It's never too soon to start cooking

After seeing several cute cookbooks, especially Ruby Roth’s The Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids, comprised of easy plant-based recipes kids can make “to stay healthy and save the world,” the cookbook diva in me felt roused.

I was compelled to develop a few recipes for kids six years old and up because there is so much for them to discover through cooking.

Besides creating an awareness and appreciation for food and healthy eating habits, cooking stokes kids’ curiosity, thinking and problem-solving capabilities. Kids gain confidence, patience and the ability to follow instructions.

When my daughter was a two-year-old at a Montessori School, she was taught to cut carrots and to help empty a dishwasher. That’s impressed me for more than three decades.

Since we want younger generations to eat and choose well, adults have to share the kitchen with them sometimes so that they can learn and develop self-esteem from the task. To achieve the best result—kids enjoying their time in the kitchen so much that they want to keep coming back to try more recipes that are written for them—educator Maria Montessori advises: Follow the child.

So we not only involve them, we put them in charge of the creation. Initially, they need an adult’s assistance. Before tackling a recipe, read it out loud and arrange all the ingredients on the counter as well as utensils, such as measuring cups and spoons, forks for mashing, a wooden spoon for stirring, muffin tins, mixing bowls, a baking pan, sauté pan, soup pot and blender. You’ll find children absorbed in the process already.

Under your watchful eye, you can have a toddler practice slicing and build complex motor skills using a banana and a dull dinner knife; four and five-year-old’s can carefully practice cutting pieces of vegetables and fruit first using a serrated dinner knife.

I have a Montessori Toddler & Up Knife & Slice Sequence Kit (available from Amazon.com). It includes a set of five tools to teach children at various skill levels everything from slicing a banana to cutting their own vegetables, bread and herbs with a serrated knife—all under adult supervision. When kids eventually use an adult knife, put a piece of colored tape on the handle of the knife to mark the safe end, and remind them their hand stays on the tape.

Once cooking gets underway, use a timer to remind both of you when to turn off the heat so nothing gets burned.

Be aware that inviting kids into your kitchen definitely means making a mess. But I guarantee the experience will be so rewarding for everyone involved that you’ll even enjoy the cleanup together. Here are some recipes to get your children in the kitchen. Beware, they might enjoy them so much it could be hard to get them out of the kitchen.

Editor’s note: Feral is the author of three vegan cookbooks: The Best of Vegan Cooking; Dining with Friends; and For the Love of Dog Biscuits. Younger children will be able to try making the first recipes, a Date Nut Shake or Raspberry Smoothie.

DATE NUT SHAKE

• 1 frozen banana, cut in several pieces • 4 – 8 ice cubes • 1/3 cup of raw cashews • 1 cup coconut milk (or other vegan milk) • 2 dates (no pits!) Serves 1

Preparation: Blend in a blender until smooth and creamy.

RASPBERRY SMOOTHIE

Serves 2

• 2 cups of raspberries • 1 banana, cut in several pieces • ½ cup of orange juice • 1 tablespoon of lime juice • 2 ice cubes

Preparation: Blend in a blender until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses and garnish each with a mint leaf, if desired.

• Peanut butter • 2 slices of whole grain bread • Thin-sliced banana or apples • A sprinkle of cinnamon NO-RECIPE PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH

Serves 2

Preparation: Toast the bread before spreading it with peanut butter, which adds crunch and warmth. Top one slice with thin-sliced banana, or apples. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon. Cut the sandwich in half.

• 1-½ cups whole wheat flour • ½ cup all-purpose flour • ¾ cup organic light brown sugar • 1 tablespoon baking powder • 2 teaspoons baking soda • 2 teaspoons cinnamon • ½ teaspoon ground ginger • ½ teaspoon salt • ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce • ½ cup coconut oil, melted • 1 apple, peeled and grated • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract • 2 cups grated carrot (about 3 carrots) • ½ cup raisins • ½ cup shredded, unsweetened coconut • ½ cup walnuts, chopped

Preparation: Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).

