Safety Tips To Help You Enjoy Cooking More
June 16, 2008
For some people, cooking is a relaxing and enjoyable experience. For others it’s more of a chore. These tips may make cooking a bit more enjoyable for you.
When you are preparing to cook, it is important that you have all of the ingredients, gadgets, and tools that you will need right at your fingertips. If you have to stop and find something, you may end up taking too much time, getting distracted and burning something.
There are a lot of little tips that can assist you in the kitchen and make the cooking experience even more enjoyable.
Equip your kitchen – it is important that you have many different size spoons in your kitchen, both wooden and metal. Stirring a pot of pasta with a metal spoon is fine, however if you are making a delicate sauce, you will need a wooden spoon to stir with.
Food temperature – it is important to bring your ingredients to room temperature before using them. Foods blend together better when they are the same temperature.
Maintenance – it is important that you keep all of your appliances in good working condition. This will assist you in easy food preparation and will reduce the risk of accidents.
Caution – it is important that you use caution when you are cooking. Do not allow yourself to be distracted, especially if you are cooking with hot oil or frying on the stovetop.
Tidiness – cleaning up after each step of the cooking process not only gives you more time to spend with family and friends, it also reduces the chance of cross contamination. It is critically important that you do not use utensils that have come in contact with raw meat for any other preparation. Cross contamination is one of the biggest causes of food poisoning.
Use the right tools – If you are slicing bread, use a bread knife, and if you are carving meat, use a carving knife. Do not confuse the two; it can lead to injury. It is important that you familiarize yourself with all of the utensils that you will have in your kitchen.
By following the rules of safety, you are ensuring that your cooking experience will not only be safe, you will find that it will also be a rewarding one.
Cooking with Kids
June 16, 2008
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Cooking is a very important part of family life. Many people choose to cook good, wholesome foods that are both nutritious and healthy for their family. While it can be stressful working all day and coming home to cook, clean and do laundry, make sure the children aren’t lost in the shuffle. Children often have things they want to share with you and it is important that we make time for them.
Teaching your kids the value of a home cooked meal is a tradition that is past down from generation to generation.
Wouldn’t it be great to teach your kids what your mother taught you and her mother taught her? You can pass down recipes and traditions from your ancestors.
Cooking with is a great way to spend quality time with your kids. You can really bond with them as you cook.
There is however certain guideline that you should follow to ensure their safety in the kitchen.
Set the rules – it is important that you set rules for your kitchen, and it is equally important that you enforce them. Children will test their limits, and doing so has no place in a kitchen where safety is a big issue.
Knives – never let your children use a knife unsupervised. It can be dangerous and lead to serious injuries.
Dangers – there are always dangers in the kitchen, and the stove is one of the biggest. Do not let young children near the stove when it is turned on, even if it is to stir the pot. It is equally important that you turn all of the pot handles in so that little hands cannot grab them and so that they do not get caught on your sleeve.
Measure ingredients – if you are cooking with little ones, pre-measure the ingredients so they can add it to the bowl. When you do this, they will feel like they have made the dish and their pride will shine through. They’ll even be more likely to eat the finished product!
Cooking with kids not only shares traditions with them, it also assists them in developing skills that you would not ordinarily think of. Take for instance measuring, it seems pretty straight forward, however, when the recipe needs to be doubled, you are teaching them math. There are so many different benefits to cooking with your kids.
Setting up your video camera while cooking with your kids will create memories that will last a lifetime.
When all is said and done, at the end of a long day, everyone needs some time to relax and to unwind. Your children are the same, only they need your attention. When you bring them into the kitchen, you are not only creating quality time, you are teaching them skills that will last a lifetime, something that they can pass on to their own children.
The Importance of Variety When Preparing Food
June 16, 2008
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The importance of variety when preparing food
When you have small children, feeding them can be a chore, especially if they are picky eaters. Good nutrition is very important, and there are ways of getting them to eat healthfully even if they are not inclined to.
Even though it may be a chore, when you are preparing dinner, prepare several different dishes so your child has a choice of what he or she wants.
Encourage your child to take one “no thank you” bite of each of the dishes that you prepare. This way he or she will at least taste the food before disliking it. Sometimes, he or she will like the dish and possibly ask for more. If not, at least you are exposing your chid to the flavor of the particular food. Chances are over time that he or she will become accustomed to it.
Another way that you can encourage your child to eat is to give the food names of their favorite cartoon or fictional character. Atomic Betty beans or Patrick pancakes can bring a smile to your child’s face and a full belly. Children identify with their favorite shows, and if they think that they are eating their favorite cartoons food, then they will most likely clean their plates.
Making dishes that are colorful and fun is a great way to encourage a finicky eater to actually eat. When you use bright and colorful ingredients such as green, yellow and red bell peppers, and give the dish a name like Christmas casserole, or if you make a veggie lasagna and call it Diego’s delight, you will have a better chance of a having a peaceful dinner.
Children are very particular and even though they are little, they know what they like. If something does not look appetizing to them, you will have very little chance of getting them to eat it. They do not understand that it is good for them; they depend on you for that.
If you like to cook, one way that you can encourage your child to eat is to let them help you prepare the meal. When you do this, they will see the ingredients that are being added and feel like they are a part of the cooking process. they are more likely to eat what they prepare because they are proud to have done it.
If you know your child does not like something and it is a necessary ingredient, then wait until he or she is out of the room and run it through the food processor until it is finely ground up and then add it to the pot. He or she will never know it is there.
When you are trying to feed your child, it is sometimes necessary to use sneaky chef methods.
