Every once in a while, one of my five kids or two grandchildren make up a recipe that’s fabulous, and they do it without any help from me.  I’m always amazed  at how creative they are.  As my children get older, I encourage them to prepare food  as frequently as possible.  Even my grands, who are 6 and 8 years old, love to help in the kitchen.

When a child’s mind runs away with food, they come up with some incredible concoctions.

My 15-year-old daughter Rashidah is a fabulous eater, and it’s lucky for her that she’s tall and thin or she could run into trouble with her weight down the road. She loves blending different textures with fresh herbs, some of which grow on our windowsill, including oregano, rosemary and sage . Unlike my youngest daughter Yasmin, who hates all things from the sea but eats every kind of pasta, Rashidah loves  fresh salmon. When she was about 9, she came up with a recipe for  salmon that blends bread stuffing and fresh cilantro and has a teriyaki glaze. (See her recipe below.)

I  find that children are ready, willing and able to help cook from as young 3 years old.  As soon as they are old enough to sit at the table, we should engage them in meal preparation, whether it’s stirring the pancake batter or setting the table for dinner. They have wonderful imaginations when we allow them to explore.  They are much more likely to try new things when they’ve helped prepare the food.  It not only  teaches them how to pitch in, but also helps develop their confidence.

Over the years, I’ve taught my kids kitchen basics such as safety measures, how long certain foods should cook,  how to determine when food is done,  and which seasonings are best. Thank goodness they love to eat.

Plus in our house, who ever  makes the meal gets off from cleanup duty.

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Rashidah’s  stuffed salmon with teriyaki glaze

Note: this very simple recipe was created by my daughter Rashidah when she was nine years old. Its simple nutritious and goes well with rice, pasta or salad and tastes delicious cold the next day in a sandwich.

Pre-heat oven to 350 f

INGREDIENTS

• one 1  1/2 -2 lb piece of fresh salmon
• tbs  virgin olive oil
• No  stick spray vegetable coating
• cloves  of garlic finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of  prepared  stuffing  (from scratch is best but boxed will do)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbs  fresh chopped parsley
• sprigs of fresh parsley for garnish
• 1/4 tsp lemon pepper
• 1 dash of finely ground  sea salt
• 1/3 cup of thick prepared teriyaki sauce
• 1 tbs tamari sauce
• Juice from ½ of a lemon
• 3 tbsp spring water

DIRECTIONS

Have butcher cut a pocket in the middle of the salmon

• • Wash salmon and pat dry, place in baking  or roasting dish prepared with spray vegetable coating & large enough to lay the salmon out flat
  • Finely  chop  parsley and cilantro  and mix together with sea salt and lemon pepper and set aside
  • In a separate dish whisk together garlic, soy and lemon  juice and set aside
  • Prepare stuffing and mix with fresh herbs and seasonings and stuff into salmon, using the  remaining stuffing around the edges of the pan.
  • Brush on a thin glaze of teriyaki sauce and bake for 35 minutes
  • Whisk remaining teriyaki glaze with soy sauce, and brush half of it onto fish
  • Sprinkle water on bottom of pan around, but not on top of the fish
  • Cover with foil and continue baking for app. 10-15 more minutes, until fish flakes apart but  is still moist (some people prefer their salmon rare but we like ours well done)
  • Drizzle with remaining sauce and garnish with sprigs of parsley

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