... pretty much the same... and not really all that different...
I think I might have actually found the perspective I would like to take for my final project. As I was explaining to my housemates that I wanted my web page to center around baking, their two children promptly began begging me to let them:
a) Pick the recipes
b) Help me prepare the desserts
c) Help eat the food
I have never been able to resist the cute wheedling of kids so of course I agreed, but it gave me an idea. My final project can be devoted to baking with kids.
Anyone with kids can tell you that, while having them help in the kitchen can be fun for them, it can be a nightmare for the adult; eggs dropped on the floor, flour spilled all over the counter, hot stoves, dirty fingers, extra ingredients thrown in while your back is turned, and (although they deny it to this day) chocolate fed to dogs.
A lot of sites offer "kid's recipes," but few actually discuss ways to avoid the chaos kids bring when they 'help' in the kitchen. I thought I could create a site that offers useful advice on how to bake with kids while avoiding most of the messy scenes and short-tempered outbursts that can only take away from the joy of cooking and eating chocolate. I can incorporate many of the suggestions given to me by my classmates; have videos, definitions of cooking terms, lists of substitutions, as well as recipes selected and approved by kids.
Oh, and the answer is yes, I am sure I could bring some cookies for people to sample at some point during the quarter…
I really like how your idea has evolved. You definitely will be able to include a lot of original material and will produce a resource that will be useful for anyone who might have to interact with kids in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteThat is an excellent idea, which would be particularly beneficial for both children and parents - parents would be more comfortable with their children baking, and children could have a fun afternoon making their own food! If necessary, you could divide the page into a more technical parents' section, and perhaps a more whimsically-decorated children's section.
ReplyDeleteI think you've got a winner too. Although I am childless and all of my nephews are grown, I am still interested in the information you will bring forward. Maybe it will also help with adults that act like kids.
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like a fun website, especially since you have guinea pigs--er, housemates--to practice upon. I like your bullets above too; though "B" should rightly be the focus of your site, briefly touching upon "A" (good sources of recipes, and for what ages) and "C" (how is this food when consumed hot? cold? after a few days? can the food be sampled while being made?) would be good too for kids...or for adults who just bake like them...
ReplyDeleteThis is a great and original idea! I remember in kindergarten our class published a cookbook of our recipes. We each chose a dish and guessed on what the ingredients might be and how we might prepare it. There are some pretty hilarious entries.
ReplyDeleteI like that you mentioned kitchen safety - kids in the kitchen produce hazards. I remember my sisters and I daring eachother - when we were pretty small - to hold a metal fork to the electric frypan until our arms tingled. Thank heavens there were no lasting effects!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to add I was what they referred to in the 80's as a "latch-key kid": I would come home from school, do chores and a paper-route and start dinner. As I got older I learned what I could make - or where to find things I could make with confidence: the back of the Bisquick box; the inside of a soup label, or under the lid on the cream-cheese.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy baking and remember making Christmas cookies with my Mother, Aunt and Grandmother. It brings back special memories. I still remember that the place seemed to look like a bomb hit when we were done because it was my job to clean up. That taught me to put ingredients away as I use them to lessen the clean up in the end! I also remember making Cinnamon Pinwheel biscuits in Middle School (I think I still have a copy of the recipe!) I think it is a fun subject. You can help people create special memories with their children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews.
ReplyDeleteThis is a nice idea! I loved baking as a kid, although I don't think safety and cleanliness used to be such a concern in my family. I was just remembering and telling someone recently about how my mom used to make my sisters and I peanut butter playdough for when we were too little for real playdough because we would have just eaten it. But this kind was fun to play with and safe and delicious to eat!
ReplyDelete