Everyone that knows me knows I absolutely love my grandchildren just as all grandmothers do. With grandchildren it is like watching your own children grow up again. It is so much fun to talk to them and listen to their dreams. I have a grandson who is 10. He has a dream of being a chef. Today I thought it would be fun to interview him and talk to him about his dream.

I told him I wanted to ask him some questions about being a chef. He was all for it. He loves to talk about food, cooking and being a chef. For the purpose of the interview he wanted to be called “Jimmy”.

Jimmy, what was your first memory of wanting to cook? “I don’t know how old I was but I was very small. I was watching a cooking show with my mom. I liked what they were doing and thought I would like to cook.”

What was your first memory of cooking? “I helped my mom make lasagna. I was pretty little and it seemed hard but it was fun and I have wanted to be in the kitchen and cook ever since.”

What is it about cooking that you like? “I like making up recipes. It is fun to see what different ingredients I can put together and make them taste good. I like seeing people smile when they taste my food. I like to hear them tell me I have done a good job and that my food is good.”

Who has influenced you most toward your dream of cooking? “My dad. He is always telling me what a good omelet I make and he tells people I make the best omelet of anybody else. He brags on me about my cooking and tells people I want to be a chef.” What makes your omelet so much better than mine? “I whisk the eggs for a long time. This makes them fluffy and airy.”

Jimmy, what type of restaurant do you want to work in? ” I want to own a food truck. I want to drive it around to work areas at breakfast, lunch and dinner time and let workers order their food.” You do not want a regular restaurant? “No, not really I think it would be good to give people at work a good place to eat. Plus it cost more to have a restaurant.”

What type of food do you want to serve? “For breakfast I am only going to serve omelets. They can choose different ingredients for their omelets. For lunch and dinner: spicy chicken sandwiches made from my recipe, buffalo meat burgers, hand cut sweet potato chips, hand cut white potato fries, salt and red wine vinegar chips and deep fried jalapeno bites made from my recipe. I do not want to serve beef.”

Why only buffalo burgers? “Buffalo meat is healthier. It does not have as much fat in it. It does not shrink while cooking it.” I researched this a bit to see if he was correct. Check out what I found.http://www.buffalohillsbisonmeat.com/nutritional_information.php

Do you enjoy grocery shopping? “YES!” What do you enjoy about it? “Seeing the different kinds of food and thinking about what I could make with them.”

What are some of your favorite ingredients to cook with? “Jalapeno peppers and bacon. They make anything better.”

What is your favorite foods to eat? “Spicy wings, french fries, broccoli, pickled okra, baked okra, turnip greens, spinach and cauliflower.” I took Jimmy to the farmers market on Saturday. He chose turnip greens, purple hull peas and okra. When he and I got back we put the greens on to cook, shelled the purple hull peas and put them on to cook. Then we put the okra in the oven to bake. It was very good eating.

Should the people cooking clean up the mess they make? “Yes if you make the mess you should clean it up.” This one made me laugh. When he visits me and cooks, he never wants to clean up. Later in the day after we cooked dinner, I reminded him of his answer to this question and made sure he helped clean up the mess.

May I have a recipe of yours to share? “All of my recipes are kept secret.” Is there just one you would share? “OK one, my spicy baked beans.”

Jimmy has big dreams and plans. Who knows if he will continue to dream the same dream or if it will change. He has had this same dream since he was about 5. It will be interesting to see if he sticks to it. Little boys have big dreams. Big boys have big dreams. Men that have been encouraged grow up with a big plan.

Jimmy’s Spicy Baked Beams

INGREDIENTS
2 large cans pork and beans
1 med chopped onion
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup more if you like
1/4 cup yellow mustard
Tablespoon pickled jalapeno juice
3 chopped jalapenos
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
sliced bacon
Salt, pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients in baking bowl except bacon, Cover top of beans with bacon. Bake at 350 for 40-45 min.