Both of my sons are pretty proficient in the kitchen. One loves to concoct things, like a mad scientist. He’s recently been experimenting with fruit infused water. I found a glass on the counter the other day with a vanilla flavored sparkling water he mixed, complete with recipe card tucked underneath. If you catch him on a good day, he might think it’s fun to set the table, with two forks and unneeded spoons, homemade recipe cards, and candles. Fire!
The other one, true to form, is much more practical. He can follow a recipe on the box (he excels at boxed cake mix and Rice-a-Roni), which is useful, because the kid is always hungry. We’ve recently started to teach him some more meal-like recipes too, like homemade chicken soup and tacos. Since he can be easily overwhelmed, we started out by giving him sous chef jobs. So far so good.
This is one of his favorite meals—taco salad. It’s a good dish to do together, because while I fry up the (organic, no antibiotic, grass-fed, etc. etc.) ground beef (he’s so not up to raw meat yet; thinks it’s gross), to which I add taco seasonings, he can get started on the washing and cutting of lettuce, tomatoes, and scallions, and microwave a handful of frozen corn. I cut the avocado, since that’s a bit trickier (not sure there’s any in this photo, we must have been out), sprinkle on the grated cheese, and we’re good to go. Takes a little bit of time due to the frying and chopping, but not too bad, but it’s healthy and filling for a 12-year-old.
T A C O S A L A D
Cooking, photo & styling by Marni Elyse Katz for StyleCarrot.
• • •
Shop the Post
