Teaching Our Kids to Cook

Missy, here. I remember spending time in the kitchen with my mom when I was a kid. I remember her letting my friends and me bake. I remember, when I got into my teens, cooking for boyfriends, trying to impress them.

I also remember how TOTALLY CLUELESS my husband was when it came to cooking. I'm talking a disaster in the kitchen. No cooking sense AT ALL. So once we married and had a son, I made up my mind that any son of mine would learn how to cook and take care of himself!

I started oldest child in the kitchen early--stand on a chair to reach the counter early. And he enjoyed cooking. Today, he's 24, and he calls to ask for recipes and advice. He cooks for his girlfriend. He tries new recipes.

Son #2 came along and learned to cook for himself pretty well. He's not as adventurous. If left to his own devices, he's most likely to make ramen noodles or Kraft mac & cheese. But he could survive if he had to. :)

Then along came my daughter.

She has no interest in learning to cook. Well, I should amend that statement. Other than baking cakes and brownies, she has no desire to cook. I recently forced her to come in the kitchen and make tacos with me. I've done the same with spaghetti. She stirs and chops and does anything I ask her to do. But she's bored. Cooking is NOT her thing.

So I figured I'd failed. Assuming she would take to cooking naturally like I did, I'd waited too long to lure her into the kitchen (I should have nabbed her to cook when she was really young like I did with the boys!).

But then, last week on vacation…

Drum roll…

SHE WENT EXPLORING IN THE KITCHEN!

She got a craving for a something she'd seen on Pinterest. She added the ingredients to our grocery list. And then once she made the dish, she took photos of it and told me I HAD to share it on the Cafe blog. She reminded me again this week.

So, I bring you…my daughter's Poached egg and avocado sandwich (open faced).

Mash up a fresh avocado and spread it on bread or toast.
Poach an egg. Serve it on top of the avocado spread.

Best served with a beach view!

One tip we learned on a cooking show is to boil the water for poaching, then once it's boiling, briskly stir it to get it swirling. While the water is swirling, break the egg carefully into the middle of the swirl. Turn off the burner and let cook for desired time. My daughter wanted her yellow runny. You may want to cook yours longer (SALMONELLA ALERT! :))

[Note: I used to buy pasteurized eggs because my son liked his so runny. Now our grocery doesn't carry them, so I buy organic, free range, hoping they might be just a bit safer.]

Here's the spot I ate breakfast every morning last week. At beautiful Orange Beach, Alabama, on the balcony overlooking the Gulf!

Here's a photo of the view from the pool…

And the best place to be was my beach set up, where I spent my time reading all week long!

Ahhh, there's nothing like toes in the sand and a great book to read! Here's the chef, taking a break after making her fancy breakfast.

I'm so proud of her! I hope she's found a love of cooking after all. :)