Cooking 101

I do not know how I learned to cook. Wait, that's not strictly true. I'm certain that my mom taught me, but I was so young (I'm guessing) that I don't have any memory of it. Not an actual memory of a cooking "lesson", per se. My mom cooked and so did all of us girls.

It was just something we did, I guess. I do remember taking Home Ec, that bastion of female junior high school education. I took it for an easy A - for that's what I always received, an A. The hardest part of each year was always the sewing projects. I don't have the patience for sewing. I make too many mistakes, the tension is ALWAYS messed up on the machine which makes the thread jumble, and I spend so much time pulling stitches out that I give up. Plus, my sewing projects, with very few exceptions, NEVER look like what they are supposed to look like.

Cooking, on the other hand, usually comes out the way it's supposed to.

I'm really versatile. I can bake like nobody's business, whip up quick breads and yeast doughs, cupcakes, decorated cakes, cookies and brownies with the best of them. I can also cook. Hand me a recipe and I can follow it and have a better than good chance at success.

I have realized that I need to get some of this knowledge into my kids heads. The oldest three can make macaroni and cheese, scrambled eggs and reheat with the best of them. Nik can do a little more - he can cook meat, doctor up pasta sauce (don't talk about homemade), grill a steak and maybe a little bit more. But I'd really like to teach my kids, all of my kids, the basics and beyond. How to cream, flambe, saute and steam. How to create a layered casserole, a lasagna, bolognese sauce and whipped cream cakes. 

So, lay it on me - what types of things would you think my (yours, anyone else's) kids would need to know how to cook in order to be successful when they move out of the house?

Case in point: I have S'mores Bars (I saw them on Katrina's site!)  in the oven right now, made shrimp and chicken fried rice last night, had The Pioneer Woman's Yogurt Cream for breakfast with blueberries, bananas and strawberries, made chicken teriyaki kebobs and plan to make this braided lemon bread after my kids go to bed tonight. I DO love me some cooking - I know I've said before that it's therapeutic for me.

I don't necessarily think it'll do the same for my kids, but I want to know that they can make more than mac and cheese and Ramen noodles and that they could entertain if necessary.

Am I hoping for too much???

Comments

[Joanne]

I had to laugh when I read your post. I have 4 children...3 sons and a daughter.
Guess which ones are excellent cooks...give
up? The guys like cooking MUCH more than their sister.In fact, as a Christmas gift
this past year, we gave one of our sons a
set of "cookware!"...GO FIGURE!
Brunch101

[amie]

I used to bring my home ec sewing projects home and have my mom finish them for me :) I am only slightly better with cooking-lol.

[Varinia]

The basics, as I see them. They should know how to compose a meal. A protein, a vegetable, and a starch. That way they can always put a simple dinner together. Teach them some quick (almost) one pot meals. For us it was chicken cooked in a dutch oven with a little water, S&P, tomato, onion, and when done, layer a bunch of spinach on top and cover it up so it will wilt. Simple, nutritious and delicious.
Teach them basic sauces, they are the key to all advanced cooking.
Show them the difference between steaming, blanching, and boiling a vegetable.

Show them how to make a basic and versatile starch really well. It can be pasta and all the different variations (with pesto, with olive oil parm and fresh herbs, etc, and how to best complement a meal with it), rice (white rice, rice cooked in broth, or wine, brown rice, tomato bouillon rice etc) and or potatoes (roasted, mashed etc etc). Basic knowledge of one starch can get you by for years.

And everyone should know how to make a roast chicken. Basic, comforting and still can be fancy enough for company.

Above all, teach them that with a few skills, they can eat better at home than most people do at restaurants.

I could go on, but that's what I'd consider basics.

I'm like you, cooking is therapy for me. I'd like my kids to learn and enjoy it as well.

[Mariah]

I compiled a cook book (complete with photos) of all my kids' favorite foods/meals, along with some good basic staple dishes...and some fun extra stuff too (ie table decor ideas, pics of them as kids decorating Christmas cookies along with our regular cookie recipe). I added in a few pages of my own notes on stuff like how to poach a chicken, how to peel a tomato, how to roast peppers, what herbs go well with what foods (think tomato and basil) etc. I gave them each a copy of this when they moved out on their own. It's an ongoing thing...I make a few new pages for them now and then and they add them in. (This doesn't actually answer your "lay it on me" question...but I wanted to throw it out there!)

