BBQ chicken breast with salad and mushrooms á la Georgia, made with Nina’s fresh cream

Georgia is totally keen to help in the kitchen (especially when it’s a fun job like cooking, instead of washing dishes). We’re keen to have her help too! We’ve started to get her to do small cooking jobs (eg cook rice and pasta). She prepares vegetables with care. She prepares breakfasts (cereal, toast). She makes cups of tea and enjoys baking.

I like it that she is confident in the kitchen. I like the way she stands tall (like, nearly my height) with her apron on and hair pulled back. She seems happy and confident when she is cooking. She likes to listen to music and she sings along merrily. It’s fantastic, come to think of it, that she loves cooking so much.

So monte and I have decided to teach her more cooking. Next on the list is Bolognese. We think she is totally ready for the challenge. We’ll help her, of course. She’s only eight. A lot of kids can’t even prepare their own cereal at this age. Maybe we ask too much of our firstborn, but she loves the independence of being able to prepare her own breakfast of a morning.

Anyway, we recently taught G a dish that my dad taught me to make when I was about Georgia’s age. Mushrooms and spring onions, sautéed in butter. I used to love making this for my family. I used to ask if I could make it all the time! I have many fond memories of cooking with my father!

Mushrooms
::Thinly slice about 10 mushrooms.
::Thinly slice 2 spring onions.
::Melt butter (1-2 Tbsp) in a frying pan
::Place mushrooms and onions in hot frying pan.
::Do not overcook. Vegetables should not lose their colour.
::When the mushrooms and onions are tender, add 1/2 cup cream.
::Heat cream with vegetables just before serving.
::Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is a great dish to learn a bit about cooking. The mushrooms Georgia made this evening were the nicest mushrooms I’ve ever had. I began thinking how nice a creamy mushroom soup would be. I thought that it’d be marvelous to grow mushrooms and spring onions again. How fabulous for the children to go and pick the food (and milk the cow) and prepare part of the dinner!

What are your thoughts? How much should children be involved with cooking? The more the better, in my opinion.