Ready? Set? Cook!
The excitement elicited by this lovely little web site’s name was only temporarily tempered by the realization that a) they do not sell chocolate cake and b) it is not actually a chocolate cake eating club. However, you will find that they have a very nice selection of culinary tools to assist you and your kiddo in baking an entire dessert tray of goodies.
For starters there’s one of the most complete junior chef’s cooking kits I’ve come across - we’re talking everything from the apron to tools to laminated recipe cards to baking pans all housed in a clear vinyl backpack. $42.95
Considering you’re preparing meals for your kids at least three times a day, including them in the process makes allot of sense - so that eventually they’ll be able to make themselves a sandwich without screaming your name, and hopefully, down the road a ways will be able to prepare themselves more than raman noodles in college. One way to encourage their interest is with a recipe box of their own. This version, hand painted with the images of Fusilli Saly and Spaghetti Eddy cracks me up. $26.00
Once the food is prepared we move on to the table setting. Consider Crocodile Creek’s fun, mostly educational placemats. You figure if Junior sits in front of it multiple times a day perhaps he’ll learn something at least by osmosis. My genius nephew (biased?) actually learned all the of the US presidents off of his placemat. $4.00 each
It’s also nice to find children’s place settings that aren’t adorned with product driven cartoon characters. Their Dragon Fun Set includes a mug bowl, plat and placemat housed in a coordinating metal lunch box. $36.00
And finally for the adults is this smart binder with categorized dividers and splatter-proof sleeves to store the family’s favorite recipes. While this brand new blank binder this would make a swell gift for a new family, I also think the well-used and chock full version would make an even better gift for the older kid about to leave the nest. $24.00
