Cooking for Children

I like cooking. Really like it. My relationship with food borders on love. I consider cooking an art form, because the media is constantly changing and affected by the tools and ingredients used. Meatballs are such an example of the ever-changing possibilities offered by my craft.

I'd purchased a 7 pound package of ground chuck from Costco. Having the two slabs of meat offered some simple dinner solutions. Crock pot roast (yawn). Perhaps my version of Korean beef? (say bulgogi) Nope, I was out of time and needed to figure out something that would be fast and pass the "what are we having for dinner.....do I have to eat THAT" test. So out comes my secret food fetish tool. MY MEAT GRINDER!

Now, before we make this not G rated, I don't not THAT kind of fetish. The kind Webster defines as "an object believed to have magical power to aid or protect it's owner". My kitchen tools are just that, and the grinder enables me to turn food from one form into another. I love pulverizing meat. There, I said it. And I am not ashamed.

In goes the meat. Grind Grind. Watch it come out the feeder end. Need some binding materials, so in goes the bread. Grind Grind. Need the holy objects of onion and garlic. Grind grind. Run a raw egg through for additional binding. And just to watch it goo out the end. Need some more binding, so run carrots through. Grind Grind. Add another holy object, Costco's organic no-salt seasoning. And salt and pepper. Mix with hands.

In comes Pan, my second son, and spying the meat mixture, proceeds to tell me his is officially "helping" me. Two attempts to wash hands and he dives in. I am not certain if he really understand I've tried to hid carrots in the meatballs. But he gets the meatballs in the pans and we successfully have dinner started.

Meatballs on backing sheets at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. I use the drippings in a roux as gravy base. Add beef broth. Boil some noodles (some leftover needle pouch from "Suddenly Salad a.k.a Suddenly MSG" and we are good to go. Oh yes, don't forget the canned vegetable designed to give us built-in "yell factor" for the kids who dislike all things green.

The verdict? A hit. Even though everyone could spot the "orange" flecks of ground carrots, they overlooked the hidden vegetable in favor of all things gravy. Even Pan, the ever present food critic, had 3 helpings. And yes, we argued with Pan and Artemus (our daughter) over the "real" vegetable consumption, which was canned peas.