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Does your family have a favorite TV show you watch together?
My family enjoys watching MasterChef Junior, and I have been trying to find out when the new season will premiere. A while back, I had read it was going to start on February 26th this year.
But it didn’t.
Now, it appears it should be starting again on March 12th. I guess we will see if that date is correct. It is amazing to watch children between the ages of eight and thirteen create such elegant dishes. Especially when they use ingredients I don’t even recognize!
I enjoy watching how the kids often band together and encourage one another even though they are competing against each other. They are still competitive, but they are also compassionate.
Sometimes, I wish I could taste test the dishes the contestants have created. Other times, not so much.
Be a taste tester like the girl in the book Jobs of a Preschooler.
I don’t think I could handle the challenging task of being a judge. The emotions of the kids when they are eliminated can be quite heartbreaking, and I don’t think I would want that responsibility.
My daughters and I do enjoy baking and creating foods together, and it is not uncommon to hear my daughters discussing with one another whether or not our food dishes are “MasterChef worthy”.
Typically they are not. And when they might be, it is probably because we found a good recipe to follow step-by-step and didn’t mess up.
If you have ever seen the show, you may know a Mystery Box Challenge is when the contestants have a large crate they can not see through in front of them flipped upside down. When the contestants are given permission, they lift the crate to discover an assortment of ingredients they use to make a dish.
A few years ago, we celebrated the start of the MasterChef Junior season with our own Mystery Box Challenge. My girls were nervous as they lifted the crate because they had no idea what I was going to have them create.
I think they were pleasantly surprised when they lifted the lid and found vanilla ice cream, marshmallows, M&Ms, cookies, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, saltine crackers, nuts, and a few other items that could be used as toppings on ice cream.
So, it wasn’t a true Mystery Box Challenge. I didn’t have them cook or bake anything, and I didn’t taste test either of their creations. But we still had fun.
Be a chef like the girl in the book Jobs of a Preschooler.
This is a picture of one of their creations. It had vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, marshmallows, M&Ms, and broken cream filled cookies mixed together.
Unfortunately, I can’t find the picture of my other daughter’s creation. I personally would have prefered vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, chocolate chips, and crushed saltine crackers mixed together.
Yes, crushed saltine crackers in my ice cream. It’s tasty!
No pickles, though.
Illustration from Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles
When I celebrated National Pickle Day, I had one student tell me he likes olives in his ice cream when I gave him a coloring page for the picture above. I’m kind of curious if he really does.
Cookbooks for Kids
If you have a little chef at home who would like to do some cooking, you may want to check out some of these cookbooks for kids.
This is an older book (c 1994), but my daughters and I (along with a few friends) enjoyed bringing science into the kitchen with the included experiments and recipes. Along with the experiments and recipes to try at home, The Science Chef explains different kitchen tools, measuring techniques, stovetop cooking terms, and safety rules. It also defines various cooking skills such as the difference between chopping, dicing, mincing, and slicing. Perfect for the little scientist who also likes to cook!
What is your favorite recipe?
Check out these posts for more fun with food.
- Personal Pizzas Kids Can Create
- Our Grand Pumpkin Experiment
- Quick Fresh Salsa
- Pickle Making During National Pickle Month
Brigitte Brulz 