The garden… it’s what’s for dinner tonight!
Let me begin by giving a huge thanks to the UTTG family for welcoming me aboard. I am excited about opening the conversation on cooking and gardening with kids of all ages. My goal is to share personal experiences both as an Aunt and a culinary instructor. I hope you’ll discover some useful tips and maybe a little entertained. As you know, kids say the darndest things. With that in mind, grab a cup of coffee, kick up your feet and feast on this first installment of cooking and gardening with pint-sized chefs.
I live with my elder sister’s family, including Aiden (age 6) and Jack (age 4). Every evening that I am not teaching, Jack and I go check out the garden. This year we planted strawberries, 6 varieties of heirloom tomatoes (including a super sweet purple one), cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, purple and green bell peppers, shallots, fennel, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, curly parsley, chives, and a couple types of cutting flowers. Lions and tigers and bears…OH MY!
It deeply warms my heart and fuels my passion for teaching when I see Jack’s eyes twinkle with excitement. He runs outside with his gardening gloves, basket and scissors to tend to his garden. High-pitched squeals of joy, gasps of fascination and smiles that burst into laughter are music to my ears. At first, we had to bridle his exuberance for picking EVERYTHING in the garden. But once he accepted that adults must be present and give permission before picking, he has blossomed into a genuine little gardener.
From the beginning, the boys helped with the planting of seeds and starter plants. They watched in amazement as they grew a little bit more each day. Jack learned why we don’t pick off the flowers of some plants and why we “dead-head” other flowers. He tells me, “See that tiny yellow flower right there, Mimi? That is going to turn into a tomato!” His mother and I taught the boys to rub the herbs and smell their sweet fragrance on their hands.
Jack’s vocabulary has flourished as he learns the names of all the herbs, flowers and produce. He calls cucumbers “Qune-cumbers” and Oregano “Greg-ano” and for the longest time he called his favorite vegetable “Meat-nos”. That’s tomatoes to you and me. But hey, I am just thrilled he knows what they are and he likes to eat them. He has more finely developed motor-skills from using a pair of scissors and climbing deep under the tomato plants to harvest the perfectly ripe tomatoes. He has even learned some cool science about pests and diseases that affect the plants. The sweetest of all gestures is his desire to pick or cut flowers for the girls. “Not the leaves, Mimi!” he instructs me as he clips Gardenias for Mom.
The fun and learning don’t stop outside. We take our bountiful crops inside to the kitchen were my “Shoe Chefs on the Case” hop into action, turning our veggies into a delicious meal. We make homemade salad dressings with freshly picked herbs and Jack shakes it up then has a quick “chef snack” to insure tastiness. The girls chop and the boys drop the ingredients into the pot. We stir, taste and season our way to healthy, garden fresh meals like Ratatouille Stew, Purple Tomato and Cucumber Salad, Pesto Pasta, Grilled Veggie and Chicken Kabobs and the simple pleasure of fresh tomatoes with salt, pepper and droplets of olive oil.
You might think that since you don’t have a home garden, you cannot create memories like these. Well I am here to tell you that you can reproduce similar experiences with the children in your life. First and foremost, it’s about leading by example. It’s about inviting your children to learn about seasonal varieties of produce. It’s about modeling and encouraging an adventurous palate. But most importantly, it’s about having fun and tapping into your own child-like wonder of the world around you. So, turn off the TV, log off the web and tune into your kids. I promise, both you and the kids will create memories for a lifetime.
Now it’s your turn, dear reader, grab that point-n-shoot camera and share some of your family’s food memories…in a garden, farmer’s market, holiday feasts, birthday parties, snacks or breakfasts in bed. In my next article I will explore some creative tips for teaching your kids about food and cooking. Until then…happy eating!
LINKS.
On The Web: Kids Gardening (dot com) – Gadening With Kids (dot com)
At The Library: Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots , Grow Your Own Pizza, The Vegetables We Eat.
