Cooking With Kids

From the Introduction
“BAKING DAY” IS A phrase you may have heard in casual conversation and, like me, never really stopped to think about. It pops up in situations like:

“I’m having a baking day with my son on Saturday. We’re making a birthday cake for his brother.”

“I’m spending a baking day with my grandma, and she’s showing me how to make her babka.”

“My sisters and I always get together at this time of year for a baking day, to make holiday cookies.”

“I am obsessing over making French baguette for my fiancée—it’s her favourite— so I’m going to spend a baking day mastering it.”

“Summer’s here, so I’m spending my baking day making popsicles with the kids!”

Quite simply, a baking day is time set aside to bake with or for people you want to spend time with. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a full day—even an hour spent making a batch of cookies counts as a baking day. We tend to bake more on week- ends, because that’s when we usually have a little more time and, as with most hobbies and interests, we fit baking in when we can.
No matter when the baking day, its value is more than the treats, breads or cakes that we pull from the oven. It is the memories created by spending time in the kitchen with someone you love, or devoting time to baking as a form of self-expression, that are worth so much.

This book was inspired by looking back on my baking day memories and asking my family and friends about their own favourite baking moments and recipes. For some, making weekend breakfast with their kids was a special time, or baking cookies as a family became a regular routine. For others, baking a cake for a special occa- sion was as much fun as the birthday party itself. Baking treasured family recipes or learning about baking from grandparents also holds a special place in a lot of people’s hearts.

This collection of recipes is meant to inspire you to take a little time in the kitchen and embrace baking time for the gift that it is. You can’t force memories to be created, but by making a batch of simple Fudgiest Frosted Brownies (page 181) or spending an afternoon baking cupcakes and matching frostings (pages 212-219) with some friends, you are setting the stage for the good times to happen.

In the following pages, you’ll find recipes for all levels of bakers, from novice to expert, and for all types of baking, from quick and easy to more elaborate. I have included quite a few breakfast recipes that aren’t actually “baked,” because a relaxed weekend morning spent making a family breakfast together has the potential to inspire further kitchen activities.

I have especially kept young bakers top of mind as I’ve developed and played with these recipes. Kids are always observing and learning, and they continue to remind me of the joy and surprise that baking brings. Think about it—you combine butter, sugar, eggs, flour and cocoa in a bowl and whisk them together. That gooey mess is poured into a pan, and after just 30 minutes in the oven . . . cake! Watching a child pull up a stool in front of the oven to watch that cake bake reminds me of my own childhood and always gives me great pleasure.

Kids should be supervised in the kitchen even when they are baking “on their own.” I have steered clear of recipes that involve candying or caramelizing sugar, since those techniques can be tricky. But I have included recipes for doughnuts that are cooked in a deep fryer (or in a pot of hot oil). Kids can do the mixing and kneading, but an adult should do the actual frying (my grandmother was in charge of frying the doughnuts we made together).

To make baking days as inclusive as possible, I have offered many vegan, gluten- free, dairy-free and egg-free recipes. No recipes use peanuts (except for the Cereal Killer Squares, page 185, and pet treats, pages 300 to 307, but you can use school- safe soy nut butters instead). Just a few recipes contain nuts at all, and they can easily be replaced by other crunchy items if need be.
So, pull out a stick of butter to soften, preheat the oven and get ready to make some delicious memories. Enjoy your baking day!

From “Making My Energy Treats is Simple!”
 
Making my energy treats is easy! Simply put the ingredients in a bowl, mix, bake, let cool, and then enjoy. Ta-da!
 
Q: Really, No Added Sugar or Fat?
My energy treats have no added sugar or fat—instead they are sweetened with date puree and loaded with fiber (even the most decadent ones). They are 100% healthy and will make you want to live your life to the fullest. Who said healthy cooking had to be complicated?
 
Ok, fine—I cheat a little sometimes. The dough contains no added sugar or fat, but you will occasionally spot chocolate or caramel chips in my recipes. When I first started making my energy treats, I wanted to avoid these kinds of ingredients at all costs. But a nutritionist friend told me that in cooking, as in life, it all comes down to balance. So the choice is yours: if you want to include those ingredients, go for it, but if you don’t, you can always just leave them out.
 
Q: What about Me? I Eat Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free!
All the recipes in this book can be made without gluten or dairy products. Yes, really! For gluten-free treats, simply substitute the other flours with your favorite gluten-free variety available at your grocery store. For dairy-free, use store-bought unsweetened applesauce instead of nonfat plain yogurt. There is no need to hunt for complicated ingredients—so simple!
 
Q: How about Calories?
Lots of people have asked for my recipes’ nutritional information, including calorie count. But because I’m not a trained nutritionist or a dietitian (I’m just a woman who has big ideas to change the world, one energy treat at a time!), this isn’t information I’m focused on. I’ve chosen not to count the calories of the food I eat. After all, they’re just a number! Are the recipes in this book low-calorie? No. They are healthy, easy-to-make recipes that are packed with ingredients to provide lasting energy. Deciding to eat healthily is a choice. The great thing about making these energy treats is that you choose what you put in the recipe and, therefore, into your body.

From the Introduction

There is a lot of joy in teaching kids to cook, but sometimes I’m so focused on getting everyone out the door on time that I don’t stop to take in all that we’ve accomplished. That we made pastry from scratch, and then we made quiches, and then while they were baking, we made more pastry and cleaned up, for example. In 60 minutes. But when I’m dismissing the boys and I stop to breathe, I look at their faces and I get it. Just like the parents when they pick up their boys. What’s going on is joy, creativity and, most of all, learning.

One of the greatest pleasures of teaching kids to cook comes from working with their can-do attitude, which has encouraged me in my own baking and cooking to just “have a go.” The boys NEVER think something can’t be done unless they’ve been told it’s supposed to be hard. Puff pastry? Choux pastry? Sushi? Molecular cuisine? Working alongside some of the country’s top chefs? No problem for kids who believe they can do anything. Teaching kids cooking is also about embracing their natural confidence and making them feel that anything is possible. That they can cook.

So, why a French cookbook for kids? Well, France is a country dear to my heart. I lived there for years in my late 20s and have been back countless times since I moved to Canada from my native Australia. We own a little house in southwest France, so a part of me is always there. I love writing about French culture and the French language. And, of course, I love teaching kids to cook, and I am always on the lookout for ways to incorporate a little cooking into the French as a Second Language curriculum because, well, pourquoi pas? As I’ve watched my cooking club evolve over the years to include more complex recipes that many people don’t think kids are capable of making (with a little help, of course!), the idea for this book was born. Kids can cook French food! Because despite what many people think, French food is not all sophisticated haute cuisine. At home, French people eat and cook mostly simple dishes. Dishes I know my cooking club members would love to make and eat. This book features real French food for kids, a little bit of culture, and some French language lessons too! I hope to take the intimidation factor out of French food through recipes for everyday dishes that children and their parents can make and eat together. Because you know what? Kids can cook. You just have to let them!