Preschoolers Serve Up Some Pleasant Surprises
Mollie Katzen is a cookbook author and illustrator, and public speaker on the topic of linking food choices to health.
Here’s a sentence for you to finish:
“When children are allowed into the kitchen….”
If your answer touches on some variation of all hell breaking loose, you are about to discover that a) you are wrong (a good thing here!) and b) you are not alone. Most adults assume that chaos will rule – and spaghetti sauce splatters will become your new wallpaper — when kids jump into a cooking project. And while it’s true there might be a few spills, most children (and I’m talking really little ones here, ages 3 through 6) respond to a cooking invitation with surprising good will and a sense of respect. They are so honored to be included in this adult realm, and most will want to do their very best in every way.
There is so much a small child has to gain from cooking. And by “cooking,” I mean everything from plucking basil leaves from their stems to make pesto, washing a zucchini with a little soft brush in a bowl of water, buttering bread, whisking pancake batter, spreading beans and sprinkling cheese onto a tortilla, or pouring milk into a bowl from a spouted measuring cup. He learns to count, observe, anticipate, describe. She sees science in action, and gets clues about other cultures while honing her own senses. Pride of accomplishment and the ability to reach out to others with an edible offering combine into what might be the most significant factor of all. If you are lucky enough to remember the first time you made something for another person to enjoy eating or drinking, and if that first time was early in your life (or even if later), you will recognize that feeling I am trying to convey – it’s a thrilling sense of effectiveness in loving outreach — something little kids rarely get to experience. And it stays with you as a point of referral and confidence for the rest of your life. (For me, it was when I was seven, and I figured out that it would make my parents very happy to have their coffee waiting for them, freshly brewed, first thing in the morning. So I learned how, and I started making their coffee every Saturday morning. I was so proud, here I am still writing about it!)
When cooking with small children, it’s important that you be present in the kitchen the entire time as a gentle guide for the project. Get everything set up ahead of time – ideally on their level (a child-sized table) so they won’t have to climb and possibly teeter upon high stools. Keep sharp knives out of reach, and be sure that other sharp blades, such as those in a blender or food processor, are “adult touch only.” If you are cooking with heat (an electric skillet on the table, for example), discuss that fact ahead of time, and set out some safety rules – most importantly, that only an adult has any dealings with an oven. Anticipate spills by using larger-than-normal bowls and placing trays under mixing stations, and have a plentiful supply of plush towels handy. Keep a sense of humor, and relegate kid-cooking projects to weekends, on days when there is no clock ticking – either for getting to the next activity or for getting an actual meal on the table. Don’t cook together when frazzled or hungry – just do it for fun. If it ends up becoming a little meal in the process, consider that a bonus.
Here are some simple projects you can do with a preschooler:
• Make cinnamon toast. Toast slices of bread while you combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and let your youngster stir them together until “all one color.” Butter the bread together, and the mini-chef can sprinkle away.
• Decorate bagels. Show your small child how to spread softened cream cheese on half a bagel, and have handy small bowls of assorted cut vegetables and olives – and maybe also some micro-greens or sprouts. After the cream cheese application (let it take a good, long time; this is a more complicated task for a 4 year-old than it is for you), it’s time to decorate the coated bagel with colorful vegetable bits. Kids can make a face or an abstract design. And in the process, they will likely start munching the vegetables – largely because they want to clear the “slate” and make a new decoration. Sneaky? Maybe a touch, but it’s fun and oh-so-wholesome — and it really works. A great idea for a birthday party, and the bagels can double as lunch with a cup of soup.
• As I mentioned above, small children enjoy stripping the leaves from stalks of fresh basil to “help” you make pesto-from-scratch. Just be sure they discard the stems and put the leaves into the food processor – and not the other way around. (They often toss the leaves and save the stems. Funny, but a pain to comb through the compost….)
• You can make a simple popover batter together, allowing your small child (if you are game) to break the eggs. Let them do this into a pie pan, and tell them to whack each one harder than they might expect. (They tend to crack eggs more gingerly than you might expect.) The pie pan allows for a nice, horizontal inside-of-egg landing area, so none of this essential ingredient escapes. Have damp paper towels handy, as – surprisingly – most small kids do not like having sticky hands.
The rest of the popover batter is equally easy to execute, from measuring the flour and milk, dumping/pouring the same into a large bowl, and whisking the thin, supple batter. A child’s small arm can handle this – with great joy! The hardest part is waiting for the popovers to bake, but the kids are very proud of themselves when they accomplish this feat. (Just check out the look on the faces of Julius and his pal!) We call this “patience skills.” It is a tremendous source of pride – almost as much as the finished, yummy product!
Chef Julius and friends.
A heartwarming capture of Chef Julius and two friends, seated and enjoying the food they've prepared together. Photo credit: Amber Star.
• Miso-Almond Dip is healthy and delicious. Blending almonds and miso together with apple juice is a lot of fun for children, and they love poking all kinds of vegetables (raw and/or cooked) into the resulting, delicious dip. Prepare to have more vegetables consumed this way than you might ever have imagined! (Exhibits B and C: Happy Julius, munching away with two adult friends!) If this ends up being so filling that your child won’t have tummy room for lunch, will you mind? I doubt it. 
