Photography by: Cole Collective

“Hey Mama, Let’s Cook!”

I have this red apron that I only wear maybe one time a year. On the front it has a painting of me and my paternal grandmother along with some Christmas presents and a dog. My grandma made me the apron when I wasn’t even ten but the apron means nothing really without the smells and memories that it elicits.

I remember the warmth of the kitchen on a winter day.

Snow packed on the ground outside, house full of family and the pugnacious smell of chitterlings being cleaned and fried DEEP within the carpet, the walls and all throughout the air in the house. One whiff and your nose hairs just kind of curled at the ends and you never really got the smell off of you. On the stove top were six different kinds of pie and one icebox pie in the fridge (just in case you wanted to indulge).

Food was kind of the foundation upon which I was raised.

I was a regular in the kitchen from the time I could walk, searching for the crispy bits of the meat, the ugly end of the bread, the beater with the mashed potatoes/cake batter/frosting to lick before everyone came into the kitchen to eat. We started learning how to cook around the same time that we could write our name or do a basic mathematics table.

Cooking was as much a part of our home education as brushing our teeth or making up our own bed.

I recently went to Rubye’s school for a parent night and she showed me how she preps vegetables by herself in the classroom. My just turned three year old daughter went into the fridge for produce and got a cutting board and crinkle cutter knife and proceeded to rinse and chop her vegetables and offer me a snack! My mind was blown. She was so independent and self-sufficient! At that point I started wondering what else I did for her that she could do for herself. (And immediately we bought a crinkle cutter and a serrated spreader because there is no such thing as free lunch! A lesson for another day.) I realized that we were way beyond the stage of washing and sorting produce as a part of our food prep. I used to make cooking a counting or colors lesson as she poked her little nose over the edge of the counter top. She was now my sous chef and she took her job VERY seriously. Not only could she go into the fridge and identify and grab the vegetables or herbs that we needed, but she was actually learning how to prepare them for our dinners and lunches.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned when you are cooking with kids is that you can’t micromanage.

It’s going to be messy. The food may taste awful (or it might be really damn good). Their knife cuts won’t be perfect. They may throw in salt when its supposed to be sugar, but those mistakes are all a part of the learning process. Before we begin cooking, I talk to my daughter about food safety and using our kitchen tools properly. For some reason, the sharp side of the knife is really interesting for little fingers! I make sure that all of our ingredients are either laid out or easy for her to grab from the pantry or refrigerator.

I give her agency and empower her to try new things.

Its okay if your meal isn’t Pinterest quality or Instagram ready. Learning new things requires failure. I’ve eaten some pretty awful food in my days as a World Geography teacher during culture days. This Christmas, we made some sugar cookies that came out looking like little turds (but tasted like the sweetest shortbread you’ve ever had). It isn’t really about the appearance or the taste, it is about the experience. Some of my greatest memories with family and friends have been in the kitchen.

I don’t know how to properly put into words the importance of breaking bread with the people that you love. There is something about food that brings back the simplicity of relationships and love.

These meals that we prepare with our own hands and the helping hands of our future are the lifeblood of happiness. They nourish our souls and psyche just as much as they do our bodies. Teaching our children how to cook beyond the microwave ramen, strip steak on the George Foreman type of cooking- its an invaluable skill. I want Rubye and Solomon to know how to use a knife, make pasta perfectly al dente without having to throw it against a wall, cook eggs properly, make basic sauces and roast a chicken. I want them to be like Julia Childs chile! Lets create a legacy!!

These are some of our favorite recipes to make as a family:

  1. Avocado Toast… because duh avocados plus toast is the greatest marriage since celery and peanut butter. Our Austin favorite is Irene’s because they slather the avocado on a fresh slice of Easy Tiger bread with evoo and feta cheese. We love to indulge so we usually throw some micro greens and a farm egg on top as well. This meal is quick, nutritious, easily customizable and I’ve never seen a kid not like it. For a fun alternative version, try egg in the hole avocado toast. When you break out the cookie cutters to make that hole a star or a dinosaur- it automatically makes this the best meal that your kids ever made for themselves.

2. Cacio e Pepe…. Lets get real. Pasta night could be every single night at our house. My kids are super spoiled because I like to make all my sauces from scratch but on a Monday night after working all day, rushing to swim lessons and then getting home at what would be our normal bed time nobody has time for reinventing the wheel. So many nights its Cacio e Pepe. So simple. So delicious and insanely quick. Our favorite in Austin is at this little trailer on the Eastside called Patrizis. Ask them to add the House Farm Cheese and a meatball for a complete party in your mouth.

3. Roasted Vegetables… Want to get your kid to eat vegetables? Have them paint them with olive oil and drizzle them in spices, roast them until the ends are a little brown and crispy. Call them “candied” and everyone wins. We roast veggies on the regular so that we always have snacks and side dishes readily available. Roasted veggies were both of my kids first foods so this could be great for children of all ages.

4. Beef Stroganoff… We love our Instant Pot and hearty meals like this stroganoff that can be prepped and done in about 30-45 minutes. We love our stroganoff with mashed potatoes but if there is leftover Cacio e Pepe from earlier in the week, this sauce tastes great atop that as well.

5. Shortbread Cookies… We make these every Christmas and sometimes just for fun at other times of the year. Instead of dipping ours in chocolate we usually make a fruit compote or macerated berries with whatever fruit we have in the fridge. Full disclosure- this was not the turd cookie recipe. Ina would never do that to me.

 

We’d love to hear your favorite recipes in your home with your kiddos! Share in the comments. 

Chalimar Chieza
For over 30 years, Chalimar has called Austin her home. Inspired by the luscious Hill Country and sacred springs, Chalimar can be found most weekends wandering barefoot with her wildlings Rubye (2015) and Solomon (2017), showing them the beauty of nature and simplicity of life. Chalimar is married to her best friend and soulmate, Tatenda, a youth soccer coach. Her passions are photography, cooking and gardening. For the last 13 years, Chalimar has taught middle and high school History. After giving birth to her daughter, she also became a birth and postpartum doula with a goal of providing advocacy and eradicating the disparities in healthcare equality for birthing people. You can find Chalimar on Instagram (@chaliiib) and at MoonTribe Doula

1 COMMENT

  1. I love this! I struggled with letting my kids cook because presentation is everything…and it doesn’t always look like it should when kids cook. They love to contribut though and are getting better with practice!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here