Thoughts On
Cooking, Kitchen Gadgets, Recipes and More
In Season 3, Episode 7 of the Kiddos in the Kitchen podcast, I asked Laura Fuentes, founder of MOMables and author of five cookbooks, about how she involves her three children in the kitchen. She had tons of great ideas.
My mom is an awesome baker. She taught me not to pack flour and how to level ingredients in measuring cups. I remember making peanut butter blossom cookies and sugar cut-out cookies at Christmas. I remember making pumpkin roll. I remember watching her bake pumpkin pie. And you should see some of the cakes she decorated over the years for us kids. Truly awe-inspiring.
Coming up on the May podcast, I’ve got Michael Volpatt, the co-founder of Big Bottom Market in California on the show. And he shares such beautiful memories of his mom in the kitchen. I can’t wait for you to hear it. But it also made me think about others in our Kiddos community, and I want to hear from you!
So, here’s the deal: Whether you want to write or record a few minutes on Garage Band or on your phone’s voice memos, I want to hear your stories. How did your mom or dad (or grandma or grandpa) affect your interest in cooking? What did they teach you? How did you connect with them in the kitchen? Whether it’s a story of one memorable meal or the overall impact you walked away with, tell me your story. Tell me what those experiences and memories mean to you now.
Email your written story or attach an audio file and send it to Stephanie@KiddosCook.com by April 1, 2020, and you may be featured on the blog or in the Kiddos in the Kitchen podcast! (We’ll choose stories to feature based on the quality of writing, the story’s emotional connection, and the amount of space we have in the episode.)
When you send it, please include your full name and location.
I have countless cookbooks and magazines as well as binders of cooking magazine tearsheets and website printouts from the past 20 years. And I am grateful for the test kitchen chefs at Bon Appétit and America’s Test Kitchen and all the rest. But the recipes I treasure the most are the handwritten ones that have been passed down in the family.
I often feel like food is my love language … It’s something I can do for others that shows I care. And when my son asks if we’re going to make our Halloween cookies this year and if I can make his special Valentine’s Day chocolates again, it means something to me.
Maybe my son’s love language will be food as well.
As planned, I picked my son up from school tonight and asked if he still wanted to help cook. He did. After our previous couple of nights, I was excited to have a happy boy eager to join in the kitchen fun.
“No cheese because I have a dairy allergy.”
Hearing these words in my son’s sweet voice made me swell with pride this evening at dinner. At 4 years old, he has learned the importance of not just telling restaurant servers “no cheese” or “no butter” — but also of telling them why. He’s learned to advocate for himself. I’m grateful for that. I’m also immensely proud of his early cooking skills — because he’s going to need them too.
