Cooking is such a part of connecting with our food and with the Earth. Here’s a kid-friendly recipe from Mike who runs the blog Mike’s Life. When Mike is not writing, he can be found in his kitchen or garden, or enjoying the marine environment of The Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa:
I believe that one of the greatest gifts we can pass on to our kids is a passion for great food and the ability to cook it themselves.
I’m fortunate that I live with my family on a small Atlantic Island, and we simply can’t buy pre packaged food here. The culture is that you buy or grow your own ingredients and put them together yourself!
We started our kids on cooking quite young, and here’s an early recipe we taught them – the skill is in the preparation, the cooking time is satisfyingly long, they can add or subtract ingredients to their taste and they practice many key skills whilst cooking a cheap and healthy meal.
Kid’s Stew (to serve four)
750 grams (about 1.5 lbs) of Braising steak (cheap cut like brisket) chopped into chunks
Season and then brown the meat on very high heat with some olive oil
Slice two onions, 4 cloves of garlic and a Chorizo sausage
Fry those in the oil at medium heat until the onions are transparent
Now add spices – 3 teaspoons paprika, 2 strands of saffron, black pepper
Add meat back in, then 4 tablespoons tomato purée, mix well
Add enough water to cover the meat, put lid on and cook for a 3 hours, stirring from time to time
With half an hour left to cook add fresh herbs from the garden (I use a little mint, lots of parsley and sage)
Take the lid off the allow the liquid to reduce
Serve with hunks of home made bread
Variations
You can add any of these ingredients at the water stage:
- Potato chunks
- Sliced carrot
- Any type of bean of lentils
- You can also spice it up with a chopped chili or some mustard
Enjoy the meal!
I’m trying not to be jealous now of Mike with his island life and my mouth is watering over this recipe. Got a burning question for Mike about his island life? You can leave a comment for Mike here, or visit with Mike at Mike’s Life.
Also, if you have a favorite kid-friendly recipe to share please get in touch. I’d love to feature it in the future. Let me know!
Does your family eat meat?
Related posts:
Thanks for the change to guest post Alison!
I look forward to hearing how the recipe turns out for any of your readers.
Thanks for encouraging people to cook with their kids! It is such a valuable skill and has so many benefits (both for your relationship together and for the child!).
You asked if we eat meat – I only eat fish and chicken, but the rest of my family is open to eating other meats. I have just encouraged them to do it infrequently because of its impact on the planet and their health.
Mike CJ, I wasn’t cooking meat tonight so I used your recipe to inspire a bean dish for dinner. I’d just caution going easy on the paprika with this recipe – I put in 1.5 tsp and that is enough for me. Some kids are very sensitive to spices (and some adults)!
Michelle, I see that your blog is ALL about cooking with kids. I think that’s awesome! I shall have to come by and read more later.