September 23, 2018
Katie Workman for The Snack Cookbook Club
We are thrilled to feature Katie Workman for the next few weeks for The Snack Cookbook Club. (Sign up here!)
Today we are sharing the first of three features… and don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter to enter the giveaway which will be running all week!
TLSN: It’s that very special time of year…back-to-school season! I know you can relate. You wrote two awesome books designed to help parents with their family cooking goals. Can you share your concept of Fork in the Road, which is a concept that stretches throughout both works and your website?
KW: The Fork -in the- Road concept addresses the need to adapt a recipe to suit the needs of a family where picky palates are prevalent. Basically a recipe is made, fairly simply, up to a certain point. The some of the dish is removed (think plain pasta sauce, pita chips, simple sautéed chicken cutlets), and set aside for the kids or those with milder palates. Then, you continue on with the rest of the dish, adding some additional ingredients and flavors for those with more adventurous palates. The result is that you get to make one dish for the whole family, everyone is sharing the same meal, but the grown ups (and maybe some of the kids!) are eating something with more interest, more sophistication, while the kids are eating a great meal that doesn’t push them past their limits. No more short order cook! And hopefully this serves as an opening for you to encourage your kids to try the more sophisticated version, and expand their horizons.
TLSN: It’s not just dinner! Family cooking also entails breakfasts and lunches. They are equally as important and often entail strategic cooking. How do you approach that in addition to dinner time?
KW: Prep, prep, and prep some more! I am a huge fan of having an arsenal of pre-prepped ingredients at the ready – minced herbs and garlic, chopped onions, peeled carrots, juiced and zested citrus and so on.
TLSN: How do you keep up your cooking momentum when you feel fatigued/burnt out? Where do you seek new inspiration for recipes and family food once your regulars are all played out?
KW: I look everywhere, from restaurants to prepared food counters to magazines to online sources to social media. there is absolutely no shortage of inspiration out there!
TLSN: What are you working on now and where can we find you showcasing your work? All busy parents will benefit from your ongoing help!
KW: I am always adding new recipes and posts to my blog, themom100.com, and I send out a weekly newsletter with meal plans, and other recipe round ups. I also write a weekly column for Associated Press, which is carried in dozens of print papers and online newspaper sites. I freelance regularly for a lot of other outlets as well, many online, such as Simplyrecipes.com, thekitchn.com, and CommunityTable.com. And of course I am very active on social media, especially instagram where I can be found at @katieworkman100. And you can always google me! I’m google-able!
TLSN: Thanks for stopping by Katie!
