Make it and bake it. That’s the idea behind a new cooking program being offered by two local moms.
Brow of the Hill resident Kim Zimmerman and Sapperton resident Sandra Allison will soon be offering Make Take Bake It cooking classes for kids aged to 10 to 13 years (with some flexibility) at Coming Home Coffee House on Mondays (Sept. 12, 19 and 26) from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
“It will be fun. I think the kids will have a lot of fun,” Allison said. “It gives them the accomplishment of, ‘Hey, look at this – I made this cannelloni dinner for my family.’”
Classes are expected to continue in the fall, but here’s what kids will be cooking up in September: Sept. 12 (fruit smoothie, chocolate chip cookies, vegetarian cannelloni); Sept 19 (fruit smoothie, homemade granola bars and a one-pan chicken, rice and veggie bake); and Sept. 26 (fruit smoothie, apple crisp, and grilled sausage and veggie bake).
“They will make a smoothie and then they will make a snack. And then, if the snack needs to bake, then we are can get started on the prep for the meal,” Allison explained. “It’s about reading recipes, measuring and bringing all those skills into it. Then they take it home and bake it. If we have six to eight registrants, there is not enough oven space to be doing all the cooking.”
Each week, kids will take home a meal that should feed a family of four.
Zimmerman and Allison work together in the public education system. They’ve also teamed up on some other initiatives at Coming Home, where they sell some of their and made aprons and reusable snack backs, tie-dyed t-shirts, as well as Zimmerman’s Juicy BlendZ homemade juices and three-pepper jelly.
Allison said the café isn’t open on Monday and Tuesdays, so the owner offered them the use of the space for a community program. She said the program also helps support Coming Home, which was closed for a period of time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s just a fun little funky place to go and have a latte. And it’s not the big chains,” she said. “It’s supporting small business.”
Parents are encouraged to drop their kids off for the program, and when they pick them up, they’ll have a head start on dinner.
Given family’s busy lives, Allison said Make Take Bake It gives kids a chance to develop some culinary skills, help prepare a meal for their family and have some after-school fun.
Each class is $55 and takes place at Coming Home Coffee House, 753 Sixth St. For more information or to register for Make Take Bake It classes, email [email protected].
Follow Theresa McManus on Twitter @TheresaMcManus
Email [email protected]
