BECKLEY — As a child, I often helped my mother and grandmother in the kitchen. I enjoyed watching how food was prepared. I know that it sometimes frustrated them having me there, asking a million questions; therefore as an adult, I am very appreciative that they allowed me into their culinary dominion.

I have had more than one person tell me that as children, they weren’t allowed in the kitchen when their moms or grandmothers were cooking. As a busy adult, I understand that it is faster and easier to prepare meals without children running about. However, I can’t help but be saddened by the loss of opportunity for family time.

My 5-year-old son loves to help out in the kitchen and has already told me that he wants to be a chef like his father. To encourage his passion for good food, I have developed fun culinary activities that are age-appropriate for him. When I was 5, my mother trusted me to grate cheese and peel carrots, but I don't think that my son it ready to work with sharp instruments. Besides, I remember skinning my knuckles on several occasions!

At my house, we have “make your own pizza” night at least once a month; typically on a Friday. I’ll admit that I do use a short cut for “make your own pizza” night. Instead of making the dough from scratch and rolling it out, I purchase frozen cheese pizzas. Then, I allow my son to add toppings to the frozen pizza; usually pepperoni slices, mushroom slices and fresh tomato. Then, I add a little more shredded mozzarella to the top, so the toppings fuse better during cooking, and bake until the pizza is golden brown. Using the pre-made, frozen pizza saves a lot of time and ensures that we don't have to eat dinner too late at night.

There are many activities in which children can create their own meal without having to actually prepare or cook the food. For young children, just being able to assemble their own plate of food can be a fun experience. You do all the prep work and the best part is that they can sit down and immediately enjoy their creation.

Here are some of my “Creative Cooking with Children” ideas:

Baked potato night



6-8 Russet potatoes

1 bag shredded cheddar

One 16-ounce tub sour cream

Bacon bits

Butter

1 small bag frozen broccoli

1 small can chili

1 small can of yellow kernel corn

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F°. Wash and scrub potatoes well. Stab each twice with a fork and then wrap each in foil. Place wrapped potatoes on a cookie sheet. Bake for 1 hour, 15 minutes. In the meantime, heat up chili. Heat up corn and drain. Microwave broccoli until cooked. Arrange toppings (cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, butter, chili, corn and broccoli) on the dinner table. Split unwrapped potatoes and serve each in a bowl. Encourage children to build their own potato by adding toppings of their choice.



Chef salad night



1 bag of prepared salad mix

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes

3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

One 8-ounce bag shredded cheddar cheese

Deli ham slices — rolled or chopped

Deli turkey slices- rolled of chopped

Croutons or Durkee Fried onions

Your choice of salad dressing (on the side)



Arrange the above ingredients on a table (much like a salad bar). Start with a lettuce base on each plate and then encourage children to build their own salads. They will most likely need help with the salad dressing; I typically serve it on the side. As they eat their creation, ask them about what they like the best about their salad, and what other toppings they'd want in the future.



Build-a-sundae bar



Plain chocolate and/or vanilla ice cream

M&Ms

Chopped nuts

Chocolate chips

Crushed Oreo cookies

Crushed Chocolate chip cookies

Maraschino cherries

Chocolate syrup

Frozen strawberries in syrup, thawed

Whipped topping



Place one or two scoops of ice cream in each bowl. Allow children to make their own sundae. This is an excellent activity for birthday parties or sleepovers. Note, this activity can be messy, so have plenty of napkins available and lay down a washable or disposable table cloth.

— Chef Leonard Bailey is the

director of The National Institute of Culinary Arts at Mountain State University in Beckley