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Fri 19 Apr

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Doughy recipes are always a surefire way to lure y

Doughy recipes are always a surefire way to lure your kids into cooking.

So why not try with gnocchi?

I am not an accomplished pasta-maker, despite being Italian, but IMHO gnocchi are a satisfying gateway to making pasta at home. They are fairly easy and nearly always turn out right - if not almost-right. And kids LOVE to eat them. You can serve them plain, with a sprinkle of parmigiana reggiano, with salsa pomodoro, or pesto!

I follow @julskitchen’s recipe in her gorgeous new cookbook, Cucina Povera. I don’t have a potato ricer, so I just thoroughly mash my potatoes with a fork (Giulia, I’m curious what you have to say about that!).

What are some favorite dough recipes in your house? 👇

#homemadepasta #cookingwithkids #pastarecipes🍅🍆🍴🇮🇹

We’ve been in our home for three years today, an

We’ve been in our home for three years today, and were first greeted by the daffodils. ☀️

One year after moving in, we met the girl who planted them 60 years ago. She grew up with six siblings in this home, which we learned has been passed down as a well-loved sanctuary since 1890.

When K planted the daffodil bulbs, she came in for dinner breathless with excitement, proud of her feat. When her father asked if she remember which way to plant the bulbs, she said, “Yep! The pointy side down!”

The story goes that her father nodded approvingly, unwilling to crush her sense of accomplishment. When the kids were asleep, he crept out with a flashlight and dug up every single bulb, flipping it around, root side down. 🥹

I love this beautiful, tender story, and the sheer act of planting hundreds of daffodils for their own enjoyment - and also - for future stewards of this land. 💛

These daffodils have been a HUGE gift to us. Their faces dance with playful radiance, and light up every corner of our house. They are a beacon in the variable and often harsh Spring in Northern New York. They inspire art.

And above all, they have taught me the importance of tending the land with our children’s children’s children (KEEP GOING!) in mind.

Let us tread on the earth leaving flowers and trees in our footsteps for those to come. 🌳🌷

(Alright, isn’t there a Rumi quote in that vein? 🤔)

What is one thing you can do this Spring to leave a legacy of beauty? 👇

Am I right? Or am I right? 🙋‍♀️ The weat

Am I right? Or am I right? 🙋‍♀️

The weather is iffy, and it’s not quite garage clean-out time YET. 🌦️

But when it is, those Spring fruits and veggies will be knocking at your (kitchen) door, and you better be ready! 🍓🍋🥬🫛🔪👩‍🍳

Do you need help getting your pantry organized so that your kitchen feels absolutely DELIGHTFUL when you walk into it? So that it’s a sacred, organized, glorious space where you WANT to be cooking up magic… maybe even with your kids?🍯

Ooo ooo! Let me help! It’s my favorite thing to do! DM me “spring cleaning” and I’ll share some ideas to get started. More tips coming here soon too! 🙌

Mad props to @dimityps who let me tear apart her kitchen (but honestly, she needed it). More coming on that soon. 🧹🧽

I know not everyone will agree, but kids can learn

I know not everyone will agree, but kids can learn to cut with real knives from an early age 🔪🍎🥒.

And, it will be much more helpful for YOU if they do.

For example, Cora prepared 4 lunchboxes the other day! This didn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t happen every day, but when it does - hallelujah! 🙏

Here are a few tips to help your little one learn knife safety and skills:

🔹When kids show an interest in cooking, they want to actually accomplish something on their own. Therefore, they need a knife that will WORK. Those plastic, serrated “starter” knives lead to a lot of frustration. Start kids with a butter knife, cutting something soft, like boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and apples. Stay close by and model proper technique.

🔹 Teach your kids “the claw” for gripping food in a way that keeps their fingers and thumb away from the blade and beneath it!

🔹 Teach them where the knife lives when they aren’t using it: in the drawer or on a cutting board away from babies or an edge where it can fall. Never walk or run with a knife. Never hold it while talking, or point it at someone. If you’re not cutting, lay it down!

🔹 When cutting round fruits or vegetables, slice a layer off to create a flat surface for it to lie, so it doesn’t roll while they practice cutting. They can graduate to cutting rounded objects without a flat surface when there is a lot of surface area to hold: like a cucumber or carrot.

🔹 When you see them confidently slicing and chopping with a butter knife, you can graduate to a pairing knife, and so on. Sticking close by, casually observing, etc. The size and weight that works for each kid will vary.

