Cooking with Nana is a Delicious Delight!

Four granddaughters develop culinary skills and irreplaceable memories as they spend one-on-one time in the kitchen with Nana.

by Ruth Storkel. What could be more fun than cooking with four lovely granddaughters?!Thursday afternoons are times Nana looks forward to. She will be spending time in her kitchen with one of her four granddaughters, ages 8 to 13. A rotating schedule has been planned... She tried to work with them in pairs but found there was some disputing. Now she does "one-on-one" each Thursday. "We have lots of fun! They love it!" The girls enjoy having Nana's total attention, and "We cook up a storm," Nana says.I asked Nana how she learned to cook. She said her mother had taught her a few things during her "growing-up years," but the year she graduated from college, things "got serious." Her mother had gall bladder surgery, so she took over the household responsibilities two months that summer, and found it was a huge job! ("It was a rude awakening," said Nana.) She cooked all the meals and also did the housekeeping and household chores. She learned a lot! [caption id="attachment_18157" align="aligncenter" width="656"]

Cooking with Nana (123rf.com)[/caption]Nana learned how to make basic food: macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, pot roast, etc. Eventually, she married and used her very limited repertoire of recipes with her husband; it was mainly meatloaf or pot roast for dinner and two eggs and toast for breakfast. Her husband asked her if she knew how to make any other foods; he wanted a little more variety in his diet. So she launched out and tried new recipes. At some point, they learned that her husband needed a "low histamine" diet, and she learned even more about cooking for people with special needs (gluten-free also).So now, as Nana is teaching her grand-daughters to cook, she brings a wealth of information "to the table.' She especially enjoys using recipes from "The Barefoot Contessa" cookbooks and "How Can It Be Gluten-Free?" from America's Test Kitchens. Nana has typed up all the recipes they cook together, put them in notebooks, making a recipe book for each granddaughter. This is great.... they will each have those delicious family recipes to use for many years ahead!Nana started out by teaching her granddaughters how to make brownies, muffins, biscuits, soup, deviled eggs, etc. Now they've graduated to making chicken pot pies, carrot cakes, apple pies, etc. Recently one granddaughter's birthday was approaching, and she requested an apple pie. Nana and her oldest granddaughter were cooking that week, and they made two apple pies, experimenting with two different types of crusts. One pie was delicious, but the other one was deemed a failure and tossed out. "We're learning; we've had some failures," said Nana. [caption id="attachment_18160" align="aligncenter" width="599"]

Apple Pie with Nana (123rf.com)[/caption]During holidays or vacations, when the entire family is together, the granddaughters take turns getting involved in cooking the special meals. As well as learning to cook healthy, tasty food, they also help with all the after-meal cleanup. (Nana believes children should learn to work.)I had the opportunity to speak with one granddaughter, age 11, about her "Cooking with Nana" experiences; she is very enthusiastic about cooking: "It's really fun!" she said. She has been interested in cooking from a very young age but is now gaining more skills. "What are your favorite things to cook?" I asked. "Blueberry muffins, bread (non-gluten) and meatloaf," she replied. She looks forward to her once-a-month opportunity; they learn new recipes monthly. The amount of food produced must be enough for 6-8 people. Nana finds her times with her granddaughters delightful! She is also an active part of their home-school group, participating in a variety of ways.Building relationships is extremely important for parents and grandparents! Our grandchildren need our encouragement, mentoring, and love. Spending time teaching your grandchildren a skill can instill values and confidence in them, providing them with practical knowledge they can use their entire lives. We hope everyone out there takes the opportunity to build bonds with the children in your lives!Here are Two Delicious Recipes used by Nana and her granddaughters:Cloud Bread3 egg1 tsp. baking powder3 tbsp. yogurt, cream cheese, or cashew yogurt1/8 tsp. salt1 TBSP sugarPreheat the oven to 300 degrees.Place parchment paper on 2 cookie sheets. Carefully separate the yolk from egg white in two separate bowls. (Note: Be very careful when separating egg yolks from the whites. If any yolks get in the whites, you will not be able to beat whites).Add salt, sugar, and yogurt to the egg yolks and mix until smooth.Add the baking powder to the egg whites and whip until the whites have formed peeks. Fold the yolk mixture into the whites very gently. Place mixture on cookie sheets in 3-inch round mounds (usually 4 per cookie sheet).Bake for 30 minutes. Eat plain or smother with butter.Note: Dill, cilantro, garlic salt, or other seasonings are a nice addition to the cloud bread to enhance flavor. Individual Chicken Pot Pies 2/3 c. butter2/3 c. all-purpose or gluten-free flour2 c. diced unpeeled pre-cooked red potatoes1 c. thinly-sliced carrots1 c. thinly-sliced celery1 c. chopped onion4 cloves garlic, finely chopped1 tsp. salt1 tsp. garlic salt1 box chicken broth1 c. cream or dairy-free milk3 tsp. parsley flakes2 tsp. poultry seasoning4 c. cubed cooked chicken breast2 c. frozen sweet peasHeat oven to 400 degrees.Grease 8 one-cup ramekins.Melt butter and saute onions until translucent in a large pot, about 5 minutes. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, garlic, salt, garlic salt, and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add flour and cook until well mixed. Stir in the box of chicken broth, cream, parsley, poultry seasoning, chicken, and peas. Heat to boiling and remove from heat.Divide chicken mixture evenly among ramekins. Top each ramekin with pie pastry.Pie Crust Instructions:2 cups plus 2 TBSP. all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour)2/3 C. cut-up cold butter1 tsp. salt2 TBSP. sugarPut them all in a food processor and process on pulse until particles are the size of small peas. With food processor running, pour 6-8 TBSP. of cold water in through the feed tube, making dough.Form dough into 2 balls and roll out with a flour-dusted rolling pin on a surface dusted with flour. Cut out rounds of dough to fit over the top of the ramekins.Place ramekins on cookie sheets and bake for 30-35 minutes. (Leaf shapes may also be cut out with cookie cutters for an artistic-looking top crust.)NOTE: (Great idea) After baking the individual pies, Nana freezes left-over pies. Her husband takes them to work, where he can cook them for lunch in the microwave.

Thank you, Nana, for sharing some of your special recipes with us!