Cooking with kids

"Look Gramps," my granddaughter smiles holding up a stem of green and slightly pink cherry tomatoes. "I picked these strawberry tomatoes for you." I chuckle at her pride in harvesting an inedible gift from my garden, I laugh because she renamed the cherry tomatoes as strawberry tomatoes, and I hide my frustration of her ending the life of the fruit I wish to share with friends and family when mature.

I'm not bothered but pleased with my granddaughter's gesture. There are plenty of tomatoes to take the place of the few that sacrificed their lives for this family memory created by my little granddaughter. I smile and whisper, "Thank you," as she hands me the gift of her labor - a teachable moment. "Quin, what are we going to do with these little tomatoes?" I ask as she hands me the bundle. "We are going to eat them," she states emphatically as she pops one into her mouth. Her mouth purses and her eyes squint as she chews then spits out the sour fruit on her tongue. I laugh as Quin learns a practical lesson of our Earth's bounty - eat only ripe fruits and vegetables; they taste better.

After gathering the green cherry tomatoes offered by my granddaughter I think, "What am I going to do with these?" I have an idea - Fried Green Cherry Tomatoes with Ranch Dressing Dipping Sauce.

Teaching children where food comes from, how it grows and when to harvest it is paramount in teaching the benefits of a varied diet. Children eat more adventurously when involved in the growth of the food they consume. As important as knowing the agriculture of food is the understanding of how food is prepared.

Inviting a child into the kitchen can be frustrating, time consuming, aggravating and hilariously funny. Our grandbabies often sleep over Friday night, which allows us to visit and play - and cook. My wife bakes cookies, biscuits and pies with the girls. The grandbabies have their own dishes, pots, pans and utensils. They roll out dough, add sugar and spices, get flour in their hair and hands and eat their creations after granny bakes them. Sometimes the little chefs are successful while other times unsuccessful. Their creations get consumed (or secretly dumped into the trash) regardless of the outcome. Successful or unsuccessful, all food created is celebrated and rewarded with, "great job," and, "yumm!"

Lately, the girls and I have been preserving food. Making huckleberry jam, canning dill pickles, drying hot peppers and exploring the garden keeps us busy on Friday evenings. Cooking breakfast together Saturday mornings are family memories I will never forget. Creating Mickey Mouse pancakes with childish glee while the little ones say, "gramps, this is good" is priceless.

Cooking with a child can be frustrating. Remember, this is not about cooking a culinarily delicious feast but supporting a child in their exploration of food. Show the child how to measure, stir, whisk, zest and fold. The child will learn a skill while understanding a new love for the food she prepares. Laugh, smile, joke and play in the kitchen.

Cooking with a kid creates lifelong, emotionally rich memories for the child. These memories can be positive or negative. If you become frustrated, annoyed, angered or agitated while cooking with the child, the child will learn the connection of frustration and food and your initial good intention will create a child who stresses in the kitchen and forms a negative connotation with food and food's preparation. Laughing and playing in the kitchen creates positive memories connected to food that formulate in a young child's mind. Continual positive food experiences reinforce the positive memory and become permanently etched in the child's brain creating a child who has a positive relationship with food. Enjoy a few recipes to cook with kids.

Fried Green Cherry Tomatoes with Ranch Dressing Dipping Sauce

3-dozen green cherry tomatoes cut in half

1/2 cup flour seasoned with:

• 1/2 teaspoon salt,

• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic and

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup milk

2 eggs - beaten with a tablespoon of water

2/3 cups breadcrumbs

1/4 cup oil

Have a child dip the tomatoes into the milk, then flour mixture, then beaten eggs, then the breadcrumbs. Once breaded, place tomatoes on a cookie sheet. The adult (children should be far away from the hot oil) will fry the tomatoes in oil until golden brown. Do not crowd the tomatoes. Cook in batches and place on a paper towel to cool to room temperature before eating. Season with salt and pepper before serving and serve with ranch dressing - kids love ranch dressing.

Huckleberry Pancake

If huckleberry season passed and you consumed your bounty already, bananas, strawberries, blueberries or blackberries work well as a replacement in this recipe.

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 1/2 cups huckleberries

Have a child measure and add dry ingredients into a bowl and have the child mix. If they make a mess, laugh. If they spill, try to put the spilled flour back into the bowl.

Have a child measure and add wet ingredients, except berries, in a separate bowl and have the child mix. Most children spill this mixture. Again, laugh and adapt.

Help a child mix the wet mixture with the dry mixture.

Gently fold in berries.

Adults only - heat skillet or griddle to medium-high heat and cook cakes until golden brown.

Bill Rutherford is a psychotherapist, public speaker, elementary school counselor, adjunct college psychology instructor and executive chef, and owner of Rutherford Education Group. Please e-mail him at bprutherford@hotmail.com and check out www.foodforthoughtcda.com.