(NOTE: “Obento” is the word “bento” with the “o” honorific. Either usage is fine in casual conversation, although I noticed that women use the “o” honorific more frequently than men do. I’m still learning all this language stuff, so if anyone would care to set the record straight, please do so!)
October’s giveaway is pretty nifty, if I do say so myself. (Sorry for the delay in posting – I was looking for a punch to make cute little faces with food (nori, lunch meat, thinly sliced veggies, etc.), and found a set of punches yesterday at the Great Superstore! This giveaway just wouldn’t have been complete without them! The face-maker isn’t in the original pic, but it’s included at the bottom of the photo stack for your viewing pleasure.
One of my favorite characteristics of Japanese culture is the careful attention to how things are presented to, and therefore experienced by, the intended recipient. Appealing to as many senses as possible is key and food presentation is no exception. There is no such things as boring ‘brown bagging’ here. Instead, bento, or portable food is somewhat of an art form. Aisles are dedicated to lunchbox embellishments that appeal both to the eye and palate.
Here are some favorite links for bento eye candy, how-to sites and thoughts on aesthetics in Japanese culture:
Japanese Lunch Boxes – Kids Web Japan
(Oct. 19 Update) NY Times | Beauty and the Art of the Bento Box
Now imagine making and eating your own cute creations with these:
So…. you want to win this awesome bento set?
Recently, I took a cooking poll of my readers on how they learned to cook. Ten people answered that they were self taught, versus being taught by a parent.
When asked about the importance of teaching children to cook, seventeen answered that they “see teaching cooking as part of nurturing children.”
Continuing with this thought, in order to win, please leave a comment to this post with your tips or encouraging thoughts on teaching children how to prepare food. You don’t have to be a parent to share the best idea you’ve heard or maybe an example of you cooking with someone else’s children and how you made it fun.
Maybe you have a tip on teaching a child a cooking concept – like cracking eggs. Perhaps, you have special kid-decorated aprons for each of your children. Or, maybe you’d like to share a heart to heart conversation you had about life over making brownies. Inquiring minds want to know!
From the list of comments (and yes, you have to make a comment in order to qualify!) my children will draw the winning name.
BONUS: If you mention this giveaway in your blog (send me a “proof” link) or Tweet (via @mrsalbrecht), you will get ONE extra entry. (C’mon! I know some of you get a little carried away with this stuff and I can’t keep track of THAT many tiny pieces of paper!!) PLEASE do me a small favor and post a “proof link” or copy of Tweet so I’m sure to not to miss your extra-entry qualification. (Thanks!)
My hope is that this giveaway will inspire you to help children learn to cook, and maybe, if you’re lucky, even to eat their now-cute rice and veggies!
Please leave your comment by 9PM EST, Friday, October 30th.
The winner will need to provide their mother’s maiden name, social security number, and a valid US credit card number + three digit secret code. JUST KIDDING! I will, however, need their name and mailing address which will be kept strictly confidential.
If they’re agreeable, I’d like to interview the winner and feature them in a future post. I would consider including links in the post to the winner’s blog, favorite cause, home business, etc.
Winning contestants may not enter my subsequent monthly giveaway contests for a year following their win. In other words, if you win in October, 2009, you can’t enter again until October, 2010.
By all means, make it fun. Kids love to do anything with their parents. They are like little sponges. Enjoy the cooking experience with them, even if it is just as simple as making some cut fruits or veggies look good in a plate. Also, make the cleaning up fun too! My girls are 9 & 11 now and can cook independently and clean up their mess in the kitchen for the small stuff. Start them young…
The biggest hurdle for me teaching my 2 year old to cook along side me is for ME not to get worried about mess or time! I try to include him in as many steps as possible. He loves to ‘hep’ and is great with a whisk. I give him a step stool and place the mixing bowl down in my sink. That works well for his height and it does keep messiness down a bit. He has a special apron he wears when he helps me in the kitchen and just wearing it seems to transform him into being a little more attentive and helpful. Fun times! Fun memories! And hopefully a little learning in the process. Thanks, love your blog!!!
The first thing my children learn in the kitchen is cracking eggs into the cookie recipe. Really, after that all barriers are broken! It is sticky, tricky, and very hard to do right. So, they have to keep trying, the cookies turn out great no matter how badly it goes, and they know that anyone can cook. Nicole
Every time I have my niece (2.5 yr), we cook each meal together. She enjoys making things. Also, I have her try new foods all the time. I let her decide if she likes sometime. We go to farmers markets and local farmers to see and learn about food. She wonders around my garden and touches and smells everything. I try to give a good example.
Cooking with kids is not only beneficial for the kids. They can bring fresh creativity and a new perspective to a tried and true meal.
I love to give the kids a chance to explore the world of cooking. I don’t want them to be detered by the quantity of “ingredients” that don’t always remain where they are supposed to be.One rule we hold to is “The bigger the mess the better it will taste!”. Now this is not an open license to a food fight – it relieves the pressure untli the beautiful creation is finished and ready to serve. Then we can tackle the mess in a better spirit! And as time has proven, with age and skill, there is slowly less mess in the end. But we still luagh and remind each other of our theme when a bowl gets dumped or the beaters slip out before the mixer is turned off.
We have some great fun and some great concoctions!!!
My daughter loves to help me in the kitchen. One of the things we’ve done is to get her some utensils and other supplies that are all her own. She also loves to don her HP apron (for participating in a workshop there) and help me whenever and however she can – especially if she’s allowed to lick the bowl!
What a lovely and generous giveaway!
My three little ones enjoy helping in the kitchen, each has a turn in helping me and I will also give pieces of ingredients and small bowls to each of them to “make their own” recipe alongside me. They have child sized rolling pins, wooden spoons ect which also makes them feel connected to their cooking.
What a great giveaway!
My two older daughers love to make scrambled eggs. My five year old is the awesome egg cracker (one for each person in the family). My six year old gets to count the eggs since she does not like cracking the eggs. They take turns scrambling the eggs in the bowl, then after I dump the eggs in the heated frying pan. They both love taking turns with the spatular pushing the eggs back and fort. Scrambled eggs!
Few more tips to add…
I cook a lot with my son. He is autistic and his occupational therapist has now started cooking with him in their sessions, simple things like Easy Mac but she has him do the whole process…. read directions, get out equipment and ingredients he will need… as well as the cooking. This has been a great activity for him to learn how to plan out a task.
Sometimes I am all excited for a cooking project and my son isn’t interrested… I find that when I have involved him in choosing what we will cook and buying the ingredients that he is more interrested and begging me to do more cooking.
i think a good way to get kids started preparing food is to use simple recipes and fun ingredients, fruit is always a good one! i think preparing cute bentos would be fun as well… maybe a bit tedious for a kid, but its kind of like a mini art project.
I have found that letting kids grocery shop with you helps them understand what is in their food and gets their creative juices flowing!
Good morning, I want to say thanks for an great web-site about a subject I have had an curiosity in for a while now. I’ve been exploring in and reading through the responses and so just wanted to express my many thanks for giving me some pretty useful reading material. I look ahead to reading more, and taking a more active part in the talks here, whilst picking up some expertise as well!