Kids belong in the kitchen

I learned to cook at an early age though it was mostly from necessity. My mom started working full-time and had odd hours so my sister and I had to learn to cook for the family. Our meals mostly involved the meat and potatoes type but even then I tried to make them unique if I could. But it rarely seemed fun. I decided when I had a child that I wanted time in the kitchen to be fun as well as functional. Even before William could walk I bought him his own set of measuring spoons, cups, and wooden utensils. While I made dinner, he would sit in his highchair and play with his kitchen tools.

When he got a little more coordinated he started to help me pour ingredients into a bowl. I found that just a little bit of participation really gave him an investment in what we were eating and he tended to eat more. Fortunately, William has always been a good eater but watching his enthusiasm for eating what he "prepared" has always been cool to watch. One of my favorite memories was a night when William got to choose and help prepare our dinner. He chose boxed mac 'n cheese and hot dogs. He was still pretty small so we went along with it. The only problem was he got a little too possessive and would barely let us eat anything.

But we pressed on. William's favorite meal to prepare is pizza. And I love the Chef Boyardee pizza kits to help with this venture. It allows us to mix the dough and for him to press out his own dough. At first we had to be a little more ready made though.

This is the first time William made pizza. He wasn't even 2 1/2 yet in this pic but he was already a pizza fiend.

He's a little more adept these days and pats out his own crust though, these days, he will only eat cheese pizza but it's more about the process than the product.

Good thing too because things aren't always pretty but do him it's delicious and he's so proud.

And baking, my goodness baking. What kid doesn't like a nice baked good. I rarely have to twist William's arm to get him to help bake something.

On his 2nd birthday he helped bake his birthday cake.

When he was almost 2 1/2 we surprised his Daddy at work on Good Friday with Easter cookies.

Now that he's a little older and more discerning I'm working on teaching him about healthy choices. It's so satisfying to see him at the grocery store smelling and choosing fresh fruit and vegetables. To this mom it seem like we're on the right track.

Welcome to the island mon

First of all, I have some awesome cooking experiences to share from the 4th of July but haven't had a chance to post about them yet. But stay tuned because our holiday was too delicious to ignore. For now I'll share what's cookin' on the stove right now.

One of my interests is cooking from other countries and even regions in our own U.S.A. On tonight's menu is my own take on Caribbean cooking. This is clearly a region I need to explore more but sometimes it's nice to wing it. I wanted to grill but we were drenched in rain storms this p.m. so into the kitchen I go. On tonight's menu is mustard and citrus marinated pork loin, black bean salad, and rice.

The rice is a no brainer. It's a boxed mix. William loves rice and it happened to be on sale so boxed it is. Though I do have a fabulous Mexican rice I'll share another time. ;)

My black bean salad is also easy:
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
a handful (0r so) of frozen corn
1 medium tomato, diced
1 T. finely diced red onion or 1 green onion finely chopped
lime juice or red wine vinegar to taste
Southwest Seasoning to taste

I am SO lucky to live close to Penzeys. If you don't, I highly recommend checking out their website. Anywho...

Combine all of the ingredients while you start your food prep to give the flavors time to meld and to give the corn time to thaw.

For my family a 1-1 1/2 pound pork loin is plenty. Pork loin is the most under appreciated meat. Properly cooked it's a juicy and lean protein. For mine I used:

1 pork loin
mustard
lime juice
horseradish
jerk seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Sorry, I don't measure but it looked something like this:

Combine a good squeeze of mustard, a couple of table spoons of lime juice, and about a tablespoon of horseradish in a resealable plastic bag. Smoosh to combine. Add the pork loin and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.

When you remove the loin from the bag, either put it on a plate (if you grill it) or in a baking dish (if you roast it in the oven). I can't lecture on grills. Or at least I won't in this post. ;) I'm a tried and true charcoal girl but I know there are many gas users out there. I do try to make my grill moderate and cook the pork for about 30 minutes flipping one time. In the oven, I preheat to 400 degrees and, again cook for about 30 minutes. But check after 25. I like my pork medium. Yes it's safe that way! If you have a meat thermometer it should read 160 degrees.

Yum yum yum. Dinner should be ready in about 20 minutes and I can't wait.