This summer we have been cooking a lot. Nothing special or extravagant – but simple, good food that you don’t need recipes for. I wanted my kids (now 10 and 8) to be able cook a full meal: starter, main and desert, without a recipe book.
Here is my thinking: We visit so many friends and family, and nowadays, the kids are also visiting friends and family without me. I feel it is nice for kids to be able to offer to help and to be able to genuinely make something tasty and have the confidence to do it, without much fuss. There is just something satisfying about cooking for a group of people and having them enjoy it, plus, it is a great way of saying “thank you” to family and friends.
Especially since nowadays, we all have become a lot more casual — everyone participates, hosts and guests, when it comes to meal times. (Or is it just me who has the impression we don’t host the same way our parents did when friends come to stay?)
So far Coco has mastered a great cucumber salad with goat cheese as a starter, escalope pané with rice as a main, and she has perfected an apple crumble for dessert. She is also an expert guacamole and humous maker, so the important meal of ‘apéro’ (pre-dinner drinks here in France) is also taken care of.
Violette can prepare a red beet or a tomato salad for a starter (her main skill at the moment is the vinaigrette making), pasta with fresh pesto as a main course and her chocolate mousse is something she is pretty proud of. She also makes a mean fruit salad!
There have been some minor burns and little cuts and failed attempts, but in general the cooking un-aided by adults has been a great success! I am super interested! What are your kids go to recipes? At what age do you expect them to be able to cook a full meal?
Emilie x