A recent Westinghouse Kids in the kitchen survey found that cooking from scratch is in decline, Lack of time has resulted in over a million parents reporting that they never teach their kids to cook. One third (33%) of families teach their kids to cook once a month and 30% of parents say they never share their family cooking traditions and tips.
Julie Goodwin believes getting kids in the kitchen is about having fun, getting messy and enjoying the chaos as well as teaching lifelong skills.
"Cooking is one of the greatest life skills that you can teach and share with your children. It helps set them up for life for their nutrition and wellbeing as well as proving a wonderful time for the family to spend together"
Julie shares some tips in getting kids into the kitchen
- Get them involved in the whole process- from going through cookbooks and picking what your going to make,to going to the grocery store and getting the ingredients. Children are far more likely to enjoy cooking and eating what has been created if they have some ownership in the process.
- Chanel your inner green thumb- going to the garden and picking veggies you have grown together from a seed is very rewarding.
- Dont overcomplicated it- focus on simple dishes and the fun behind cooking, teach your kids to clean as they go to minimize stress in the kitchen.
- Colour is the key- kids love color, so choose recipes that have vibrant colors throughout like salads and stir-frys.
- Homemade take away- identify your kids favorite takeaway meal and work out how to create them at home in a fresh way.
Homemade Sausage Rolls and tomato sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients
400 grams beef mince
1 egg
2 sprigs parsley
1 piece bacon
½ cup bread crumbs
2 shallots
1 tsp mustard powder
1 small carrot
1 zucchini
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp. tomato sauce
Pastry:
1 ¼ cups plain flour
125 grams butter
½ t salt
4 tbsp. iced water
1 tbsp. extra milk
Homemade tomato sauce:
500 grams good quality vine ripened tomatoes (must be super ripe) or good quality tinned tomatoes
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
Pinch of salt and pepper
¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 small brown onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
Method
Sausage rolls:
1. Pre-heat oven to 200C. Line a biscuit tray with baking paper
2. Place butter and flour into a bowl. Rub the mixture in between your index finger and thumb until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt and pepper
3. Add the salt and half the iced water, mix to combine. Add a little bit of water at a time until the pastry forms a ball
4. Knead the dough on the bench a few times, until it looks smooth. Roll to 1cm flat, wrap in plastic and place into the fridge
5. Using the finest side of the grater, grate the carrot. Grate the zucchini into a strainer, then push out all of the excess liquid. Dry on paper towel
6. Place zucchini and carrot into a bowl
7. Whisk the egg
8. Finely dice the shallots, parsley and bacon
9. Add all ingredients into a large bowl and mix to combine
10. Remove pastry from the fridge. Lightly flour a rolling pin, pastry roll to ½ cm thick with a rolling pin. Trim the edges to be a rectangle. Cut rectangle into 6x6 cm squares
11. Divide filling evenly onto each piece of pastry. Place filling on one edge and roll
12. Place onto baking tray, brush with milk and bake for 20 minutes or until golden
Homemade tomato sauce:
1. Remove stem from the tomato mark an X in the bottom of the tomato with a sharp knife. Fill a large bowl with boiling water. Place the tomatoes in the bowl. Place a round cake tin with a little water on top to keep the tomatoes in the bowl. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
2. Drain the tomatoes and rub the skin off
3. Finely chop the onion
4. Place olive oil into a small non-stick saucepan and put onto a low heat. Slowly sweat and caramelize the onions (this may take up to 20 minutes)
5. Whilst onions are cooking, finely dice the tomatoes
6. Once the onions are cooked, place all remaining ingredients into the saucepan and bring to the simmer. Allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the mixture is nice and thick
7. Using a stick blender, blend until smooth. Strain mixture using a sieve and set aside to cool
Kids in the Kitchen can:
1. Measure the ingredients
2. Rub the flour and the butter together
3. Roll out the dough
4. Grate the vegetables
5. Pick the parsley leaves from the stalks
6. Roll the sausage rolls
7. Brush the sausage rolls with milk
Recipe Book
Kids in the Kitchen
Christina xx
These look so yummy
ReplyDeleteYummmy
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this with my son. He won't let me show him any cooking. Great tips
ReplyDeleteTheres some really good tips here. Always good to get the kids to join in.
ReplyDeleteYour blog always shows great things! Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try this tonight and get my 3 girls to help me.
ReplyDeleteSuch good tips!
ReplyDeleteAnd that looks amazing and yummy
YUM I DEFO be trying these always wanted to make sausage rolls xx
ReplyDeleteI think it's super important to pass on cooking skills so I'm glad there's people doing something to try and encourage that :)
ReplyDeleteAmy // www.thenoiseinwonderland.com
Yummm these are so good! I agree with Amy, it's so important to pass on cooking skills. I know so many people who couldn't even cook toast when they left home, I am so glad my parents cooked with me!
ReplyDeleteLaura || www.thelifeoflaura.com.au xx
This looks so delicious.... I am going to try make this tonight
ReplyDeleteYum! I love homemade sausage rolls!
ReplyDelete