[Elizabeth]

I don't like to cook & admittedly am not a very good one. My mom wasn't either. Her philiosphy was if you have rice or pasta, cream of mushroom soup (or cream of chicken) plus a meat of some sort (canned or otherwise) you can make a meal.

I grew up eating casseroles so that is what I like. They are inexpensive, easy, & make great leftovers.

Your list sounds good so far to me. I wish someone had taught me more than what I know. Maybe I would like cooking better.

[Carolyn]

Great suggestions so far; I especially liked amie's list of teaching them how to treat food - what the terminology really looks like in practice so they could read any recipe and be successful. Also give general suggestions on what ingredients do for a recipe - butter versus shortening, how to use yeast & whether it's fresh, baking powder versus baking soda, etc. Then, here's my original advice. My daughter's friend hadn't really grown up with salads and didn't know how to make one. (huh??) Show them how to prep lettuce, quickest way to cut up each type of veggie or fruit, and the wide variety of things that can go in a salad beyond tomatoes, carrots & cukes. Things like onion, zucchini, pecans, feta, fresh peas, mandarin oranges, practically anything you can think of. This is great because they will learn to use what's in season at the store, improvise, stretch small amounts of things left from another recipe, and best of all, enjoy healthy eating. In other words, think outside the box when it comes to produce.

[kyooty]

I think boiling eggs so they can make a sandwich with the egg style they like. What parts of the veggies to cut off and throw out and why. That you dont' Eat the bayleaf, just stew with it.
tomato sauce? can of this, a can of that, and whatever smells good? a list of most commonly used spices. Salt, pepper can go a long way but garlic, rosemary and whatever you know they like?
A gift of a cookbook? is always great. Also since I can see this one coming a mile away, how to cook for 1-2 vs 7-10 people. I had a hard time downsizing my meals going from cooking for 7-8 down to 1-2 people after I got married. My mom had me cook meals from about 14yrs old +. how to broil or bake chicken, pork, or steak? a crockpot cookbook can save many a starving student. PB and it's many uses for those that can eat it.
Another online friend told me that she gave her son and daught both a year, with the budget to plan meals before leaving home. It's a definite eye opener.
good luck!

[Sabz]

I would also suggest making soups, salads and some easy, quick desserts. You cook/bake a lot but the kids may not have the time and/or inclination to. It's always nice if they know the basics of say, brownies or cake so they make something instead of buying something with added preservatives, etc.

Do you eat ethnic foods? You may want to teach some basic Chinese, Thai or Indian recipes. It may bring a new appreciation for ingredients they may not have used or heard of.

I love the suggestion of learning to cook for a few vs. a group. I had a lot of trouble scaling up once I got married into a large family. Make-ahead meals are good to know. Like lasagna.

HTH.

[Nicole]

It seems like everyone has pretty much covered what I was going to say, so my suggestion is to teach them to cook their (and your and each other's) favorite dishes. It's important to know the basics, but it's also great to know you can cook something special for yourself or for someone you love.

[Melodee]

My three oldest can make grilled cheese, any kind of noodles (with jarred sauce), cup of noodles, etc. The teenagers can make hamburgers on the George Foreman grill.

My teenagers cook for themselves a lot but it's mostly convenience-sort of foods.

[Rox]

My daughter's 4th grade girl scout troop recently had a cooking competition as part of a competitive camping experience. (Side note: I hated the whole idea of that. Why couldn't the kids just have fun camping?!) I found myself in charge of teaching the cooking team (four girls) how to make a meal over a fire with only a saucepot and a frying plan, five "surprise" ingredients, condiments like S/P and oil -- all in under 50 minutes from prep to plate.

