Cooking with kids requires about double the time and triple the patience that cooking alone or with another adult demands. So when I do cook with my kids, I try to seek out recipes that are tasty, nutritious, and very simple. This “tomato candy” pasta makes the mark on all three accounts. Inspired by Michelle Obama’s new (and adorable) cooking show, this is my version of the recipe depicted in the first episode.

If you haven’t cooked with your kids before, let me give you a few incentives to get you on board. Cooking together provides kids with focused attention and quality time with parents, so even though it’s a bit more work than turning on the TV while you throw the meal together, it does give the kiddos more of the necessary interpersonal time that they need for healthy psychological development. Beyond that, cooking helps children develop fine motor skills (stirring, pouring, grating), math skills (counting, measuring, multiplying, dividing), reading skills (labels & instructions), and safety skills (proper handling of hot pans & sharp knives, hand washing, and safe food handling). And finally, cooking is a fundamental self-help skill. Preschools and elementary schools across the world focus a large chunk of their curriculum on teaching children to properly take care of themselves: putting on jackets, tying shoe laces, reading and following instructions, and so much more. However, cooking is largely left out of school curriculums, and so it’s not surprising that so many adults today really don’t feel confident in the kitchen. Getting kids to help out, even in small ways, in meal preparation is one way to empower children, to expose them to new foods, and to have fun.

Before I get into the recipe, here are a few tips and tricks for cooking with your kids. Kids love to use all their senses, so capitalize on that. Allow them to taste, smell, and touch all the ingredients as you prepare them. Give them a chance to voice their opinions, but also ask them what else they notice about the textures, flavors, and aromas of the different herbs, spices, and vegetables. This gives them a chance to develop their pallets and articulate what they are experiencing. It also gets them to at least try the vegetables!

My second tip is that while many jobs are too big for kids to do (chopping, pouring large or hot items, removing items from the oven, etc.), no job is too small for a kid to do. When I used to teach cooking and nutrition lessons to kids of all ages in D.C., I would break down the recipe into as many little jobs as I could to give every kid in the class an opportunity to participate in the process. I would give five different vegetables to five different kids so that each could wash the produce in the sink. I’d get three different kids to pick cilantro leaves off the stems, and I would pass the bowl of dough around the entire room so that each student could stir once. In this recipe, I let each of my kids season the tomatoes by taking turns to sprinkle on some salt, sugar, pepper, and olive oil. Then they took turns stirring, tearing basil leaves, and pouring cheese onto the pasta. While these tasks were very small indeed, my children felt that they had played a large and important role in the cooking process, and they loved it.

I’m not sure if it was this pride of participation or the fact that the pasta is just plain delicious, but I can tell you that there was none left at the end of the meal.

Equipment:

• Large pot for pasta

• Baking dish or sheet for roasting tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. box pasta of your choice

• 1 24oz. container of cherry tomatoes, washed & dried

• 0.67oz container of fresh basil

• Olive Oil

• Salt

• Pepper

• Sugar

• Butter (optional)

• Shredded or grated parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF, and bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.

2. Season the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a medium bowl, and drizzle over enough olive oil to coat. Add salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar to taste. Pour the tomatoes into a baking dish or pan and roast in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes..

3. While to tomatoes bake, cook the pasta according to the box instructions. When done cooking, strain off the water, and season the pasta with salt, butter, and olive to taste.

4. While the tomatoes cook, remove the basil leaves from the stems and tear them into thirds.

5. When the tomatoes are done, pour them into the cooked pasta along with the basil. Add shredded parmesan cheese to taste. Serve and enjoy warm.

Recipe adapted from Waffles + Mochi