Teaching Teens & Tweens How to Rock It Out in the Kitchen
A few things you'll need to whip up your own taco seasoning
You love tacos. I love tacos. Heck everyone loves tacos. But if you want to make them yummy, it’s time to leave that junky stuff with all of those preservatives in the little packet at the grocery store and make your own. It’s so super easy, and I’m willing to bet you’ve already got all of the ingredients you need in your cupboards at home. And stay tuned…next week we’re making tacos!
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Girlfriend totally knows how to work at the stove...safely. Go Em!
Cheesy goodness, working at the stove, being the master of the skillet. What’s not to love about making your own quesadillas? Nothing! Get permission before using the stove, then carefully and awesomely get started! Happy Monday!
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Salsa!
Last week you learned about different types of knives. This week, you’re actually going to use them! With adult supervision of course! Watch the video, round up your grown-up, and get yourself started with a little salsa madness this week. Ole!
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Get your peelers ready!
It may seem a little strange posting a soup recipe in April, but where I am…today it’s chilly out there! My family goes crazy for this soup almost any time of year, especially when someone has their braces adjusted and needs to avoid crunchy things for a few days.
Leeks are a member of the onion family but have a much milder taste. Be careful though – they grow in very sandy soil and are famous for having tons of dirt and sand stuck in their layers. Be sure to wash these guys really, really well before you use them so that you don’t end up with sand soup.
Serves 4
Cut the dark green leafy part of the leeks off (light green is ok) and discard. Cut the root of the leek off the end. Now, cut the leek in half lengthwise (longways). Keeping the leeks as together as you can, hold each leek under cold running water to wash out the dirt and grit. Once clean, slice the leeks crossways into small pieces.
Place the soup pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the butter to the pot and let it melt. This should take a minute or two. Add the leeks to the pot and stir to coat in the butter. Stirring every minute or two, let the leeks cook for 10 minutes, or until they’re soft but not brown.
While the leeks are cooking, peel your potatoes with a vegetable peeler. Throw away or compost the potato peels. Cut the potatoes into 1” to 2” pieces. (Hint: The smaller your potato pieces, the less time they will take to cook.)
Add the potatoes to the leeks. Pour in the chicken broth to cover the potatoes. Bring the chicken broth up to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to low. Cover and let cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove soup pot from the hot burner (CAUTION: HOT STUFF!). Remove the top from the blender and ladle in the potato soup mixture until the container is about ½ full (you’ll need to do this in two batches). IMPORTANT: Remove the center piece from the blender lid. This will help to prevent the hot soup from exploding out of the blender due to a build-up of steam. Cover the hole with a dishtowel folded over 4 times and carefully hold it in place while blending.
Blend the soup on medium speed until smooth. Pour the blended soup into the large bowl.
Ladle the remaining un-blended potato mixture into the blender and repeat the blending process with the rest of the soup.
Return all of the soup to the soup pot. Add your milk, half and half, or heavy cream and stir well. Season with salt and pepper until it tastes the way you like it. Serve in mugs or bowls.
Knife work (potatoes, leeks) _________________
Stove work (sautéing leeks, simmering soup) _________________
Blender use (pureeing soup) _________________
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Chef's knives, boning knives, paring knives...you've got 'em!
Knives. You want them, and your parents probably want to keep them as far away as possible. But knife skills are the first real kitchen skill that any good cook needs. We’re not making the recommendation that every 8 year-old be handed an 8” chef’s knife. Not at all! Responsible teens & tweens though, and there are oodles of them, are ready to start using a knife properly, once your grown-up in charge gives permission–very, very important. And just to clarify, no knives without permission from your grown-up. Got it?
The younger you are, the smaller (and less sharp) your knife should be. For our audience, we recommend starting with a 3” paring knife, under adult supervision. Gradually, the confidence builds, so can the size of the knife, eventually leading to the use of an 8” chef’s knife, with parental permission of course!
“The Big Three” include a paring knife, an 8” chef’s knife, and a serrated bread knife. A paring knife lets you feel the power of using more than just a butter knife, but gives an adult confidence that no fingers will be lost on the way to great salsa.
And while we’re at it, a tiny, little cutting board is never the right tool for the job. If you’re going to use a knife, you’ve got to have room to cut. My favorite cutting board is a large, 18” x 24” durable plastic board. Forget that glass cutting board mom has. It’s most likely too small, too hard, and will do nothing but dull your knife.
So talk to your folks, start small, start s-l-o-w-l-y, and come back this week and next for all sorts of good tips on how to hold your knife and cut right. In the meantime, take a look at this video so that you know which knife is which. And remember, get permission and be safe out there!!
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Meet Brendan...he's making Tex-Mex Chicken Enchiladas Suiza
Brendan has everything we look for in a young cook. He pays attention, uses excellent manners, and loves to chop, stir, and especially work at the stove. No matter how silly he gets (and woo boy, can he get SILLY!), he’s thoughtful and a terrific kid to have in our kitchen at The Kitchen Studio Cooking School.
