Elizabeth Low grew up watching her mother cook. Watching her prepare foods like bread, stir-fries and dumplings for herself and her three older brothers inspired her own love of cooking and made her want to share that love with other children.
“I just gained so much experience and skill from (learning to cook), once I got the basic skills I could go wild with whatever I do, and it’s so much fun” , Low said.
The Linn-Mar senior creates a recipe booklet filled with recipes from local restaurants and her own family as part of the Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award, an award given to high school students in Iowa who submit unique projects.
Her plan was originally to teach cooking classes to children from the Marion Youth Coalition, but as the novel coronavirus spread across the United States, she decided to change her idea while mixing up what she loves. with the job she always wanted to do.
Low started a GoFundMe with the goal of raising $1,200, and she received $1,335 on Thursday. She also received $600 in donations from restaurants.
Ten restaurants contributed recipes for the booklet, and Low and her mother filled in gaps in some areas with their own recipes. Zio Johno’s at Marion was one of the first to partner with Low on the project, contributing a recipe for his chef’s salad and gift certificates. Store manager Andrew Khairallah said they decided to put a healthier spin on the restaurant’s gondola sandwich, as Low emphasized his goal of giving kids healthy recipes to make.
Of the 17 recipes in the booklet from different restaurants, Low’s favorite is her mother’s very vegetarian pancakes.
‘That doesn’t sound very good. … It’s not something you would find very appealing when you were a kid, but my mom made it and it’s really good,” Low said.
In addition to recipes, the booklet also contains information on healthy eating and activities for children. Low said a lot of kids don’t have the opportunity to learn first-hand how to cook like she did, so providing them with information on how to cook and healthy options to make means a lot to her.
In addition to giving kids some of the tools they need to learn to cook, Low also wanted to help businesses that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participating restaurants will be announced in the book.
“The timing is impeccable, especially with everything going on right now,” Khairallah said. “We have to stick together and everyone has to help each other as much as possible, so that’s great.”
The booklets, along with aprons that Low hopes will motivate children to get into the kitchen and use the booklet, will be distributed with lunches provided by Feeding Lunches to Youth, a meal delivery program in Marion and Cedar Rapids that Low volunteered. with this summer. Low said she had already received the aprons and planned to have the booklets printed by August 10, then they could start distributing them. Feeding Lunches to Youth will be distributing meals until August 21.
“It will really inspire kids to step out of their comfort zone by trying new foods, learning something new, and potentially doing it with someone like Elizabeth does with her mom,” said Jared Feigenbaum, Feeding intern. Lunches to Youth. “It’s really an extra motivational step to grow.”
When Low volunteered at Feeding Lunches to Youth facilities, she said she could tell the children really enjoyed the food they received. However, the program cannot provide them with all the meals and it ends at the start of the school year. Low’s GoFundMe exceeded its goal, but it continues to receive donations in hopes of printing more books to distribute and maybe even sell. She said she had heard from some people about the possibility of selling the books and that she wanted to continue the program with profits that would also be used to make more books to distribute for free. Even with the start of the school year, the children will still only have lunch.
“Children also have to take care of their breakfast and dinner, and I think my project can help them,” she said.
Comments: (319) 398-8371; brooklyn.draisey@thegazette.comHo
Linn-Mar senior Elizabeth Low has created a book with recipes from local restaurants to give away for free. Zio Johno’s is among the restaurants in the area that have contributed. Photographed at Zio Johno’s in Marion on Thursday, August 6, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
A recipe for Whole Wheat Brownies from Great Harvest Bread Co. is included in Elizabeth Low’s new cookbook, Cooking Up Success. (Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Low)
Cover of Cooking Up Success, a cookbook by Elizabeth Low.
Linn-Mar senior Elizabeth Low has created a book with recipes from local restaurants to give away for free. Zio Johno’s is among the restaurants in the area that have contributed. Photographed at Zio Johno’s in Marion on Thursday, August 6, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
Linn-Mar senior Elizabeth Low has created a book with recipes from local restaurants to give away for free. Zio Johno’s is among the restaurants in the area that have contributed. Photographed at Zio Johno’s in Marion on Thursday, August 6, 2020. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
Elizabeth Low added cherry tomatoes to chef Zio Johno’s salad for her book, Cooking Up Success. (Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Low)
