Cooking with children can be fun and somewhat messy. In the Good Gus series the twins, J.C. and Bronco help their Ma in the kitchen but don’t actually cook. They also pick vegetables from a garden they planted with their parents. They learn how to help their parents in their parents’ restaurant, Mary’s Cafe’. They were also taught how to set a table, clean up when people were finished eating, serve food, wash dishes and sweep the floor. When my children were young I loved cooking with them. At that time there were very few cookbooks for children. Many of the books were so simple that my children felt they were “babyish.” A term every parent is familiar with I am sure! A few of the cookbooks gave ideas of how to make foods that if you expanded the ingredients slightly, would be quite tasty. As a parent, you had to make it up as you went along. One of my favorite ways was to find recipes that were their favorite foods and then simplify them so we could all cook together. Sometimes the food was fabulous and other times it was awful. That is when I began making up my own recipes. I taught Judge Ross how to cook when he was three. Over the years he became quiet proficient and was even a chef in a restaurant. Today he invents his own recipes and dishes. Heather, who is Charlie’s daughter in the Good Gus series, learned how to cook with me as well, She loves to cook Italian food. Sadly, she does not like my Irish bread. She has developed many of her own unique recipes. I started teaching my granddaughter when she was three as well. Now that she is older we make up our own recipes based on her tastes. It is great fun and she has given her brownies and chocolate chip cookies/biscuits to her best friend’s family who truly enjoyed them. Cooking with Children however, is far more rewarding than the actual cooking. It’s all about the fun and family time together. Do you cook? If you don’t always have the free time to cook with your children, then take a few minutes and read one of my books to them or with them. You will surely enjoy it. Remember that the holidays are rapidly aproaching. “The Special Gift” is a perfect Christmas gift for a child in your life or to donate to a sick child in a hospital. The Good Gus Series is available online at Kindle, Nook and Waterstones. Hard copies, personally autographed, are available through our website www.goodgusbooks.com along with past blogs for your reading enjoyment. Now available audio and videos for the Good Gus series on YouTube! Digitizing for all the books are available now on YouTube! “Misplaced Trust” is now available on Amazon in e-book form. It is also available digitally at www.misplacedtrustbook.com. If you are thinking of a Will or a Living Trust, “Misplaced Trust” will give you the information you need to make an informed decision. The Good Gus series, books one through four, are now available at the Morgan Mill Mail/UPS.