal kits and pickup/takeout to wielding a knife from time to time. So, parents, the question becomes this – how to involve the kids in caring about food?

Empowering your child to make good choices by talking about food – who grows it, how it fuels the body, the differences between healthy and junk food – will help them learn to make better choices in self-care. Start by instilling exercise as a habit. Appetites will bloom. Beyond that, here’s how you can approach the subject. Keep it Simple, Sweetie: KISS.

KEEP IT SIMPLE.

* New ways to present old favourites can open new possibilities. Not too weird, and the ingredients should be recognizable. Or not: you can always hide less-than-favourite foods in other dishes. For instance, add grated zucchini to a frittata or crispy fried fritters.

Buy raw foods rather than packages, whole fruit rather than cans or processed junk foods. If it’s in the house, it will get eaten, so simply minimize temptations and avoid lecturing. But if you don’t have something – potato chips, say – in the house, you and your child will eat fewer potato chips and you won’t have an argument about what to eat at snack time.

INVESTIGATE OTHER CUISINES.

* When it is again safe to dine out, take your children to restaurants for different flavours and textural exposure. Be curious. Cook unfamiliar foods. Kids won’t eat adventurously if parents don’t. Visit ethnic markets and the library. Look online to figure out how to make things like salad rolls, then do it together. Come spring, take your kids to the garden or help them seed herbs and carrots in pots.

STRENGTHEN SKILLS.

Until it is safe to attend cooking classes, there are many online lessons. Watch Jacques Pépin make two types of omelettes on YouTube, for instance, then go to the kitchen and copy him.

SAME SAME.

What you eat is what your kids eat. Do not cook down to kids or cook a “kids’ meal.” Do not buy into “I don’t like it because it is green/white/purple.” Insist that everyone try everything once or maybe twice. Our house rule was always that you couldn’t form an opinion if you hadn’t tried at least a few bites. So first we eat, and then we debate the merits of  live versus virtual cooking classes.

Salad Rolls with Dip

Everyone loves noodles. These are fat-free and tenderly delicious. Makes about 12 rolls

Hoisin, peanut or oyster sauce dip:

¼ cup hoisin sauce, oyster sauce or peanut butter         

2-3 Tbsp. lemon juice                                                          

1 Tbsp. minced cilantro                                           

1 Tbsp. garlic, pureed                                                          

1 Tbsp. ginger root, pureed                                    

½ tsp. hot chili paste                                                           

soy sauce or salt to taste

½ cup water                                                                                                 

Salad rolls:

1 lb. cooked chicken, BBQ duck or pork, finely sliced

1 bunch cilantro, minced or whole leaves

2 cups cooked fine-textured vermicelli-shape noodles (rice, bean thread or wheat)

2 tbsp. pureed garlic

2 tbsp. pureed ginger

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1 package rice paper sheets in dried rounds

warm water for soaking the sheets

To make the dip, combine its ingredients and adjust to taste.

For the rolls, combine the pork, cilantro, noodles and seasonings in a bowl. Mix well.

One sheet at a time, immerse the rice sheets in a bowl of warm water. When pliable, lay flat on a smooth-textured kitchen towel.

Place the filling on the lower third of the sheet. Tuck in the edges and roll up. Repeat until all filling is used up. Serve cold with a dip.

Kitchen Kids 1

Grainews

January 2021. The knife was small, with a curved tip and serrated blade. As knives go, it looked safe. But that didn’t prevent my anxiety the first time I put it into my child’s hand. He was four, and stood on a sturdy chair. He used that knife to saw up carrots and celery, spuds, an apple. Then, his mouth full of apple slices, he grinned like he’d won a medal. That was thirty-one years ago. That boy now towers over me, and in his hands, knives dance the fandango.

My parenting philosophy has always been that everyone needs to be self-reliant, which includes being able to swim and feed themselves. So we were regulars at the pool, and I taught my kids to cook. Truth is, my approach to kids cooking might seem draconian. “A knife?” some ask, aghast. “You let your four-year-old use a sharp knife?” Yes, of course. We learn by doing. Just make the experience as fun and safe as you can.

The element of fun is crucial. So is patience, and letting go of expectations. In a child’s exploratory hands, a dish will be reinvented. This is a child, with no experience or basis for comparisons. Be kind. And forget about what you have witnessed on TV cooking shows.

But beyond learning how to use that knife, culinary literacy begins with conversation, then shopping and putting away what they helped buy. Kids eat what they have had a hand in selecting.

When you decide it’s time for your kids to join your home’s kitchen brigade, plan ahead. For the first forays, pick days free of other plans. Ask your child to choose a recipe they would like to try, one new dish at a time. Little ones can smash and peel garlic, wash greens, grate cheese, core apples, peel carrots and spuds, slice vegetables, stir liquids and whisk with vigour. Older kids can start with scrambled eggs, vinaigrette, salad, French toast, quesadillas, stir fries, soup, stew, muffins.

Screen the recipe for suitability. It’s unreasonable to attempt a 4-star dish before your kid can slice carrots. Write a list of missing ingredients, together, then take your kid shopping if that’s feasible, or make sure the ingredients are available for the chosen day.

Make sure your kitchen is ready to use, pots and counters clean. Clear the counter. Young cooks spread out over every available inch. Remind them that “M is for Mother, not Maid,” and teach them to clean up after themselves in the kitchen.

Set house rules for stove, oven and microwave use. Make sure your child knows how to turn everything on and off. Go over safety rules, including hand-washing hygiene. Model best practices by using the right tool for the job.

Expect the process to take much longer than you want it to. Children move slowly, especially when doing something new or unfamiliar. Don’t pressure your child to rush. If there is a deadline, choose another day.

Assign one job at a time. Resist the temptation to take over. Your child will learn more by doing than watching. Bite your tongue. Do not issue a barrage of directions.

Don’t visibly flinch when your child picks up a knife. Make sure the knives are sharp; dull knives, requiring more force to do the job, are much more dangerous. Give children under nine a small serrated knife, preferably with a curved tip.

Be patient. Voice your appreciation for the child’s willingness, work ethic and results.

Then eat and wash up together. Ask your child what they think of the finished dish, and discuss what could be different the next time. Ask them, “What next?” and make a date. First you eat, then you do it all over again. Eating is mandatory: cooking should be too.

Chicken, Lemon & Wild Rice Soup

This Maurice Sendak-inspired soup is a happy blend of a Greek classic with Canadian ingredients, and makes a delicious soup that can be endlessly tweaked depending on the ingredients on hand. Serves 4-6

2 Tbsp. olive oil                                            

2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger root                

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, minced                                            

1/2 cup white wine, optional

1 cup minced fresh green beans, cabbage or carrots                              

1/2 cup cooked white beans                                  

1/2 cup cooked basmati or wild rice         

2 cups diced cooked chicken          

4 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock                              

2 lemons, juice and zest                              

4 Tbsp. minced parsley

salt and hot chili flakes to taste

In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil and sauté the ginger, garlic and onion until tender, adding small amounts of water as needed to prevent browning. Add the wine, bring to the boil, then stir in the raw vegetables, cooked beans, rice, chicken and stock. Cover, bring to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until tender. Add the lemon juice, zest, and parsley. Add salt and hot chili flakes, and more lemon juice if needed to balance the soup.