What’s Cooking?

Cooking is a lifelong skill, and it can be fun and creative. Cooking also has cultural, scientific, and socio-political aspects. What’s cooking in your family?

CONNECT:

• There are lots of different ways to think about cooking: by ingredients, by culture, by holiday. http://www.spatulatta.com/ has hundreds of video recipes by these categories, and features fun recipes such as Teddy Bear Tea and Sea Turtle Taters.
• What is the science of cooking? Explore the science behind food and cooking at http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/
• Cooking reflects cultural perspectives. Compare these two sites, for instance: http://www.kids-cooking-activities.com/Mexican-cooking.html, http://members.tripod.com/~Nancy_J/kwanzaa.htm
• Food’s been around long before cooking or recipes. But humans have been improving on food for centuries. Trace food and cooking over time at http://www.foodtimeline.org/
• Where does food come from? Trace one fruit at http://www.watermelon.org/FAQ/FAQ-FunFacts.aspx

 CREATE:

• Create a recipe; many youngsters sent PBS fun recipes, that you can try: http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/cafe/
• Chemistry is related to cooking. Expand your ideas about recipes by trying slime recipes for kids: http://chemistry.about.com/od/letsmakeslime/Lets_Make_Slime.htm
• Create a nutritional plan as a family using http://www.letsmove.gov/plan-healthy-meal and http://www.choosemyplate.gov/
• Be creative about going meat-free; here is a good site for vegan cooking: http://vegweb.com/

CARE:

• Take care of your bones through good cooking and eating: http://www.bestbonesforever.gov/
• What is a sustainable diet in some countries? In some areas, it includes insects as a staple: http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/dept/bugfood1.asp
• Children's Hunger Relief Fund (http://www.chrf.org/) responds to children's immediate physical, emotional, and spiritual needs following drought, earthquake, hurricane, war, and other disasters.
• Wondering what you can do to help end world hunger? Visit  http://www.chrf.org/; the page sponsors donate money to the United Nations World Food Programme.

CAREER:

Cooking is a staple of life, so it’s no surprise that it is a staple in the arena of careers. And there are many jobs that contribute to cooking: agriculture, marketing, retail business, manufacturing, nutrition, home economics, restauranteur, and food services.

http://www.careeroverview.com/chef-careers.html

http://www.four-h.purdue.edu/foods/Careers%20Level%20A%20frame1.htm#top

http://www.usda.gov/documents/8-Careers.pdf

http://www.onetonline.org/find/career?c=1