Julie Van Rosendaal's ideas for spring break cooking with kids

Springs break starts this week for Calgary public and private school students.

If you're looking for a way to keep your kids busy, now could the perfect time to teach them some basic cooking skills.

And if you're lucky, they might be packing their own bagged lunches by the end of spring break.

Here are two recipes to help kick off the cooking lessons. 

Roasted Sweet Potato Chili

The measurements here are approximate — play around with veggies you like or are in season, and use up any that get chopped while practicing knife skills.

• 1 medium dark-fleshed sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks.
• canola oil, for cooking.
• salt and pepper, to taste.
• 1 onion, chopped.
• 1 small zucchini, chopped.
• 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped.
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped.
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced.
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed.
• 1 bunch cilantro (or a big handful).
• 1 tbsp. chili powder.
• 2 tsp. cumin.
• pinch cinnamon.
• 2 540 ml cans beans, such as kidney, black, Romano or chickpeas.
• 2 540 ml cans diced or whole tomatoes.
• crumbled feta, for serving (optional).

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Spread out the sweet potato on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle generously with oil and toss around with your hands to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes, until tender and turning golden.

Set a medium pot over medium-high heat, add some oil and saute the onion, zucchini, peppers and garlic for a few minutes, until soft. Chop and add the cilantro stems and about half of the leaves (save the rest to put on top), along with the chili powder and cumin and cook for another few minutes.

Add the beans and tomatoes, scrape the roasted sweet potatoes into the pot, season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 to 45 minutes, until thickened. If you like, continue to cook it over low heat, or cool it down and refrigerate overnight to let the flavours develop a bit. Serve hot, topped with crumbled feta (or sour cream) and fresh cilantro.

One-egg cake

This Joy of Cooking recipe was Van Rosendaal's favourite as a kid; she made many a batch of cupcakes using it. She has reduced the salt and changed the technique from her 1975 version of the cookbook — which calls for beating the butter and milk into the dry ingredients — to a more common method of making cake batter.

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1½ cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2½ tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and light; beat in the egg and vanilla. In a smaller bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions, beating just until blended after each. Pour the batter into paper-lined muffin tins or two greased 8 or 9-inch round cake pans and bake for 20 minutes for cupcakes and 25 minutes for cakes, or until the cakes are golden and springy to the touch. Cool completely before frosting.

Makes about one dozen cupcakes or two layer cakes.

With files from Julie Van Rosendaal and the Calgary Eyeopener