Most of us have some sort of cooking memory from childhood. Whether it was helping Mom make dinner in the kitchen, pitching in on family dinners or the first time dad let YOU turn a burger on the grill, we just about all have a culinary memory of some sort.

The world has changed an awful lot in the last decade or two, though. Between soccer games, convenience foods, drive-through dinners and PlayStation, the idea of "making dinner" on a daily basis has become almost an archaic notion. Ovens are turned on more to heat up frozen lasagna than to make chocolate-chip cookies.

What we're in the process of losing isn't just homemade food, it's one of the greatest ways for parents and kids to connect, to communicate and spend time together with no distractions other than mixing bowls and saucepans.

Now, I'm not for a minute advocating that we all become the Cleavers overnight. I always thought Beaver was a dweeb, and Ward looked like he hit the bottle pretty hard after the cameras stopped rolling. However, a Saturday afternoon spent in the kitchen will do wonders for family togetherness, and you'll get to eat, too!

This week, we'll talk about a few things parents can do with the preteen set. Next week, we'll get into some more advanced ideas for older kids.

Some Things To Try

If your younger ones have never cooked before, or you've got no experience cooking with kids, here are a few simple things you can let them try, under your supervision, that will get both of your comfortable with the kitchen.

Shake It Up: Remember that annoying Shake 'N Bake commercial with the little kid glowing over helping mom make dinner? Just think about it for a moment. The food goes in the bag and then Junior gets to shake heck out of it. It's something any kid can do, and it'll even give you a chance to teach a little about food safety, washing hands after touching raw meat and such.

Bath Time!: Speaking of keeping things clean, the next time you make a salad let your junior cook wash the vegetables. Make a game of it! Show them how the dirt can infest the crevices of the celery and such and set them to being a "dirt detective" to find it all. It's even better if you have one of those nifty spray hoses as part of your sink equipment.

Give 'Em A Spin: After the salad greens are washed, of course, you'll want to dry them off. What kid could resist the fun of using the salad spinner? You might need to hold it. If you've got a junior science whiz, the spinner is a fantastic example of centrifugal force, the water being thrown against the outer wall of the chamber by the rotating force.

The Big Mash: Mashed potatoes are one of those things that everyone seems to remember their mom making. One of the most integral parts of good homemade mashers is the lumps and bumps; the sign they've been made by hand, not machine. Get out that old potato masher that's hibernating in the back of the kitchen junk drawer and put your assistant to work. Make sure the potatoes have cooled enough to prevent burns!

Weigh It Out: Many recipes, like hamburgers or appetizers, call for portions to be weighed out in ounces or grams. No kitchen is complete without a digital scale, and using it can be a fun exercise. Make a game of it, trying to eyeball the exact amount you need before weighing.

Keep It Sweet: If you're dealing with a complete kitchen rookie, especially one who thinks kitchen jobs are "boring" or "girl stuff," it's a great idea to make your first couple of cooking endeavors simple ones that have sweet results, like cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

These are a lunchbox favorite, and just about the easiest in the world to make.

½ c. shortening
¾ c. creamy peanut butter
1 ¼ c. light brown sugar
3 tbsp. milk
1 large egg
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 ¾ c. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
1 ¼ tsp kosher salt
Granulated sugar, for dipping

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Cream together shortening, brown sugar and peanut butter until smooth. Stir in egg, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture until well blended. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Using a dinner fork, dip the fork in granulated sugar and make crosshatches on top of each cookie, dipping between each mark.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

With some supervision, your little cook should be able to do almost everything in the recipe except the oven work. The good thing about these cookies is they're very forgiving ... a measurement that's a bit off here or there won't destroy the result.

Web Resources

There are abundant resources on the Internet where you can find tips and recipes for cooking with kids. One of the best is www.cookingwithkids.com. If you want kits to help you get started, www.kidscook.com is a great site. Just plug "cooking with kids" into any search engine and hundreds of sites and sections of sites will leap to hand. Explore!

Do you have any "kid cooking" tips or ideas? Got a comment? Question? Recipe to share? Drop me a line anytime!