Any young moms or dads out there who wonder when to teach your kids how to cook? I want to tell you a story.
When I got married, I knew how to cook a few things, but not really meals (except meals for one person: me...which was mostly boiled eggs, cheese quesadillas, and salads). Thankfully, my mom had taught me to bake cookies and such, so I knew how to read a recipe, measure, and be safe in the kitchen. So after I got married, in the beginning, I mostly learned from my Betty Crocker cookbook.
My mom told me when she got married, she didn't know how to cook either, and she, too, had to teach herself. So, I decided to break the chain of young adults not knowing how to cook. I decided I would teach my kids to cook when they were little.
I started at very young ages, maybe at about five. It varied with each child. (Please practice safety measures and always supervise). As young children, they loved working with mom, and producing food, and eating what they made.
When they were a bit older, some of my children liked to get cookbooks from the library, and try more things. My husband used to like to tell the story of one son asking him to buy a spring form pan, something he had never even heard of! I don't think I had either.
When they got older yet, they used to watch cooking shows. Some of them have never stopped watching cooking shows I think, or maybe not as a hobby, anymore, but if they want to try something new, they'll check one out.
Truth be told, I have never watched cooking shows. And I've rarely baked unnecessarily. Honestly, I don't even enjoy cooking! I cook to eat! I do love eating! (And I enjoy experimenting to find frugal recipes that work for my family).
But my kids? Oh, man, they make me so happy and proud, I could cry (is that my age? My paternal grandma used to cry at happy things). They cook for us when they are here, and sometimes they entertain their friends. On top of all that joy, what could be more frugal?
