What's Cooking With Kids

Jun 15Garden to Table Workshop: IACP Kids in the Kitch...

Garden to Table Workshop: IACP Kids in the Kitchen

For the second year in a row, I attended the International Association of Culinary Professionals annual conference. Much like last year's experience in Portland, this year's event in Austin opened its arms wide and greeted me with a smile. I came to town early for my first ever bookstore appearance (yay!). The staff at Book People were wonderful and we were easily able to draw families to our area of the store by offering a hands on cooking activity for children. An added bonus for me, of...

Jun 13My Not-So-Secret Love of Backyard Chickens

Several years ago, my daughter joined 4H. I did a happy dance because that meant that we finally had a legitimate excuse to get chickens. I have always been an animal girl, but when I was growing up, my mom never allowed me to get any pets beyond the family dog. It was sort of traumatic, actually. In 3rd grade, my class raised crayfish to learn about their life cycle. Many of the other children were allowed to keep theirs, but I had to release "Pokey" into the stream instead. When I was 13...

Jun 10Canned Alaskan Salmon – Healthy and Sustainable

I meet the coolest people through my job. I love connecting with families who are excited about feeding their children good food, and I love meeting food producers, who nourish us. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with Shirley, the president of Pure Alaska Salmon Co. She comes from a long line of salmon fishermen (and women, of course) and cares deeply for the quality of the food that she eats and for the environmental implications of those choices. I had a few ideas for our...

Jun 8Post Conference Depression Syndrome

I spent the past week in Austin, Texas, for the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Conference. And now that I am home, I believe I have officially recognized a new disorder. It is called Post Conference Depression Syndrome (aka PCDS). I attended the conference as a form of Professional Development, to learn more about the culinary industry... To connect with old friends... ...and network with new ones. I was eager to form partnerships with...

Jun 6Chef Gino Teaches Us How to Make Fresh Pasta

Now that I have recovered from DooFAPalooza, I've had some time to put together this video from the amazing Chef Gino. He teaches children to cook in Los Angeles and spent the entire day at the festival teaching children how to make pasta from scratch. He was a hit with the kids and their families - and if you watch this video, you'll see why. Can you believe making fresh pasta is as easy as... Mixing 1 cup of flour with 1 egg. And as Gino says, if you are feeding a crowd - 55 cups of...

Jun 3How to Teach an Engaging Cooking Class

Most people would agree that cooking classes are an excellent way for people experience new foods and expand their skill set in the kitchen. They appeal to folks of all ages, from toddlers to seniors, especially when they are done right. Here are some tips for teaching cooking classes that will engage and excite your students. Use a Theme Kids love themed parties - and my company often works with families to customize a theme that is perfect for their birthday child. Some of our...

Jun 1Happy to be Getting Crunchy with Corn

One of the best parts about being involved in social media is the friendships that I have developed over the years. Gina Rau started as a virtual friend, as we worked on a blogging challenge together, and she has become a dear "real life" friend. I adore her new website, Feed Our Families, which strives to help families make better food choices. When I was planning to be away at a culinary conference and Gina offered to do a guest post, I jumped at the chance. I know you'll love it as much...

May 30Does Your Child Need a Feeding Therapist (Part 2...

I asked our awesome What's Cooking Facebook community if anyone had questions for my friend Dawn, a feeding therapist. Of course, many of us struggle with family mealtimes, and we got some excellent questions. Let's get to it... Is it detrimental to a child's eating health/habits to "force" new foods on them? This is an area that is so dear to my heart. I see way too many families force-feeding their children. Unfortunately, a lot of therapists teach parents to force-feed, trick them by...

May 27Forget Hard Boiling Eggs - Steamed Eggs are Easy...

Forget Hard Boiling Eggs – Steamed Eggs are Easy to Peel

I opened the refrigerator door over the weekend, closed it again, and went to the phone. I called our neighbor and told her that it was time for her to start saving her empty egg cartons. Ever since we adopted 3 new hens recently, we have been getting fresh eggs faster than we can use them. I love hard boiled eggs, but I hate to peel them. In fact, I might actually have an egg-peeling disfunction. I end up creating craters and losing up to 1/3 of my egg when all is said and done. ...

May 25Improving School Lunches with Sprouted Wheat Bre...

Improving School Lunches with Sprouted Wheat Bread

Unless you live in a cave, you know that school food has a bad reputation. I am excited to report that in our district, at least, it's getting better. Our food service director surprised me with an invitation to visit Alvarado Street Bakery in Petaluma, where she plans to source the bread for our school district next year. My food service advisory committee colleague, Susannah, and I went to learn more about their sprouted wheat breads and got to see the inside workings of the bakery. Unfortunately,...