SLS33-From My kitchen To Your Plate Week#3 Kids In The Kitchen -- Ekpang Nwokwo

Hi guys it's nice taking part of this context this new week and as you may have it this week contest is very interesting. Cooking is fun then cooking with our children makes it more fun to us and also to them.

Before I picked up my phone I'm started making pictures while taking part of this contest my little girl was already telling me "Mummy I want to help you"

She has been helping me in the kitchen It has always been a joyful moment for her and she has that inborn passion for cooking and that's why she is my mini chef.

So I actually prepared our traditional dish called Ekpang Nwokwo

It's actually take time while preparing it because you need to grate cocoyam and water yam this fold it on leaf before cooking it.

But since she actually wanted to help I had some tasks for her to do in preparation of the cooking.

I will actually show you some task she performed by herself while helping me in the kitchen. But before then let me tell you ingredients used in preparing Ekpang Nwokwo

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Ingredients

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• Cocoyam
• Water yam
• Crayfish
• Fish
• Meat
• Periwinkle
• Seasoning
• Salt
• Palm Oil
• Pepper
• Scent leat
• Nkukwo

I measured out palm oil for her and she poured it to the pot, she also helped me add shell periwinkle to the pot as seen above*

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She also helped me wrap the grated cocoyam on leaf, this is exactly how we prepare this meal, she didn't do it all alone but she atleast learn this one, how to do it.

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She helped me pound crayfish and she did that so perfectly, the crayfish was crushed till everything because smooth.

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I completed wrapping the ekpang and added other ingredients of which she couldn't do by herself

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Helping me plug scent leaf from the stem

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My baby enjoying Ekpang Nwokwo

What's your opinion about kids to help in cooking?

It is very necessary to assign a role in the kitchen to our kids especially those ones that are able to help. It helps them to learn while also bonding with us the parent aside that, it also helps them expresses themselves and learn creativity from us, they get to learn different skills and knowledge of how a particular food is being cooked and why things are done a particular way while preparing the food.

They also get to know that cultural techniques of cooking or would I say a life skills and what a particular meal preparation is meant for. Example in my culture where I come from there are some particular meals that is meant for a particular occasion or suit a particular occasion.

Spending hours cooking also teach them how to be patience and being responsible, then measuring ingredients for the food also teach the child to be confident and independent.

As a mother, allowing our children to help in the kitchen helps creates an opportunity for good communication with them and we will share our experience with them and they will definitely learn something from us.

Lastly, it will arouse their curiosity of how a particular ingredient will taste like or the aroma which will awaken their appetite. So while eating the food, they will enjoy it.

Therefore, there are things that are not being taught in school so time like this is when our children learn a lot from us. But while we have them in the kitchen, we need to be safety conscious.

Come join me

What Precautions should be made when kids are in kitchen with you?

I personally supervise because kids can do anything at a twinkle on an eye. Therefore, our eyes must be on them.

I also have an orientation with them so as to tell them areas they should avoid and where not to touched. Also not all activities in the kitchen should be done by kids, some have age limitations.

Such as handling knife, handling electric cooker or gas cooker should not be done by kids unless teenagers who is of age.

Yet some tasks should still be done by kids under our supervision.

Since kids movement can't be predicted while cooking with kids in the kitchen, adult should always observe before removing hot pot from the cooker, handle boiling water carefully and be mindful of open flames as they may run into us.

Then all pot handles should be turn inward while cooking so that our kids won't run into it or touch pot handle.

Every drops of water on the floor should be clean so as not to slip and fall while cooking, avoid playing or running, kids should be addressed on running or playing in the kitchen. Children should be made to understand that kitchen

I will like to invite my fellow mothers to take part in this contest @dequeen @goodybest and @chant