"How do you get your kids to cook?
My older son will do without eating before he has to do any sort of cooking."
So, I decided to interview my cookin' kids.
Interview #1:
I'm here with my fifteen-year-old daughter, Bard, to find out how I get her to cook.
Me: Hey, Bard...
Bard: What?
Me: Why do you cook?
Bard: Uh. Because you make me, sometimes. If you say, "Hey, Bard, why don't you make manicotti?" and I say, "No," you'd probably chop my head off. But that's not the only reason I like to cook.
Me: I've never once chopped your head off. Not even one time. That's a really gross exaggeration. What are the other reasons you cook?
Bard: Um, 'cause it's kinda fun afterwards when everyone's like, "Hey, Bard, this is really good."
Me: What's the first thing you remember cooking?
Bard: Eggs. I cooked eggs, but that's not really cooking.
Me: How old were you?
Bard: Oh, probably like five or six. I don't really remember a specific time. I just remember helping you in the kitchen.
Me: So if that wasn't really cooking, what was the first thing you really cooked?
Bard: Probably banana bread, but I don't remember how old I was. About eight.
Me: Yeah, about eight. I have pictures of you.
Bard: Oh, that's good. I'm glad I won't go through life completely undocumented.
Me: No, I mean pictures of you making banana bread when you were eight.
Bard: Oh. Yeah.
Me: What's the best thing you've ever made?
Bard: The best thing I've ever made? Probably that time I made dinner for you for your birthday. Lasagna and the cake that tasted like a ho-ho.
Me: Yeah, that was awesome. Vegetarian lasagna with a ton of fresh basil. How much basil did you use?
Bard: I don't know. A lot. We didn't have a garden, so I probably got a package. Like ten leaves.
Me: Do you appreciate knowing how to cook?
Bard: Yeah. I mean, it's not that hard. It's just kinda like...if you follow the recipe, you can't really mess it up. Unless you burn it. And baking, that's hard if you don't pay attention. So when people say, "That's really good," I feel like I didn't do anything.
Me: Well, I'm glad you know how to cook. I appreciate it, that's for sure.
So, there you have it. Cook with them from an early age, use fresh ingredients, give lots of compliments, and threaten to chop their heads off.
