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A Sweet Story

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Tasty Kitchen Blog: A Sweet Story (Cooking with Kids)

 
Once upon a time, there was a child named … Zee. Zee was a middle child in a family of busy adults, three pesky siblings, two hamsters and a lazy dog that thinks it’s a fat cat, so they call him Whiskers.

One hot summer day, Zee walked into the kitchen, sat on a chair, and sighed a very long sigh. He rested his foot on Whiskers, who barely budged.

“Mom, I’m bored.”

“Bored?”

“There’s nothing to do! It’s too hot to play outside, and I already played with all my toys yesterday. See, even Whiskers is bored.” Zee pouted, and started to almost whine.

“Honey, Whiskers always looks like that.” Whiskers was too comfortable in his favorite position to protest, much less attempt to meow.

“I know! Maybe you can make me something.”

“Well, Zee, what do you want me to make?”

“I don’t know. Just … something. Something good. And yummy.” Now things were getting interesting. Zee always loved everything Mom made in the kitchen.

“I have a better idea, Zee. Why don’t we make something together? I’m sure we can make something up with stuff we already have in here. How does that sound?”

“Cool! What can we make? Maybe some cookies or brownies?”

“I think I have a few recipes that are simple enough for us to make,” Mom said as she reached for her beloved binder of recipes. “We can definitely make some cookies or brownies if you want.”

 

Tasty Kitchen Blog: A Sweet Story (Cooking with Kids: Cookies and Brownies)Clockwise from top left: Buttons from Karly Campbell, Ree’s Quick Candy Cookies, Microwave Mug Brownies from eggy, and Easy Cocoa Brownies from 2kidsandtired (Holly).

 
“Now, Zee, remember: if you pick one that needs to be baked, you’ll have to be extra careful around the hot oven, okay sweetie?”

“Oh. Okay. Do you have something we can make outside the oven? Because Metsy might come into the kitchen and get burned.” Zee was always looking out for his younger sister, even though she was sometimes a punk, and clearly, Mom’s warnings about touching a hot stove made a deep impression on him.

“Well, that’s very nice of you, Zee. It makes me happy to see you taking good care of your sister. And yes, we have more recipes to choose from that don’t have to be baked in the oven.”

 

Tasty Kitchen Blog: A Sweet Story (Cooking with Kids: No-Bake)Clockwise from left: Choc Crackles from Mummy Is Cooking, Rice Krispies Treats from Stephanie, and Figure-Friendly No-Bake Cookies from Cooking Ventures.

 
“Mom, those sound really good. What else? What else can we make? What about about something nice and cold? Something with ice cream? And peanut butter?” Zee was getting excited, and even Whiskers stirred. No, wait. He was just shifting positions. False alarm.

“Oh, we can definitely do something like that too. It’ll be wonderful in such a hot day as today.” Zee was still too excited to notice that Mom suddenly started constructing sentences as if she were in the late 1800s.

 

Tasty Kitchen Blog: A Sweet Story (Cooking with Kids: Frozen Treats)Clockwise from top left: Peanut Butter Pie from mcmom, Ree’s Springy Flower Pot Desserts, Ice Cream Balls from soufflebombay, and Strawberry Kool-Aid Pie from Mommy’s Kitchen.

 
“Mom, those are going to be yummy! I can’t wait to make these and then eat them right away!”

“Well, Zee, usually when working with frozen ingredients, you have to wait a bit and let them thaw, then sometimes, you have to wait again after making them to let them freeze. We can make these, and then have them after dinner. And we can tell everyone that you made dessert!”

Zee liked that idea. As a middle child, the thought of everyone knowing that he made dessert made him very happy. But the thought of waiting until after dinner made him not-so-happy, which, of course, Mom sensed. Because moms are like that.

“Or, we can make dessert, but also make something really simple to snack on right now. How does that sound?”

Zee beamed. Mom sure was full of great ideas today. “How about something with fruit?” Zee knew Mom would be pleased with the suggestion.

“Zee, what a wonderful idea! And you know what, I think I just might have the recipe for us to try.”

 

Tasty Kitchen Blog: A Sweet Story (Cooking with Kids: Fruit Snacks)Clockwise from left: Homemade Fruit Roll-ups from 5 Forks, Easy Chocolate Candy Caramel Apples from Amy Locurto, and Fruit Kabobs from Heidi (The Frugal Girls).

 
So Zee and Mom spent their afternoon making that night’s dessert, and a nice little snack as a reward for all their hard work. Zee was so happy after everyone at the dinner table congratulated him on his beautiful dessert, and he vowed that someday, when he was old enough to learn how to type, he might consider starting a food blog.

The end.

 
 

34 Comments

Comments are closed for this recipe.

Margo/MS Hospitality on 7.28.2010

What a precious story and wonderful post! LOVE IT!

Alice on 7.27.2010

lovely story!!

Cassie on 7.26.2010

Wow, best post yet! I printed off tons of recipes to try!

