Fun in the Kitchen

I was talking to one of the other mom's at a boy scout meeting one week, and she was telling me about how she's teaching her kids to cook. She lets them pick the meals - they have to be well-rounded and fairly nutritious - and she makes sure they have whatever they need to cook them. Each kid cooks one meal a week. Her kids are about the same age as Ben and Daniel, so I thought we'd give it a try as well.

We started slow - Ben made nachos and Daniel made hamburgers and oven fries. Not the most nutritious, well-rounded meals on the planet, but I wanted to start them out doing something they'd enjoy. We've moved on - Ben has since made Venetian grilled chicken with pasta, and Daniel made spaghetti with meat sauce. They each added a fruit side dish for their second attempt. I finally dropped the hammer and said there would have to be at least one solid vegetable present for each meal that they cook. Ben was the first to rise to the occasion and added steamed broccoli to his grilled chicken with fettuccine Alfredo.

So far, everything has been really tasty, and there have been no real accidents. I've tried to explain the whys of what they are doing, and not just tell them what to do. And I've been surprisingly hands-off (I have this bad habit of taking over their projects.) I help them work out a time-table, explain what they need to do for each dish, demonstrate if necessary, and mostly do whatever they ask me to. I've been very pleased, and hope we will continue this into the new year.

Mark has offered to take over one meal a week as well, but I can't call what he does "Fun in the Kitchen". He's been having Fun on the Back Patio with the Smoker. He got two books for Christmas - one on barbecue in general, and one on rubs and marinades - and he's been burning it up (literally) ever since. He made a really good pork roast yesterday with a spicy rub and a really spicy sauce. It was delicious!

With all this cooking going on, I might be out of a job!!