Here are basic kitchen skills your teen should master before summer is over. When our oldest child left for college last fall, I knew I would miss him terribly...but I wasn’t sure what might prompt him to initiate a call or text. The answer? A cooking question: “How do I make that chicken? How much lime do I use in that dressing? ..." College students tell me they cook, or at least aspire to... So what basic cooking skills do kids need? Wield a knife: The biggest and most undervalued key to having good knife skills is keeping knives sharp. Boil water: If you can boil water, you can make pasta, rice, hard-boiled eggs, mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables. Sauté: If your kid can melt some oil or butter in a skillet, they can scramble or fry an egg and sauté vegetables, tofu or meat. Bake and roast:...teach them about preheating the oven, buttering or oiling the pan to make cleanup easier, setting a timer so food doesn’t burn... Use a slow cooker: With the right ratio of food to liquid, you can slow-cook almost anything... Plan meals: ...make a grocery list and shop, and know when to start cooking each dish so they will all be ready at the same time... Do the dishes: It’s not glamorous, but remind kids about the importance of cleaning up after eating...
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