Cooking Kid

Part of Amiya's math supplementary work this summer is to cook at least two or three times a week. I mentioned earlier how my Mom always had supplementary learning for us in the summer - and I'm just following her lead on this one with cooking. She found a series that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel used to put out for kids to cook in the summer. It was not something we had to pay for, it was not something we had to drive to, and we certainly didn't have to search out exotic ingredients. Simple, healthy recipes that taught kids the basics of measuring and mixing, a bit of food history and a lot of food safety. It was a great introduction to being in the kitchen and I'm grateful my Mom encouraged me to do it.

And so, Amiya is going to spend a lot of time this summer in the kitchen. The good news is she loves it. The bad news is we don't need all the calories - so if you're local, you might just have a treat on your door!

Amiya started by doubling each ingredient in the recipe. I had printed it out with the amount halved, she had to double it to make it work. This was easy for her when the amounts were whole numbers or simple fractions, but doubling up 3/4 took a bit of thought.

Chopping nuts was a bit scary for her, but she would not hear about me helping out. She wanted to do each and every bit of this recipe herself. So, we talked about good knife technique, being calm and keeping fingers up, up, up. She did very well, although afterwards she had to take a few minutes to repose - she said her heart was very nervous.
Cracking eggs was a big deal for her - she has been bugging to do it for a while and I usually say no. But now that we've crossed that bridge, there's no going back.

We talked about measuring liquids v. measuring solids and why we use different tools for each. We talked about what a t. means as opposed to a T. I take so many cooking rules and techniques for granted because I do it all the time - it's an interesting experience to have to explain so much to someone. Cooking is really another language.

Here she's working her biceps and mixing it all together. The end result was a delicious smelling kitchen and a yummy breakfast treat this morning.