Halloween Cooking

Posted by Heidi Shelton-Jenck Oct 30, 2006

My tweens know their way around the kitchen. As they’ve gotten older I’ve introduced them to cooking. My goal is someday being able to say, “I’m busy right now, honey. Why don’t you make that all by yourself?” 10 and 11 year-olds love being told they are old enough to do something all by themselves since so often they are told they are too young to do things.

My two boys can read labels and follow directions. They can heat things up in a microwave, but are still afraid of stoves and ovens. They’ll prepare something, but need me to put it in the oven for them. If they make soup on the stove, they need me to take it off and ladle it into their bowls. All those toddler lectures about “HOT – don’t touch!” made an impression, I guess.

Holidays are a great time for mini cooking lessons. Every pumpkin recipe at this web site is something tweens, with supervision and a little help from an adult, could manage. If your tween likes to make smoothies, try adding ½ cup or so of canned pumpkin on Halloween. If you want something quick and easy to eat on Halloween, buy a pumpkin muffin mix. My boys love making boxed mixes because in the end they always look like the picture on the box, and the directions are easy to follow without my help.

When we cook, I keep my tweens involved in everything from beginning to end. I want them to understand that cooking includes gathering ingredients and filling the dishwasher. I also want to make sure they know about things like washing their hands first, how to crack eggs, and measuring accurately.

Have a safe and happy Halloween tomorrow. If you have any recipes or stories to share about cooking Halloween or pumpkin treats with your kids, start a discussion. I’d love to hear about it!