First published February 2014
Popovers
The Critics Rave:
“They’re fat and puffy.” -LEE
“Yummy in my tummy! So good, I may eat it all up! That’s how good it is.” – SARA
“This is so good, I’m going to invite you to my next birthday, but I’m not done eating it yet.” -JESSICA
“When you put them in the oven, they grow up.” – SAMMY
- Servings 1 dozen
Ingredients
- About 30 ml *(2 tablespoons) butter
- 120 grams (1 cup) flour
- 2 eggs
- 1.3 ml (¼ teaspoon) salt
- 237 ml (1 cup) milk
- Extra butter, jam, or maple syrup for the popovers
Cooking Hints and Safety Tips
• The amount of butter is approximate. Let your child cut three pats of butter while you count (or vice versa). Melting it in the microwave is fast and easy. Children love to “paint” the muffin cups with melted butter and may linger over this task for a long time.
• A simple way for young kid to crack eggs is to break them on the bottom of a big bowl and let the egg run out into the bowl. It’s easier to get shells out of the egg than to get egg off the table.
• An easy way to level off flour is to use a ruler. Kids love doing this.
• To help your child measure the milk, place a 237 ml (1 cup) measure in a pie pan. Put the milk in a small pitcher and let your youngster pour it into the cup. Any spill will be contained in the pie pan.
• Use a bowl that is big enough for enthusiastic mixing. You can help by holding it steady.
• Putting anything in or taking anything out of an oven is an adult job!
• When the popovers are ready to be pricked with a fork, have your child wear an oven mitt to protect from the hot steam that may escape.
*Metric conversions by The Cook’s Cook
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F), and melt butter.
2. Brush the insides of 12 muffin cups with melted butter.
3. Break egg into the mixing bowl.
4. Add milk and beat well.
5. Add flour and salt and whisk until reasonably well blended — it doesn’t have to be perfect.
6. Use a 59 ml (¼ cup) measure with a handle to pour batter into each muffin cup. They should be one-half to two-thirds full.
7. Bake 30 minutes without opening the oven.
8. Remove muffin from the pan and prick with a fork to let the steam escape. Spread with butter and/or jam, and eat! (They all taste great dipped in maple syrup. They’re not bad plain, either.)
To the Grown-ups:
The only difficult thing for small children about making popover is waiting for them to come out of the oven. The batter is simple and light — easy for small arms to stir. Once in the oven, this wimpy-looking batter gets transformed into puffy little breads. Children are amazed by this magic! This is chemistry at its most enjoyable. They’ll want to make these again and again.
Tools: Dinner knife for slicing butter; pan or bowl for melting butter; pastry brush; muffin pan (1 dozen capacity); 237 ml (l-cup) measure; ruler; small pitcher; pie pan; mixing bowl; measuring spoons; whisk; 59 ml (1/4-cup) measure with a handle; timer; the smallest oven mitt you can find; fork; plates.
Miso-Almond Dipping Sauce
The Critics Rave:
The snow pea is a good scooper. –ELLA
Did you know that grasshoppers like snow peas? –CHARLEY
Be careful because this might be too yummy for me to eat! –THEO
I can’t wait! –SASCIA
- Servings 3 to 4 servings
Ingredients
- 113 grams (1 cup/¼ pound) slivered almonds, lightly toasted
- 4 shakes salt
- 15 to 30 (1 to 2 tablespoons) canola, peanut, or soy oil
- 45 ml (3 tablespoons) shiro miso (or a similar light variety)
- 90 ml (6 tablespoons) warm apple juice
- Vegetables for dipping or crackers for spreading
Cooking Hint and Safety Tip:
• If you prefer to make this recipe with commercially prepared almond butter, use 90 ml (6 tablespoons); if it’s salted, omit the salt from the recipe
• Use a salt shaker that is neither to fast nor too slow.
• Kids can push the buttons on the blender. (It’s easiest for them to use their thumbs.) However, removing the almond butter from the blender is an adult-only job. It must be made very clear that children should never touch the blade.
• Mixing this thick sauce is challenging for small children. Tell them to mix it by pushing it: “Mash down into the bowl.”
Children’s Tools: Dry measuring cup; blender; salt shaker; measuring spoons; medium-sized bowl; soup spoon for mashing.
Preparation
1. Place the almonds in a blender with the salt and 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of the oil.
2. Blend to make a smooth paste, adding another 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of oil if necessary.
3. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl.
4. Add the miso and half the apple juice. Mash and stir until uniform.
5. Mix in the remaining apple juice. Serve at room temperature, with vegetables for dipping or spread on crackers.
6. Eat!
To the Grown-ups:
Children love this deeply flavored high-protein snack. They will enthusiastically scoop it up with carrots, celery, raw green beans, bell peppers, or snow peas—and will just as happily spread it on crackers.
Miso is a salty paste made from fermented soybean and grains. You can find many different varieties of miso in natural-food groceries and Asian markets (and in some regular supermarkets). For this recipe, use a variety that is mild in flavor, such as shiro, mellow white, or any miso that is very light in color.
When I first served this dip, already prepared, to a group of preschoolers, they recoiled from it, noting its brown color and suspicious, ambiguous identity (not their words). Then, a few days later, I brought in the assembled ingredients, including the almonds and a blender to make our own almond butter, and this time the experience was completely different! Tasting one component at a time, the same children were enthralled with every step and each ingredient, discussing their impressions throughout the process. It was a real food literacy lesson! They loved the homemade almond butter so much that we had to make a second batch, because they consumed the entire first batch before we could get started on the bigger recipe.
Mollie Katzen
Mollie Katzen, with over six million books in print, is an inductee of the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame. Best known as the author-illustrator of the vegetarian classics Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, Ms. Katzen’s other books include the best-selling children’s trilogy Pretend Soup, Honest Pretzels, and Salad People. Ms. Katzen has co-authored Eat, Drink, & Weigh Less with Walter Willett, MD and is the author of The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2013).
Photo credit: Lisa Keating
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