In large bowl, add the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt; whisk well to combine. Add in the applesauce, coconut oil, apple and vanilla; whisk just until combined. Add the carrot, raisins, coconut and walnuts and stir until ingredients are combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean or with just a couple of crumbs attached. Cool muffins in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

• 8 – 12. oz. shell macaroni • 1 onion peeled and chopped • ¼ cup olive oil • 3 cloves of chopped or crushed garlic • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes • 1 stick of cinnamon • ½ cup of non-dairy creamer • One 14 oz. can of drained chickpeas • 2 tablespoons of fresh, chopped parsley • salt and pepper to taste Serves 3

Preparation: Sauté onion in olive oil and add garlic, along with a dusting of salt and pepper. After a few minutes when the onion is nicely softened and see-through, add tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, and a stick of cinnamon. Stir and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Then add the non-dairy creamer, and reheat for a minute or more.

Meanwhile, boil 6 quarts of salted water in a large pan. Add the pasta and cook until tender as the package instructs, stirring so it doesn’t stick.

After pasta is done, drain it in a colander. Add drained chickpeas and stir into the tomato sauce, topping with chopped parsley.

GUACAMOLE • 2 avocados, peeled and seeded • ½ small red onion, finely chopped • 2 cloves minced (cut in tiny pieces) or crushed garlic • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice • ½ tomato, finely chopped • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro • ½ teaspoon sea salt • A dash of black pepper Serves 4

Preparation: Peel and seed a ripe avocado and mash it in a bowl with a fork. Combine the remaining ingredients with the avocado.

A pit left in the guacamole, along with sprinkling a little more lime juice, helps to preserve the guacamole’s bright green color if you’re not eating it right away.

Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours before eating, and serve with cut vegetables such as carrot sticks, or tortilla chips.

EASY-PEASY CHOCOLATE CAKE ONE 8-INCH SQUARE CAKE Serves 9

This is an adapted version of chef Mollie Katzen’s chocolate cake recipe that’s baked in an 8-by-8-inch baking pan. It was surprising how dark and moist it was for such a simple recipe. Her instructions called for preparing and baking it in the same dish, but I altered that direction so that the cake more easily lifts out of a greased pan.

• 1 ¼ cups unbleached white flour • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa • 1 cup organic sugar • ½ teaspoon salt • ¾ teaspoon baking soda • 1 cup water • 1/3 cup organic canola oil • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar • 2 tablespoons semisweet, vegan chocolate chips • Organic Powdered Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting on top

Preparation: Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Have ready an 8-inch-square greased baking pan.

Put flour, cocoa, sugar, salt and baking soda into a mediumlarge mixing bowl. Mix ingredients together until uniform in color.

Add 1 cup water along with the oil, vanilla extract and vinegar. Stir with a whisk in small circles to blend until the mixture becomes a smooth and uniform batter.

Pour the batter into a greased 8-inch square pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake for 30 – 33 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the batter comes out mostly clean, with a few chocolate cake crumbs clinging to it.

Remove from the oven, let cool, then cut the cake into squares. This looks pretty with some confectioners’ sugar dusted on top.

LUSCIOUS TOMATO SOUP

• ¼ cup olive oil • 1 small-medium onion, chopped • 1 medium carrot, chopped • 2 celery sticks, chopped • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour • 14.5 oz. can fire-roasted, diced tomatoes • 1 tablespoon tomato paste • 1- ½ teaspoon dried basil • 2 cups vegetable broth • A pinch of sugar • ½ teaspoon of salt or to taste • A little freshly ground black pepper • ¼ cup of non-dairy creamer Serves 4

Preparation: Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pan over medium heat, and then add the onion, carrot and celery.

Cook the onion, carrot and celery for about 5 minutes, until they soften, and then stir in the garlic and flour and cook for another minute.

Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, dried basil, vegetable broth, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce to low heat and simmer, partially covered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper.

Remove the soup from the heat and let it cool about 30 minutes. Ladle it into a blender and blend in batches until smooth. Pour back into the pan, add non-dairy creamer and reheat before serving.

(Tip: A hand immersion blender can be used after the soup is done cooking, which saves time from ladling soup into a blender.)