Cooking with your teens and kids

After just completing teaching three weeks of cooking camps for kids and teens, both held separately, it is certain that the upcoming generations do enjoy food and by extension enjoy cooking. Sometimes parents are simply too busy to supervise them in the kitchen or to teach them the basics. These cooking lessons help prepare them for easy cooking and also help to make them self-sufficient. Most of the youths that I have taught whilst doing these camps, for the past five years, enjoy eating. So rather than constantly having to purchase food to keep them happy they can now prepare tasty and easy dishes to satisfy their foodie souls.

Even better the few that are at pre-university level will now have the survival cooking skills needed to keep them nourished in those hectic years.

My mother never taught me to cook per say, but I did observe. When I went off to university and had to cook to survive, I did so by preparing the simple dishes I made at home, then I purchased a cookbook and everything changed for the better. Reading and understanding recipes are some of of the key aspects to becoming a cook. In these cooking camps from ages eight-12 and then 13-20, recipes are given and proper interpretation is taught, along with precise measuring and cooking and baking techniques. With these skills in hand they can now read, interpret recipes and create their own meals.

If you have a child or teen at home who loves to cook and bake here are some easy and delicious recipes that they can cook or bake this August holiday.

Cheesy tomato quesadillas

8 flour tortilla, 8 inches in diameter

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

4 cups grated cheese, preferably cheddar

1 red onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper cut into small dice

½ cup jalapeno peppers, sliced

⅓ cup chopped chadon beni

Preheat your broiler on your stove, or a large frying pan.

Line the baking tray.

Lay the tortilla onto a baking tray or the frying pan.

Now cover half of it with cheese, onion, peppers and chadon beni.

Place under the broiler, when the cheese starts to melt flip the uncovered portion over onto the melted cheese.

Broil for a few minutes more until crisp.

Or, place over medium heat on stove top, then flip when cheese melts.

Remove and cut.

Makes 8

Red velvet whoopie pies

¼ cup butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

4 tbs vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tbsp red food colouring

⅔ cup plain yoghurt

4 tbs cocoa powder

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

Filling:

Cream ⅔ cups butter with 1lb cream cheese until smooth.

Add about 2½ cups Lotus sifted icing sugar with 2 tbs sour cream, add 1 tsp orange zest.

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.

Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add vegetable oil and beat for a few seconds, add the egg and beat until incorporated.

Stir together the food colouring and yoghurt and add to the creamed butter.

Combine cocoa powder, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add gradually to creamed butter mixture in 3 additions, beginning and ending with dry mix. Do not over mix.

With a small ice-cream scoop, drop cookie dough onto the prepared sheets, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8-9 minutes or until the cookies slightly spring back when touched.

Cool on baking sheets for few minutes before moving to cooling racks. Let cool completely before frosting.

Prepare cream cheese frosting.

Pipe a blob of frosting onto the flat portion of one cookie, place another cookie on top flat face down and gently press until frosting comes to edge of cookie.

Makes 12-3½ inch whoopee pies

Veggie pot pies

Filling:

4 tbs butter

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

4 tbs flour

4 cups milk

½ tsp grated nutmeg

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1½ tsp salt

1 1-lb package of chunky frozen mixed vegetables

⅓ cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tbs chopped fresh celery

Biscuit topping

2 cups all-purpose four

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup grated cheese

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ cup chilled butter, cut into cubes

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375F.

Have buttered and ready 8, 6-oz ramekins, or 6,8-oz ramekins

Melt butter in a medium saucepan, add garlic and onion, sauté for a few minutes, add flour and stir until mixture becomes somewhat slack in the pot.

Pour in the milk and stir, season with nutmeg, pepper and salt.

Stir or whisk until smooth, cook until mixture becomes thick.

Stir in frozen vegetables, parsley and celery, cook for just one minute more.

Fill the ramekins with the mixture.

Meanwhile make the biscuit topping:

In a mixing bowl place the flour, baking powder, cheese, black pepper and salt.

Add butter and break butter with a pastry blender until the pieces become the size of small peas.

Add the milk and stir gently just to mix.

Spoon this mixture onto the filling in the ramekins.

Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8

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