I’d love to hear any tips you have to add to this list! 👇

Disclaimer: Getting cut can happen, and it’s a HUGE learning opportunity! (For grown-ups too.) Cora got her first cut a few weeks ago. Because she wasn’t using a big, super-sharp “grown-up” blade, she wasn’t significantly hurt, but the incident gave her more respect for knives as a tool. It also didn’t deter her. Seek immediate and proper care, and, let it be a learning experience.

As a first-generation American from a wildly inter

As a first-generation American from a wildly international family, I learned early on that food plays a powerful role in shaping our identities and celebrating cultural diversity. 🌍

Food is a universal language that brings people together and fosters cross-cultural understanding. This is a top value for me when it comes to my kids’ education.

We’ve been on a six-week homeschooling adventure to be with family in Connecticut, and when my mom proposed teaching the kids about cultures around the world through food, I was ALL IN.

Every week, she picked a country and took the kids to a grocery store or market, and restaurant owned-operated by people from that country. She and my stepdad complimented these outings with locating each country at the globe, drawing the flags, listening to music, and so on.

For the China “unit,” we voyaged the farthest yet, to Chinatown. It was worth every bite. We were immersed in the Cantonese language and sampled a range of new foods, with chopsticks. We explored the neighborhood and different offerings in the stores. It was memorable and delicious!

You don’t have to travel far to learn about other cultures. Chances are, you can find several international and regional U.S. restaurants within 20 minutes of where you live.

Unless you live on a dude ranch. 🤠

So where you eating next?! 👇

#nycchinatown #chinatownnyc #dimsum #worldschooling #worldschoolers #homeschoollife

Hear me out. My kids’ constant obsession with

Hear me out.

My kids’ constant obsession with sugar and sweets is REAL. 🍭

In fact, the number #1 reason Cora wants to cook is to find ways of incorporating something sweet into her recipe, like swapping cheese in a fruit salad (bleh 😝) for marshmallows (can’t blame her). 🍓

I’m not an anti-sugar kinda mama, and I don’t believe in cutting out treats (for all our sake).

Even though we have plenty of battles over candy, I think it’s important for kids to build a healthy relationship with sugar. ❤️

We talk a lot about how to balance treats with “growing food,” primarily by following a meal with sweets. (More great tips from the @glucosegoddess!) We also talk about paying attention to how our bodies feel: our mouths, our mood, our bellies.

Over time, this approach seems to be sinking in.

My 8-year old now saves candy from holidays and eats it responsibly, she knows when she’s had enough dessert, and she understands the need to balance food types.

So the next time your child shows an interest in cooking, and wants to incorporate sweets, weigh what’s more important in that moment 👩‍🍳:

- Encouraging an interest in cooking, or
- Eliminating the option to use sweets

And if it’s a sugar-heavy creation, encourage them to pad their belly with growing food before! 🥗🥪

📖 Cora is cooking from the cookbook “Pretend Soup” by Molly Katzen.

Happy April 1! 😜 Guess I posted this without t

Happy April 1! 😜

Guess I posted this without the text over it which said:

“Trying that new trend where you post a picture of yourself drinking a beverage or dancing - or both! - and overlay it with a critical message like “make a wish on your soda tab!”

Guess the prank’s on me! 😂😘

Kids can do hard things too! Like take hot food ou

Kids can do hard things too! Like take hot food out of the oven and make POPovers! 🙌

It has been so fun lightly supervising this curious kid in the kitchen. (And also a bit of a strain on my nervous system, which likes things NEAT!) 🤪

But seriously, I think it’s important to help kids learn how to be safe in the kitchen, so that they can feel empowered to cook on their own. My main approach is to be nearby and watch, and help when asked. I’m the “assistant.”

It doesn’t mean we haven’t had minor mishaps, but those are always learning opportunities. Even grownups nick their own fingers and get burned!

Not every recipe or experiment turns out great, but these popovers were a winner. Cora made them 3 more times, following the recipe in “Pretend Soup.”

Each time we learned something new (like if you don’t properly whisk the ingredients into a smooth batter, you won’t beat enough air into the eggs to make them rise in the dough). 🥚🌬️

It’s safe to say we all need a break from popovers. But YOU should totally give them a try with your kiddo! 👩‍🍳

What’s your approach to cooking with kids? 👂

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