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As Foodies, we want our kids to grow up and become just as enamored with food as we are and nothing brings us more joy than sharing kitchen and cooking experiences with our young ones - watching them mash potatoes, mix cake batter, and roll out cookie dough. The next best thing to having them work side-by-side with us is the day when they can prepare a few little meals themselves and I'm not talking just peanut butter and jelly. This week's taste tester is 11 year old Jake, he is the only child of a single mother who doesn't like to cook even though Jake very much likes to eat. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for him to try out a few kid-friendly recipes/cookbooks with meals that he could prepare on his own for himself or for him and his mom. Jake loves food, he eats all his vegetables, loves seafood; one of his favorite restaurants is Red Lobster (one day I'll teach him how to make his own shrimp scampi and he may never step into a Red Lobster again). When I asked him if he was up for learning how to cook a few new things he was all for it. He said he would love to be able to cook dinner for him and his mom. I explained to him that we would get there but first he just needs to try out a few things on his own.  The book I gave him to test out is "Cook It in a Cup " by Julia Myall (Chronicle Books, 2008). It's a sweet 70 page book with recipes ranging from Breakfast to Desserts. The neatest thing about it is the multi-colored non-stick silicone baking cups that come with it. The idea being that kids can make good, nutritional meals themselves while practicing good portion control by cooking them in these silicone cups. Jake tried out three recipes, "Little Lasagnas", "Chicken Potpies", and "Brownies". I interviewed him after each recipe attempt and his answers were pretty consistent. The recipes were easy to follow, he needed very little assistance from his mom, and as for the taste he said it was "pretty good". He informed me that he needed to experiment more with different spices to try and kick the flavor up a notch (Priceless). Although he really seemed to like the idea of cooking in a cup he did complain about the portion size. He explained to me that he is a growing boy and requires more food at dinner than what he produced in the cups. At the same time he does plan on experimenting with his own recipes since his overall impression is and I quote that the book is really for "little kids". Unfortunately, that's all I had for Jake to test out, but despite his lukewarm impression of the book itself, I did achieve my goal and that was to get him in the kitchen cooking for himself and enjoying it. I can't wait to see what he'll come up with on his own. Looks like I'm really on a roll with my kid testers but let's see what happens when I revamp their school lunches and we'll also go over the basics of making your own baby food. All that and more coming up in the next segment of "Cooking for Kids". About Chef Heather Chef Heather (aka Foodie Princess) is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City (formerly Peter Kumps New York Cooking School). She has worked for Gourmet Magazine, TV Personality Katie Brown, and the New York based Indian-fusion restaurant Tabla. Chef Foodie Princess resides in New Jersey with her husband and daughter and is in the process of launching her own Personal Chef Service "The Princess & The Pea".
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