Let Them Use Knives

Recently I was somewhere (can't remember) and another adult was about to hold back the privilege of letting my kids use a sharp knife.

"I think we're past that," I remarked.

And as you see, it's true.


Corn pancakes with black bean salad, fresh salsa, and sour cream— compliments of my 11- and 13-year-old daughters :)



You can find the recipe in Williams Sonoma Vegetarian. Well, maybe not, since the only link I could find appears to be a different edition.



Or you could just make cornmeal pancakes with...

1 1/4 cups flour (use whole wheat pastry flour, if you need a healthier version)
1/2 cup corn meal
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 TB fresh lime juice
1 1/2 cups milk
3 TB oil
2 eggs
fresh ground pepper


And add to the batter...

2 cups of corn
6 spring onions
1/4 cup (or to taste) jalapenos from a jar, or fresh
2 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper

For the salsa (which you will grab 1/4 cup of later and add to two drained cans of black beans, along with 1/2 tsp cumin, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper for the black bean salad), you can use:

1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 jalapeno (from the jar, or fresh)
2 TB fresh lime juice
5 TB cilantro
salt and freshly ground pepper
olive oil (a few good pours)

And if you are up for an adventure, you could let your kids make the meal. Why not let them use knives? :)

In reading The Spirit of Food this weekend, I was struck by the final words of Karen Baldwin's essay. She says, "Stephen has a stirring memory (pun intended) of me cooking one day, entirely absorbed in my medium. All of my senses were engaged—the sight of food browning, the sound as its moisture content changed, the smelling, tasting, and touching of the food. This day he heard me muse quietly, unconsciously perhaps, yet oh so rightly, 'When I cook, it is worship.'"

Yes, then, why not let our children use knives...

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We're reading The Spirit of Food together at TheHighCalling.org. Join us?