Trying to get your kids more interested in cooking? Looking to pass on some culinary life-skills to your teen before he or she moves on to college, university, or that first job away from home?
I recently published an article on cooking with teens in the Kidz Ink series of magazines. You can find it at Peterborough Kids, Northumberland Kids, or Lakeridge Kids. Or you can click on the magazine cover to the left for a .pdf of the story.
An excerpt from Teens in the Kitchen:
By the sizzling sounds and sumptuous smells wafting from Karen August’s kitchen, you can tell that there is serious cooking going on. Not by Karen, however. She’s got her feet up in the living room, sipping a glass of wine and enjoying some after work downtime.
“Apparently, it’s ‘Taco Tuesday’” she smiles. “It is the boys’ night to cook, and they’ve decided on Mexican.”
“The boys” are Liam, 18, and Kieran, 15, two hungry teens that have grown up to be enthusiastic and quite competent cooks. They’re busy making tacos and fajitas from scratch. Peppers are being sliced and sautéed, beef is searing on the stove.
Now that’s a situation most parents would be thrilled about. After all, by having teens active in the kitchen, parents are ensuring that their kids will have the integral life skills needed to healthily feed themselves when they leave home. They’ll also pick up some practical applications for simple math skills, help free up time for the entire family, and maybe even find new career options in the culinary sector.
Oh, and along the way, they’ll probably spend a bit more quality time with mom and dad.