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soufflebombay on 7.26.2010

How fun!! One of my greatest pleaseures (and theirs too I hope) in life is cooking with my kids! Thanks!

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clarency on 7.25.2010

A lovely story. :D And such great recipes that was recommended in the story as well. Thanks for this supercute story.

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Mommy's Kitchen on 7.24.2010

So sweet thank you for featuring my kool aid pie.

Kruz On on 7.24.2010

Cooking will take th boredom out of any time frame. It is a positive activity with future benefits from having done it from scratch.

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hollyglen on 7.23.2010

Loved, loved, loved reading this. Thank you! (And great suggestions too)

Kelly on 7.23.2010

Love the story! Thanks! The pictures and recipes are great too!

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missamy on 7.23.2010

That Zee and Metsy sound familiar… Have I seen them on the Food Network or something?

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yumsiliciousbakes on 7.22.2010

Great story! Love that it gives us something to read rather than the usual food porn posts. And while I love and have bookmarked almost all of those, they are basically just lists, so this gives us a proper post! Yayy!

Audrey on 7.22.2010

I love sweets. What’s better than a sweet, a sweet that you can easily shove in your mouth in one tasty bite!

Amy @ Living Locurto on 7.22.2010

Awww I love this! Thanks for featuring my candy apples:-)

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liljean on 7.22.2010

Such a cute story! I was riveted! Those treats look just delightful.

TIFFV in KC on 7.22.2010

great story, now i want to snag my boys from preschool and start cooking!

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5 Forks on 7.22.2010

Cute story! Thanks for featuring my fruit roll ups!

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KitchenTravels on 7.22.2010

Awww, I love this story. Thanks for the great ideas! :)

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Nancy on 7.22.2010

I loved this!! Thanks for bringing a smile to my face and all those recipes that I will try with my granddaughter. Bless her heart, she and I are each a middle child. We understand each other!!

Ruthie on 7.22.2010

Awesome. My kids will LOVE these! — I’d be super excited to see a picnic theme on the blog! ;) We’ve been picnicking every weekend, and I gotta say, sammies are good and all, but I’d love some more creative ideas that are pretty easy and portable and not so messy! :)

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everydayisgourmet on 7.22.2010

Erica, my mom would make those cookies with us too : )) We loved them, and they’re still one of my faves : ))

Sarah B. on 7.22.2010

I’m putting this post into my favorites. Not only because of the story but because I’m raising a Zee of my own. His name is Michael.

Erica Lea on 7.22.2010

Aw, great story, Erika! Really nice way to move the post. I remember making no-bake cookies as a kid. We love them!

Piper W. on 7.22.2010

How creative and funny! I rarely post, but I had to say that I was impressed. Thanks for making me chuckle; now go write a children’s book; I think you’d be great at it!

P.S. – Maybe Zee should marry a cowboy??

Evan @swEEts on 7.22.2010

too cute! I can’t imagine my brother (the middle child) wanting anything to do with the kitchen ha good thing he has an older sister to do the blogging :) all those treats look lovely!

michelle on 7.22.2010

I love this….my favorite things to make with my 4 year old are soft baked pretzels from scratch

photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/49754167@N00/3820568483/

recipe https://tastykitchen.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/appetizers-and-snacks/supposedly-auntie-annee28099s-soft-pretzels/

i let him form whatever he wants….recently it was letters of the alphabet, we make lots of smoothies with the bullet mixer thing, gnocchi with leftover mashed potatoes and lemonade….he loves to shake it up in the mason jars and zesting lemons is fun too!!!

cooking with my kid is a daily occurrence….unless he is to busy playing to be bothered!

Natasha R on 7.22.2010

Excellent post!!

EG on 7.22.2010

Just bookmarked this whole post! I like cooking with my #1 and it’s nice to hot have to turn on an oven every time.

Coco @ Opera Girl Cooks on 7.22.2010

This sweet story is clearly a thinly veiled showcase for about a jillion amazing-looking recipes. But that’s okay with me!

Heather (Heather's Dish) on 7.22.2010

those apples are the cutest things i think i’ve ever seen! i loved this sweet post…cooking with family is the best :)

Mary Beth (Cats, Books, Life is Good) on 7.22.2010

And Zee and his Mom never wanted me to fit into my clothes again. Oh my lordy, those look good!

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bell'alimento on 7.22.2010

What a sweet post! These are great ideas that I know my kids will LOVE! One of their favorites are our Frozen Nutella Banana Pops Rolled in Coconut http://www.bellalimento.com/2009/11/01/the-nutella-challenge-frozen-banananutella-pops-dipped-in-coconut/

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ashelina on 7.22.2010

“Zee was still too excited to notice that Mom suddenly started constructing sentences as if she were in the late 1800s.” haha!

Jessica @ How Sweet on 7.22.2010

This is too sweet! I am the oldest child, but my brother was the typical middle child… he actually loved to bake and do things like this with my mom too!

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cookincanuck on 7.22.2010

Cute story! I think Zee should definitely start a food blog and put some of these wonderful creations on there.