One of the things that I appreciate most about my mom (and there are many, many things to appreciate) is that she taught me how to cook starting from a young age.  I have memories of sitting on the counter stirring in the chocolate chips for cookies and helping her to prepare dinner every evening.  I learned a lot about how to plan a meal with color and variety, how to time a meal so the potatoes aren’t done 20 minutes before everything else, and how to read and alter recipes.  I appreciate the time she invested and the skills that I learned.

One of the things that I appreciate most about 4-H is that it provides opportunities to teach life skills to kids at a young age.  This week we began practicing for a 4-H contest called Food Challenge.  Food Challenge works a lot like the television shows Iron Chef or Chopped.  A team of kids get a set of ingredients with no instructions and they work together to plan a recipe and cook it.  I am always impressed with what the kids make out of their ingredients.  One of the best parts of the contest is that the kids have to present their dish to a panel of judges.  During the presentation, they describe how they made the dish, the food safety precautions they took, the nutrition of the dish and possibilities for altering the recipe to make it healthier.  What a great skill set for kids to have!

We have a lot of fun with 4-H Food Challenge, but my hope is that the kids take what they learn during the fun and apply it in their lives.  I hope they learn cooking skills and healthy eating.  Most importantly, I hope they will invest these skills in their own children down the road like my mom did for me.

If you are interested in the 4-H Food Challenge, it’s not too late to sign up.  We will be practicing on Tuesday evenings at 5:30pm at the Extension office.  Call Kate Whitney at the Extension office for more information at 254-435-2331.