Cooking Class

Tracy / February 12, 2011

Timothy (8) has an interest in cooking.

Not just any interest, but I think if it’s possible, he could be a budding “foodie”, even at his young age.

He’s had this fascination since he was about 3…always right under me while I’m cooking…always asking questions. It’s not at all uncommon to walk into the family room on a morning when most children would be watching cartoons, to see him tuned into a cooking show on PBS.

This last year, I’ve taken the time to pray over how to nurture this love of his.

I think I’ve come up with a plan….if you have further suggestions, I would love to hear them!

I decided to start with one of my favorite cookbooks:

(and sadly, one that I’ve not used for very many recipes!).

At first, I thought I would take a chapter at a time and allow him to cook every recipe from the book- in the end it will be over 400 of them. I realized quickly that this would mean probably months of yeast breads, months of breakfast foods, and worst yet, months of straight fried breads.

Instead, we’re just going through and choosing recipes appropriate for meals we’re already serving.

We’re going to try and journal our way through the book…I’ve been making little notes in the margins of my cookbook. I’m transferring them here for anyone who is just curious. 😉

Here’s where we’ve landed so far:

1-22-11 Crunchy Cornmeal Waffles, page 15

Mom was visiting today– I wonder what she thinks of participating in this little experiment with us??

I made these with Timothy and Jessica and served them with fresh pineapple (YUMMY!). I was NOT personally fond of these waffles. Maybe I just don’t have a preference for crunchy “cornmeal” waffles? I do like regular waffles (even crispy). I didn’t like the grit of cornmeal in waffles, nor the flavor.

Maybe the next recipe will be better…I don’t think this is a good start.

1-22-11 Chocolate Steamed Pudding, page 102

Made with Timothy. We didn’t have the equipment mentioned specifically in the book but they encouraged you to be creative and we found a suitable work-around with our Pampered Chef mixing bowl.

This recipe had a rich, chocolate batter.

It should have been cooked a little longer, but it was delicious and something different! It was fun to try. Maybe next time, we’ll make it over a campfire!

2-5-11 Zephyr Pancakes, page 4

Cooked these with Timothy and Jessa his morning. They were wonderful and the description was perfect, they really did almost melt in your mouth!

2-7-11 Corn Fritters, pg 52

Mixed these up with Timothy and Jessica. They are learning basic skills- especially with finding ingredients and measuring. I wasn’t comfortable with Timothy frying these.

I did add 2T of sugar to the batter, which we really liked.

I also doubled the recipe (which I generally do for our family when using any recipe), but one would have definitely been enough. These were *VERY GOOD*.

2-9-11 Blueberry Buckle, pg. 132

Courtney made this recipe with Jessica and Timothy.

It was absolutely delicious, and perhaps my favorite from the book to date!

Courtney did say this recipe had to bake a little longer than specified in the book.

—————-

Jessica, hearing what we were working on, asked if she might join as well, so it’s the three of us on a kitchen adventure!

We, by the way, are reading the book cover-to-cover in the process…front, back and everything in between. I think I’m learning as much as Timothy and Jessica!

A very dear friend, has already suggested a second series once we finish this book…I can’t wait! I’m praying the Lord will bless this experience with my children. I’m certainly enjoying the time and the cooking! (Of course, the food isn’t half bad either, *smile*!)


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *