She invites a group of 6- to 12-year-olds into her kitchen and lets them use knives and power tools.
The Kids in the Kitchen class in her rural Arlington home isn’t child’s play. It’s aprons on, safety first, spoons in, pinch of parsley; it’s training on how to follow recipes.
This isn’t chicken nuggets and fries. It’s coq au vin, roasted rainbow carrots and Brussels sprouts served with “mashed potatoes” made with cauliflower.
“I up the standards,” Marshman said. “Set your standards for your meals, what you want to prepare. If you cater to a kid’s palette, it’s a vicious cycle preparing healthy meals.”
She holds private and public classes in the kitchen where she created hundreds of home-cooked meals for her husband and their six sons, ages 15 to 24. Of course, her own kids also know how to cook.
The family moved from Edmonds to the 5-acre farm when the boys were little. The 900-square-foot kitchen addition was designed around the table that seats 14. “The table is from a castle in England. It was a servants’ prep table,” she said.
She started her home cooking school, Flour Pot Kitchen, three years ago. “To get people back in the kitchen, cooking home-cooked meals and taking time to sit around a table,” she said. “Having the kids get involved in the meal prep, they feel important they can help out.”
There are sessions for chefs of all ages, even toddlers. “If they can roll Play-doh, they can learn how to cook,” she said.
The recent Kids in the Kitchen class had everybody doing a little bit of everything, from chopping carrots and pressing garlic to sauteing and taste testing.
Verdict on the mashed cauliflower: “Needs more potatoes.”
The junior chefs learned more than smashing, mashing and carefully mixing ingredients.
“When you open the garlic, I didn’t know they had the individual things in it,” said Koen Collins, 8, who had already mastered making pancakes and eggs at home.
The kids classes last 2 1/2 hours. Parents can watch their kids in action from the sidelines.
“I’m scared to death to let her do things that she is doing here,” Rhonda Giecek said of her daughter Raichel, 6. “She is doing amazing. It is kind of eye-opening what they are capable of when you get out of their way.”
Not like at home.
“We tried to make cookies over Christmas and there were smashed eggs and temper tantrums and shells and egg yolks strewn and hurt feelings,” Giecek said.
After cooking, it’s time to eat. The kids set the table and dug in, using their best manners.
“The chicken was tender and juicy,” Koen proclaimed.
They finished off with a sweet treat: personal tarts made with almond flour, topped with whipped mascarpone and decorated with fresh strawberries.
After the meal, they took their dishes to the sink.
Just like at home.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
Flour Pot Kitchen
For more information on the Kids in the Kitchen classes, call 206-714-6062, email flourpotkitchen@gmail.com or go to www.flourpotkitchen.com.
Coq au vin
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 to 5 strips of bacon chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8 bone in thighs and legs
10 cremini mushrooms sliced
3 tablespoons corn starch
2 cups Chardonnay (for kids, use 3/4 cup wine and 1 1/4 cup chicken stock)
1 cup homemade chicken stock
¼ cup heavy cream
Sea salt and pepper to taste
½ cup chopped parsley for garnish
Cook bacon in a large cast iron skillet. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.
Salt, pepper, garlic powder and cornstarch the chicken pieces, and brown them in the leftover bacon fat over medium-high heat making sure to make the chicken nice, golden and seared. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate.
Cook diced onion over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, add mushrooms and saute over medium high heat. Add the garlic when the onion is tender and translucent and the mushrooms are browned, cook for 1 minute longer.
Return chicken, onion, garlic and bacon (reserve a bit to garnish with) to the pan, pour chicken and wine all over, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes. Add cream and simmer for 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and crumbled crispy bacon before serving.
Mashed cauliflower potatoes
1 medium head cauliflower
1 to 2 red potatoes
¼ cup grated Parmesan
2 cloves roasted garlic
Sea salt and pepper to taste
½ teaspoon chopped fresh chives, for garnish
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat. Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain well.
In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the Parmesan, garlic, sea salt&pepper until whipped but with texture.
Place mashed cauliflower in a serving bowl, garnish with fresh herbs.
Roasted vegetables
Assorted veggies, including carrots, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, sweet potato, turnips, fennel or beets
3 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
If the carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise; if not, leave whole. Slice the carrots diagonally in 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. Cut all the root veggies to similar sizes. Toss the veggies in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Transfer to a sheet pan in 1 layer and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, until browned and tender. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Strawberry tarts with mascarpone Cream
Shortbread crust
1½ sticks butter, softened
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup ground almond meal
¾ cup flour
Pinch of salt
Filling
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons organic powdered sugar
½ teaspoon real vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
3 cups sliced strawberries
Pinch of salt
For the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 6 individual or one standard size tart pan.
In the bottom of a stand mixer on a medium speed, beat butter, sugar until fluffy, about two minutes. Add in the pinch of salt and flavoring.
Turn the mixer down to low and add flour, a little bit at a time until incorporated.
Form into a disc and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
When ready to roll, place in between two sheets of plastic. Roll out until the dough is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. If you are using one pan, you should be able to take the top sheet of plastic wrap off and transfer to the buttered pan. If you are making mini tarts, use each tart pan to outline circles of dough. You may need to take the scraps and roll again to make 6 tarts.
Place dough in greased pan, prick with a fork and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cool.
For the filling, beat mascarpone, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together in a stand mixer or with a hand held mixer. Spread filling evenly in tart shells. Top with fresh strawberries.
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