Cooking Kids

Everyone knows that herbs have healing powers and are imperative for healing tonics and potions. But herbs are also the number one way of flavoring food without adding a ton of calories or fat. That’s why this year I decided to plant an herb garden in the corner of my backyard. Not only would the garden provide my family with fresh herbs for our meals, but my kids could help gather and prepare the herbs for cooking.

Today was the first day we ventured out to the ‘little garden,’ as it’s so affectionately called my by 3-year old. (That’s a picture of our little herb garden up there on the top.) We were baking a loaf of whole wheat bread and the recipe didn’t call for any seasonings. I decided to add some thyme and rosemary, but my cabinet was only stocked with thyme. That’s when I remembered our little rosemary plant growing outside and took my daughter out to cut a sprig.

Her first reaction when I told her that we would be putting the rosemary into the bread was to say, “Silly, mommy. We don’t eat plants. We just look at them and smell them.” I knew this was going to be a great opportunity to teach my daughter that some plants are for more than just smelling and looking at.

She was excited to perform her job of pulling each rosemary leaf off the sprig and giving it to me to cut up. She smelled, touched and tasted this savory herb and watched me add it to the bread. She enjoyed telling her dad that she baked the bread and put an herb in it. Then she asked a question that let me know she understood that herbs were for more than looking at and smelling. She asked her dad, “Do you love herbs?” He answered, “Sure, I like them.” To which her response was, “Me, too. I love herbs.” And to that I can only say that I, too, love herbs because of the special times they give me with my children. And, of course, for the way they flavor our food.

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