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Cooking is Gooey + Gross!
For me, cooking is a blast. I love learning about food, but playing with potatoes is even more fun. First, safety first. Make sure you have a grown up with you (and for older kids, you have permission to cook). Get your space ready with a knife (sharp side always facing away from you), cutting board, garbage bowl, and a damp cloth for cleaning.
Cooking is cool. It's also gooey and gross. But that's why it's so awesome. Get used to touching and squeezing and cleaning and cutting and pounding food. Is your work-station set up and foods ready to roll? Did you wash your hands and sing happy birthday for 20 seconds? Is a grown-up with you OR knows you're cooking? Let's go!
ON THIS PAGE:
Safety First!! / Action Heroes in the Kitchen (seven set-up steps) / Taste + Touch / Five Ingredient Fun / CH Cookies / Totally Toast
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Safety FIRST !!
All cooks cut, slice, or burn their fingers, hands, or arms at least once. Chefs think of these scars as badges of honor. It's like the first time you rode a bike - perhaps you fell and scraped your elbow or knee? Maybe you have a scar? Same thing. Go slowly, learn, fail, succeed, and PRACTICE. Like, a lot.
So, the trick with cooking is paying very close attention to everything you do. I repeat: pay close attention to EVERYTHING you do. You're also preventing foodborne illnesses with food science knowledge. Pay attention and put safety first. This is SO important.
Action Heroes in the Kitchen
(seven set-up steps)
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Again, pay close attention to EVERYTHING you do and remember safety first! BEFORE cooking, always follow these seven set-up steps. Like, every time.
1. RECIPE: choose a recipe, and read the entire recipe from start to finish.
2. TOOLS: get out tools and equipment needed.
3. WORK-STATION: set up your work-station with the following four steps:
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a knife always facing away from you when not in use
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a secure cutting board (if it slips, put a damp washcloth underneath)
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a bowl for food scraps
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a damp cloth or sponge for cleaning surfaces
4. INGREDIENTS: gather the recipe ingredients from the pantry, fridge, freezer, and/or countertops.
5. REVIEW: read the recipe one more time - while cooking, have it ready to read as a reference.
6. PROTECTION: put on an apron (or a shirt you can get messy), and pull your hair back off your face (besides maybe your hair-loving pets, nobody wants to eat your hair - yuck).
7. WASH: wash your hands with warm and soapy water for 20 seconds and sing happy birthday. Never skip this step. Like, ever.
Taste + Touch
When we cook food... we touch it, smell it, see it, hear it, and taste it. We experience food from every angle, every detail, and every flavor possible. To get good at cooking, you have to dive in and let the food be gooey and gross. Mostly, you just gotta get in there and touch food, taste food, and become friends with food.
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Five Ingredient Fun
Almost everyone on Earth eats cabbages, carrots, and onions. How these foods are combined with local herbs, spices, and aromatics creates fabulous flavors. These tastes represent a special region of the globe. We start with the usual suspects in the fridge and can make food mouthwatering.
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Totally Toast
Toast can be as fancy or simple as you wish. Nut butter*, thick-sliced apple, and cinnamon is an example of an easy-breezy toast recipe. I toast up sprouted, whole wheat, and dark German rye breads. I love smashed avocado, hummus, and raw and/or roasted veggies. Get creative and have fun. The powerful aromas and flavors of toast help calm down those feisty salt-sugar-fat cravings, too!
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