Cookbooks for kids
Kids in the kitchen must be in the air. Last week in the New York Times' food section had a two page article on cookbooks for kids. Then as I went through my google alerts today for my monthly newsletter there was the article with a link. I will add it to end of this post.
As you can guess, I believe the best cookbooks for kids are their own family recipes. I do not believe in dummying down recipes for kids or finding recipes for food that they will only eat. As I have said earlier in another post having ownership in the creation of dish can open the boundaries of what kids will try.
When using family recipes you are introducing them to family flavors. Foods can be a link to our heritage. I grew up in a German home and I was working with my mother when I was very young. Anyone need a recipe for Sauerbraten? Or potato pancakes? My sister and I were given age appropriate tasks but were learning without being pushed.We didn't look at cooking as work. We both are now excellent cooks and love to entertain. We are always inviting people to our homes. We have since expanded out palate to flavors of the world and I can see how the old world recipes can be lost, no matter where your old world is.
Kids in the kitchen is a great way to share heritage without even talking about it!
Such ambiguities of purpose have hovered around children’s cookbooks
since their 19th-century beginnings. Books that play to children’s
cravings compromise ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/dining/14books.html
As you can guess, I believe the best cookbooks for kids are their own family recipes. I do not believe in dummying down recipes for kids or finding recipes for food that they will only eat. As I have said earlier in another post having ownership in the creation of dish can open the boundaries of what kids will try.
When using family recipes you are introducing them to family flavors. Foods can be a link to our heritage. I grew up in a German home and I was working with my mother when I was very young. Anyone need a recipe for Sauerbraten? Or potato pancakes? My sister and I were given age appropriate tasks but were learning without being pushed.We didn't look at cooking as work. We both are now excellent cooks and love to entertain. We are always inviting people to our homes. We have since expanded out palate to flavors of the world and I can see how the old world recipes can be lost, no matter where your old world is.
Kids in the kitchen is a great way to share heritage without even talking about it!
Such ambiguities of purpose have hovered around children’s cookbooks
since their 19th-century beginnings. Books that play to children’s
cravings compromise ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/dining/14books.html
Some family favorites are only made once a year and the ones that have the most danger of being lost. By having kids help in the kitchen they become part of the process and may even insist that the favorite is made each year, even if you might not to make.
Don't you often say this is something I made with my mother or my grandmother. Now with technology not only are you able to create a lasting memory but one with technology. Taking pictures of your kids while cooking and of the finished project as well are ways to help them remember the importance and love of a special dish.
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Paulette, your comment on how many times have those words been repeated ring so true in my home! It was because of those very words that the cookbook I created for my two sons was full of recipes which are the original recipes of our family. In that cookbook there were also pictures of the boys helping make those dishes, desserts, etc. I am so grateful for having taken those photos back then. Who knew that some 25 years later I would even "think" of making a cookbook, let alone "doing it", and then have some old photos to include in such a book! Yes, there were a few recipes (and I do mean a few!) that they requested be cut down in prep time or made with less sugar, fat, etc., and for those, I was able to do that for them. What I ended up doing with those was just making a note on the original recipe to see another section made in the cookbook. I made another section and titled it "Traditional Options", and in that section, placed those recipes which were amended, brought up-to-date, where time constraints were addressed, fats, sugars, and such. It was a very welcomed section. As my eldest son said, "This way, Mom, if I want to make the recipe like you and Nonna always made it, I can make it and have it taste and turn out just like you would always make it. Then, if we have unexpected company and need a quick, traditional meal, or if we want to make a certain dish and cut down calories or whatever, we can do that, too." His comments were welcomed comments and were words kept in mind when I started the second cookbook for them. I now keep a little notebook whereby I record their comments. This way, while making other cookbooks, I can refer back to those comments and incorporate them into the creation of those subsequent cookbooks.
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