If you are like me, you have a few things you regularly cook with your kids. For our family, it is a trusted recipe for double chocolate muffins with banana and zucchini. The recipe is easy, reasonably healthy, and everyone likes it, so we make it often. When I think of cooking with kids I almost always think of things I am familiar with and that also produce a sweet and tasty result (like my chocolate zucchini muffins).
This year, I have been challenging myself to move away from my comfort zone and try cooking some new things with my kid that aren't so familiar. Things that are new to us both. We have made cranberry sauce, beet hummus, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, and homemade tomato soup to name a few. All things that I have never made before. The results have been predictable; some failures, some success, and plenty of learning. In many cases the cooking process and technique was so much different from the things we usually cook that we couldn’t help but learn (A LOT) along the way. We did research, learned how to use a kitchen scale, tried to understand fermentation and asked friends and family for advice. During this process it occurred to me that the skills required to learn to cook something new (researching, problem solving, resourcefulness) will be pretty useful for my kid as she grows up (probably more useful than the ability to make one recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins). With this in mind over the summer we are planning to continue to cook some new things...and probably some more chocolate zucchini muffins (because they are really very tasty). Next up is fresh pasta…wish us luck!
Want to Cook Something New Together? Here are some tips:
Decide what you will make together:
Look in magazines or online for inspiration
Pick an item from your heritage and call a family member to ask for the recipe
Think of what you might order-in and find a similar recipe that you can make at home.
Research, explore, and prepare together:
Watch some videos together (we watched someone make sourdough on Youtube about 6 times before we felt ready to try it)
Ask friends and family for tips (you probably know someone that knows how to cook what you are cooking)
Explore any concepts that are new to you both, this might be the origin of the dish, cooking techniques or terms
Take some notes:
Write out the recipe to make sure you all understand the steps
Take some notes for next time you make the recipe (ie. turn down oven temperature, too dry, yummy)
Anticipate some bumps:
It might come out perfect the first time….and it might not. Be prepared to fail(ish) and try again if you like
Have fun cooking something new!