What 3 dishes should you teach your children to cook?

lilac_lady · 1 December 2006 at 1:10PM

Another discussion on this forum commented that many Old Stylers are young people eager to be frugal etc. What 3 old style dishes would you recommend they should learn to cook?
My choice is home made soup, shepherds/fish pie and stovies. (a Scottish dish that can be adapted depending on the leftovers).

melt71 · 1 December 2006 at 1:15PM

I would also go with the soup options because it can quite easily be adapted from a basic principal.
Also, I would go mince dishes so to adapt the basic ingredients for spag bol/lasagne/chilli/shepherds pie etc. For the third dish I would probably choose stew, because again it can be adapted to change depended on what ingredients you have and what taste you fancy.
My 'stews' range from mince, veg, potatoes and beef stock to paprika style sausage & veg stew - completely different tastes but very similar to make.

Strepsy · 1 December 2006 at 1:22PM

I'd say a basic sponge mix, a basic pastry mix and a basic sauce. From there the possibilities are endless!

ckerrd · 1 December 2006 at 1:23PM

I would be grateful if he would wash 3 dishes!

Peem · 1 December 2006 at 1:28PM

Not dishes as such

but tomato sauce, white sauce - once you have these you can make loads of stuff.

then it's a choice between - stews, soups, roast.

tr3mor · 1 December 2006 at 1:41PM

You should try to get them involved with everything you try and cook. Most complex dishes have little bits that kids can do, even if it's just measuring or weighing something.

shell2001 · 1 December 2006 at 2:27PM

1. A Roast (lets face it its basically easy, just the timings take some getting used to)

2. Definately mince as in bolognaise, as previous posters said simple but so adaptable.

3. Basic white sauce, again because it so adaptable.

My 2 and 3 year old love cooking mainly baking at the moment but will definately encourage them to continue as they get older. I cooked my first Roast at 11 (under mums guidance) some of my friends at this age did not even know have to make a sandwich!

Good thread!

Rikki · 1 December 2006 at 2:31PM

Spagetti bolognaise
Sponge cake / Pastry
Roast

Beamish · 1 December 2006 at 9:38PM

Both the boys have the basics of cooking, they can both cook a Sunday Lunch (but get stuck on the Gravy), make a good cottage pie and cook excellent pasta dishes, I cant take the credit for it but think that must have watched me over the years and picked it up

I think once they have left home they and their girlfriends put all their ideas/suggestions into a mixed bag and eventaully come up with the finished product:D

I've just bought the youngest (28) a SAS Survival book so no doubt his poor girlfriend will have to start cooking things from the wild, Worm Soup, Roast Cockroach and goodness knows what else:eek:

Babs

anniebooklover · 1 December 2006 at 9:56PM

I agree with those who have said soup. This is a basic that can be adapted but also padded out with bread to make a complete meal (perfect for the skint student).

I would also recommend the mince dishes - pork or beef (or turkey mince at a stretch) can easily be used for chilli, spag bol, cottage pie, cumberland pie, etc. Mince is easily made into a huge variety of dishes once the cook has any kind of confidence.

My third choice would be rice. Rice on its own is very filling but anything can be added to it to give it lots of flavour. This is where herbs and spices come into their own in my opinion. Cheap tins of tomato and some herbs can transform basic rice into a meal to remember.

I know I can't have a fourth but if I could I would say chicken - tons and tons of recipes that can spin one or two chicken breasts into a meal for three or four.

lil_me · 1 December 2006 at 10:00PM

My youngest son was being taught the corned beef and everything tonight as he asked what was in it, he usually makes cakes with me but that's as far as I had got until this week. He's going to enjoy the new OS Mam more than I do I think, but unfortunately the washing up is down to me

I think the sauces idea is good, but also the pastries and basic cakes, I doubt most children (at an age where they are perfectly capable) even make a sandwich these days, I'm just learning most of it myself.

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What 3 dishes should you teach your children to cook?

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