Kitchen Safety Tips for Kids and Parents:

1. Have lots of patience. Cooking is not an error-free process. Even experienced chefs make mistakes, but this is all part of learning.

2. Supervise young children and first-time chefs. Never let children cook alone.

3. Prior to beginning, take the time to teach how each kitchen gadget works, as it’s needed for your recipe. This will allow children to handle kitchen utensils properly from the start.

4. Understand fire safety. Explain how the fire extinguisher works, how to put out a grease fire, and when to call 911.

5. Wear short sleeves when cooking. Long sleeves have a chance of catching fire or falling into boiling water.

6. Wear an apron. Aprons help protect clothes and add extra padding in case of accidental hot water spillage, grease splatters, etc.

7. Use oven mitts because they help your children hold onto the handle of a hot pan more securely.

8. Keep pan handles facing in and over countertops. Handles should never extend out towards the floor where someone could bump the handle and spill a pot of hot food on him.

9. Never leave food unattended. Unwatched pots can spill over causing fires and other kitchen hazards.

10. Teach your children to clean while they wait for the next step in preparing the food (i.e. water boils, veggies simmer, etc.) This will eliminate an overwhelming amount of cleaning at the end of cooking.

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How to Read a Recipe:

Learning how to read a recipe takes some practice. Here are some key points for teaching kids how to read recipes. A simple, yummy recipe is included for children to practice with.

Strawberry Smoothie
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

• 2 C vanilla-flavored soymilk
• 2 C Ice
• 1/2  pint fresh strawberries
• 1-2 ripe bananas
• 2 T agave nectar or honey
  Fresh strawberries for topping, if desired
  
  Pour soymilk, honey and ice into blender. Then add in strawberries and bananas. Blend several minutes until smooth. Top each glass with a fresh berry, if desired.
  Approximate Prep time is 10 minutes.
  

Reading Your Recipe

Always read a recipe completely through before starting to prepare and cook. If you know how to read a recipe it will make your cooking experience easier. Make sure you have everything on hand and ready to go. Reading through your recipe prior to beginning will also give you a chance to understand each step. Sometimes recipes can be confusing and trying to understand what to do in the middle of preparing can be frustrating.

Parts of a Recipe

• Title: Strawberry Smoothie. The recipe begins with a title. This can be an explanation of the recipe you are making or a title that is just for fun. For example," Pink Party in a Cup" could be the name of this recipe but it doesn't explain anything about the recipe except that it is possibly a drink.
  
  

• Servings: Sometimes recipes include a serving size. This helps you know how many people the recipe will serve. This is a guideline and is not always accurate. Some recipes don't include this information. In this recipe it tells you it Makes 2 servings.
  
  

List of ingredients:

• 2 C vanilla-flavored soymilk
• 2 C Ice
• 1/2  pint fresh strawberries
• 1-2 ripe bananas, sliced
• 2 T agave nectar or honey
  Fresh strawberries for topping, if desired
  
  A list of ingredients is usually included at the beginning of a recipe, but sometimes ingredients are listed within the recipe itself. Kids will need to learn about measurements, tablespoons, cups, etc.
  
  Sometimes directions are included within the list of ingredients. For example ;1 tomato, chopped, would mean you would need to chop the tomato before adding it to the recipe. In this recipe example, 1/2 pint fresh strawberries, means you will need to make sure your strawberries are properly measured before using them. 1-2 bananas, sliced, means that you should sure you slice the bananas before adding them to the smoothie.
  
  It is also important to understand what the measurement symbols stand for such as C for cup, T for tablespoon, tsp for teaspoon, etc.

• Directions: These provide you with step by step explanations of what needs to be done in the recipe. Read these carefully prior to beginning and then again as you are cooking. Make sure to follow them accurately.
  Pour soymilk, honey and ice into blender. Then add in strawberries and bananas. Blend several minutes until smooth. Top each glass with a fresh berry, if desired.

• Time: There are often two times included in a recipe. Prep time, which is how much time the recipe will usually take to prepare. This is just an estimate and may take longer or shorter depending on the chef's experience.
  
  The other time included in a recipe is baking time. This is more accurate and should be followed--especially the first time when making a new recipe. In this recipe, Approximate Prep time is 10 minutes. There is no cooking time as the recipe doesn't require baking.

Now go ahead and pick a new recipe to practice finding the above information with before beginning to actually prepare it.

With time and practice, you will be able to alter recipes more to your liking, but it is always recommended to follow the directions to a "T" the first time around.

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