Brendan’s family just had baby goats born on their farm, and we’re looking forward to hearing if Brendan learns how to milk the goats himself and whip up a little chevre (that’s soft, creamy goat cheese).
We’ll tell you what Brendan; just let us know when you’re ready to open and we’ll be there, knife and fork ready to go.
Congratulations Brendan! You’re an awesome guy, and awesome cook, and a great kid to cook with in the kitchen!
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Cooking makes you happy!
Wouldn’t it be nice to come home after a long day, sit back, relax, then eat a wonderful dinner someone else has prepared? It’s not as difficult as you think. The key? Teaching your kids to cook, even when they’re young.
You’ve got a lot going on – absolutely. But the benefits of teaching your kids to cook, even when they’re as young as three or four, only multiply over the years. Think of it as an investment in your future meals. By giving kids the skills they need to eventually prepare a meal on their own, you’re giving them so much more than just food. You’re giving them:
That feeling you get when you accomplish a task is the exact same feeling kids get – pride. Open the door a little bit and show them how to measure, how to whip and whisk, how to stir, one job at a time. When you cook, allow them to take one task and do it well, whether it’s peeling carrots with a vegetable peeler, rinsing lettuce and pulling it through a salad spinner, or measuring each of the ingredients for a baking recipe. Begin by demonstrating the correct way to go about the task, then allowing the child to take it on – by himself. Doing a task well will help build your child’s confidence, something that can go a long way at the end of a tough day.
Don’t feel like you have the time to really let your kids help? That’s ok – choose one time during the week (after-school, a Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning…) that will be your special cooking time together. By designating a special time, you can prepare for your extra help and give the little guys something to look forward to. You can even note it on your calendar with a special chef’s hat sticker or drawing if you like to give your child a visual clue.
Kids of all ages are always shocked when I ask them to do math in a cooking class. The older the kids, the trickier the math. By relating math to something tasty, like cupcakes, or Ranch dressing, you’re giving math skills a positive connotation, and building on essential skills for school, and truthfully, life.
Giving a child the confidence and the skills needed to cook also provides a taste of independence. My own daughter is fearless in the kitchen at 13, and never hesitates to whip up one of her creations to share. She loves the power of making her own decisions, and mistakes, knowing that ultimately, what she’ll get is something to eat. Something new, and maybe something not so great, but that’s how she learns. She feels powerful, and in middle school, I’ll totally take that!
We’ve got our own rules (no using the oven or stove without permission, what size knife she’s allowed to use, general food safety etc.), and you should have yours too. Be sure that your rules are appropriate for your child’s age and skill level, and be on hand to help if needed. With success comes the ability to grow and to expand or change your rules if needed.
Don’t be afraid to buy a cookbook tailored just to your child’s age and to let him or her really take a good look through it. The younger the child is, the more photos the book should have, giving the child visual clues as to the end result. If your child can make something that looks like a photo from a book, well, that’s a boost right there, isn’t it?
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Not your usual supermodel bananas, but these babies are so ready to make some fantastic banana bread
There always seem to be plenty of brown bananas lying around my house and this recipe is the perfect way to use them. Not only will you have a yummy snack and tasty breakfast the next day (if your family can resist eating it all), but your house will smell awesome!
Serves 8
Preheat your oven to 350°. Spray your loaf pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
Peel your bananas and place into the mixing bowl. Using the pastry blender (or a fork), mash the bananas until there are very few lumps and they look gooey. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla to the bananas, using the rubber spatula to stir well to combine.
Add the flour, followed by the baking soda, and salt. Use the rubber spatula to stir until just combined with no lumps of flour remaining. Be careful here, because you don’t want to over-mix it either. That will make your banana bread tough.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place on the middle shelf in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour or until cooked through.
Remove pan from oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 10 minutes; remove loaf from pan. Let the loaf cool the rest of the way, or dive right in and eat a piece while it’s warm. Just be sure to share!
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Brown Sugar Banana Bread
You know you’ve got some brown bananas in your kitchen right now, so go ahead and bake yourself some banana bread! Easy AND tasty. Recipe posts on Tuesday!
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Our man Vlad, getting his cleaning on
Meet Vlad, Gotta Break Some Eggs Cooking Star of the Week! Simply put, Vlad is awesome. Vlad loves to cook for his family and friends, plus rumor has it that his spicy spaghetti is amazing. Vlad hails from Russia and loves traditional Russian dumplings like vareniki ( dumplings with cherries inside) and pelmeni (dumplings with meat).
One of our favorite things about Vlad is the super smart questions that he asks about cooking. He wants to know why food cooks the way it does, then give the new info a whirl at the stove. He’s patient and thoughtful and always waits to take his turn. He helps to clean-up after every class too, which shows us that he’s a big part of the team. And seriously, who else do you know that can rock the stick-on-mustache-unibrow? Congratulations Vlad, and let us know what you’re cooking!
Vlad and his sister Sousanna gathering their mise en place
Look at him rock that mustache unibrow!
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