I was surprised at how quickly they learned. We covered knife skills first: the basics of how to handle, chop, slice, dice, and practiced on different fruits and veggies. We moved on to how to cook the starches (we did rice and pasta, though other moms recommended Bisquick too). Then we covered how to sautee and in what order (oil, onion, garlic, meat, other veggies, etc.). We discussed safe meat handling (different cutting boards), browning and how to tell when it's done. Ultimately, we decided that any meal they'd cook could be layered: a starch with a meat and veggies.

After that three-hour lesson, my 10 y.o. has made me pasta with meat sauce, salad, scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, fruit salad, and another stir fry. She was dreading it at first, but now she really enjoys it!

So I think you can totally do it ... I'm a great baker and only a so-so cook, and if I can do it, you can do it even better. : ) Have fun!

[Jessica]

My son has taken all of the cooking clases that his school offers. He can cook, but he has a problem with patience and temperature LOL. He has burnt out many of my frying pans cuz he doesn't want to wait LOL

poor kid!

[Liz Hawks]

Good for you! My (now) husband taught me over the phone in college how to brown hamburger. Looking back, there is something wrong about that. Your kids (and their future spouses) will thank you one day.

[UKCraftySal]

I too learnt how to cook alongside my Mum, and by about 14 was cooking full meals for the family (6 people). I have 2 teenagers (a girl and a boy), both ultra fussy eaters, despite my best efforts. My daughter loves to cook, my son can cook anything ready made and ovenable as long as it takes 20 minutes at 200 degrees C. (I wish I was joking.)

I would like my kids to leave home able to cook everything I can make (and I cook from scratch every day), and also able to cook successfully from a recipe...but realistically, they have no interest in cooking anything that they don't like to eat, so they won't try to learn casseroles, stir fries, chilli, curry, sauces, almost any veggies etc etc etc.

I do really love Mariah's idea of a cook book for each of them. I think I'm going to get on to that, even if it's sparse to start with. Maybe as they get older they will become more adventurous, and I can add to it.

[Brandy]

I learned how to cook watching my Mom and when she passed I received her recipe cards. Not that I need them, I know all her recipes by heart (with healthy modifications made by me). My Daughter shows some signs of wanting to learn to cook, but right now prefers to just heat in the oven or stir. I think soups, stews, a roast or roaster chicken and how to make bread are all good things to teach. I also suggests teaching them how to grill. My parents never taught me and I don't do it know because the grill intimidates and scares me a little. I leave the grilling to my hubs, but wish I knew how.

[wookie]

Interesting question.

How to cook eggs, pasta/potatoes/rice and a variety of vegetables is probably my baseline. If you can do those things you can keep yourself fed for very little money.

From there, you can move onto stir-fry, stew/soup and casseroles, maybe how to make a meatloaf, roast or chicken.

You could also look at it from the transferable skills perspective... you need to know how to handle a knife and a peeler, how to handle hot pots and pans, how to read instructions, get a feel for how fast different things cook (which is why I love stir-fry). You need to learn how to tell when different things are done... not just meat but your pasta, potatoes, vegetables.

[Nobody]

I'd teach them CHEAP, EASY and HEALTHY meals to start with. Nothing exotic to begin with because they'll just ignore it for the easy stuff. Unless of course they are trying to impress a date! I remember eating purple/blue steak once because the only alcohol based marinade ended up being red wine! but believe it or not it tasted really good, and the look of surprise at the color is something I'll remember forever... But I digress, keep it simple and fun, and maybe they'll stay away from all the unhealthy microwave stuff we have everywhere...

[Kristi]

For my three I called it a challenge! No one can resist a challenge :) One night a week they are challenged with creating a complete meal for the family for dinner. I assist but for the most part they do not want me to help...because it is their "challenge." The kids have to decide what they are making, get a list of items they need and we go shopping for them on grocery day. In the beginning it was pretty basic stuff. Now we are getting more advanced. The kids are watching the Food Network and checking out my cook books. Next challenge adding in the idea of a budget....

[Katrina]

Oh, hey, so behind on my reader, but thanks for the shout out. The S'mores bars were even better frozen, then thawed after cut into pieces, I thought. Hope yours turned out well. They were a huge hit when I served them.

Baking is my therapy, too.