Monday, January 31, 2011

In Kids Cooking Corner children fire up their appreciation for nutritious and delicious food

  I remember the first time my parents slept in on a Saturday morning and invited me to fix breakfast for my little sister, Pam.  I could have opted for cereal, but that was not exotic enough. Pam at age 4 was already a “foodie” and would not have been satisfied with Fruit Loops.
   In an inspired moment, I decided to make eggs! I broke them into a bowl, whipped them up to a mediocre state where they were still runny, and found a frying pan.  What I failed to realize before doing all this, was that we had a gas stove, and I was afraid of fire.  I did not light the stove and tried to convince Pam that raw eggs were good and good for her.  I spooned them over a piece of bread.
  She embarrassed me by getting a fresh piece of bread, putting it in the toaster herself and turning on the stove!
   No 9-year-old big sister should ever be humiliated like that, and no 4-year old should risk a gas stove without some training!
   Fast forward to Vancouver, Washington in 2011 where  kids as young as 3 years old are making chicken enchiladas and serving them to their parents. They’re folding linen napkins and learning table manners.  They are rolling, mixing and measuring ingredients to prepare healthy foods.   And they are making new friends.
   The Kids Cooking Corner opened last December and is already a popular destination for children celebrating birthdays or looking for new challenges.
  “Once the kids are there, they have so much fun,” said Heidi O’Connor, who founded the school with a mission to teach children how to prepare and appreciate healthy meals. 
    The experience takes math, science and nutrition to a new and more exciting level for the young students.
    “They have to read the recipes and help figure out how to double the ingredients,” O’Connor said. “And it’s easy for them to learn this when they can see it, such as with liquid.”   O’Connor said part of the learning experience for the children involves tweaking kid-favorite recipes to come up with healthy alternatives.
     She said one recent hit with the kids was “elephant ears.”  This treat brings back “state fair” memories for most of us, but the version served up at The Kids Cooking Corner lacked the heavy grease – they were oven baked.
     The inspiration for The Kids Cooking Corner came to O’Connor after she was laid off last spring.
     “I went through a lot of questioning. Who am I? What is my legacy?” 
   She knew two things right away: She wanted her pity party to be short, and she did not want to land another job that would require her to be away from her family so much.
    She spent some of her new free time cooking for her husband and their three children. That’s when the idea hit her.  “Kids are not getting home economics classes at school anymore,” She reasoned that she could start a school where young chefs could learn some tasty life lessons.
     In December, she opened her business in the historic Padden home, a 109-year old house owned by a prominent Vancouver family known since the 1930’s for dairy farming and retailing interests. The house is located at
5206 NE 78th St.
in Vancouver.  The home’s kitchen is now furnished with newer appliances O’Connor purchased perusing Craig’s list postings.
    Some of the kitchen tools are donated, she said. 
    The school is still in need of donations such as china, linens, pizza making equipment and hopefully another bread maker for some of the gluten-free classes recently added to the school’s class menu.
    The classes are scheduled mainly around children’s school hours or on Saturday’s.  Discount pricing is available for packages of four classes. Some families have staged birthday parties for their children and friends at The Kids Cooking Corner.
    “Everything was beautiful and well done,” Jeanette Rafferty posted to the school’s website after her children enjoyed a recent class. Rafferty called it “a stress free moment for mama” and added, “I am raving to everyone that I know about how great you are and how much fun we had.”
     During spring break in April, O’Connor plans a week where visiting professionals can meet with the students to talk about their “real life” jobs in the food industry.  Visitors will likely include a professional chef, a butcher and perhaps a local celebrity who will offer the children a chance to cook for their special guest.
    This summer, The Kids Cooking Corner will expand with a garden, giving its students a “farm to table” opportunity. Future plans call for more “around the house” classes teaching skills such as sewing and arts and crafts.  But for now, O’Connor says, the kitchen experience The Kids Cooking Corner is giving to local families is a most welcome full plate.
     “It’s been an amazing journey,” she said.
  Not only are the students making memories. Parents have been served some of their children’s creations and “they’re so proud of them.  Just the hugs and kisses -- it brings tears to your eyes.”


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Maintain a Positive Image on your Social Media Accounts

  Social Media presents an opportunity like no other to be expressive, to hook up with old neighbors and high school buddies and to almost instantly let others see what you’ve ordered for dinner.  It has fun personal and essential professional applications, and if you’re not connected, you’re missing out.
   You do have a responsibility to yourself and to your image if you have an account, however.  Managing your online reputation is critical.
   You have heard the security warnings about how giving too much information about when you are not home can allow burglars to break in, or about how giving the year of your birth can eliminate you from a job before you’re even interviewed.
    You may not have given much thought to how comments, photos and other “fun” stuff can hurt your image as well.
    Your account is not private. Let’s face it.  If you have more than 15 or 20 “friends”, you don’t really “know” all of them well enough to be sure they are looking out for your best interests.  Even if they are, we don’t know what their “friends” will do with something you post in a comment thread.
    Here is a recent example brought to my attention.  A man commented on his social media site that he hoped management would not go through with a plan to add a project with a busy weekend coming up. This meant more work and giving up a day off. Six or seven co workers weighed in with agreement, some of them even saying their boss was “sucking up” putting that project on the table.   Of course due to some “mutual friendships” in the Facebook world, the thread was seen by the supervisor who lamented to upper management that “this hurt my feelings.”   Hopefully those who commented won’t be ruled out next time a promotion or plumb assignment comes up.  Never complain about your job on social media!  In fact, post when you had a good day, a win for the team or when a colleague was recognized. This probably makes you feel good and sets a good tone for the comments your friends will post to your “wall.”
  It’s OK and even expected for Sarah Palin or an elected official to post their political beliefs. Are you in a job where that’s acceptable?  Give it some thought before you share that information.
  Never post any comment or information about yourself to your home or profile page that you would be embarrassed for your boss to see.  If you are Facebook “friends” with anyone at work, chances are, the boss will see it.
  Do list your volunteer pursuits and do post positive thoughts you have about others when you’re comfortable doing so.
  Be mindful of the photographs you post as well. You should have fun and hobbies. This makes life interesting.  But be thoughtful. If you are a cigar aficionado and you’re prepared to defend this, posting a profile picture of you with a great smoke is probably alright. If you post a shot of yourself smoking something illegal, however, that’s a bad call. That photo can be copied and literally clicked around the world, with your name “tagged” in seconds.
   Twitter is even more difficult to protect.  Anyone “following” you can re-tweet your comments, and their friends can do so again without your knowledge.  Recently a tweeter sent out a message, “Called in sick to finish Christmas shopping.”  I hope he was kidding.
   I’ve talked with several high profile employees about their comments or photos posted on Facebook.  Invariably they defend whatever they post because they have both “professional” and “personal” accounts.  The job related sites usually include a great, working photo of the account holder.  But one co-worker’s personal account had a profile shot of her spanking another woman’s butt.  All in fun, I’m sure, but not a positive image. If I hold a Facebook account, and I search your name – John Quigelstein –all of your profile pages are accessible to me, even if I am not a “friend.”  This means I can see at the very least, your profile pictures, political beliefs and other information that may not reflect positively on you.
  If you truly feel you want your social media accounts to be more personal and private, consider parsing your friends and followers list down to just a few people whom you know very well. But if you like being part of a huge social community as do millions of other Americans, you need to consider the consequences of your posts.