If your daughter can tie her shoelace, she can also cook you dinner

Just ask Lleyton. In this adorable 2-part homemade cooking show - Cooking with Lleyton Shea -  a 7 year old stuffs herbs up a chicken, oils up a bird like a pro and yes, even trusses it. She paired it with her favorite vegetable - green beans!

I've been wanting to write more about the people in Westfield and the food stories they share. People love to tell me about what they cook, where they ate, a rare find in a specialty store. People call me and ask how to set their ovens, how to make vodka ice cubes (you can't), and what was the name of that place you liked. Well here is a perfect example of being inspired by a fellow Westfielder, who shares a family recipe.

What stood out the most in Lleyton's show is how approachable cooking is. This is not some clever kid making kid food and cracking jokes. It is a serious young lady who knows her way around the kitchen. She made real food the real way! How many of us can say that? Even a 7 year old can roast a chicken and make a healthy flavorful cooked veggie. What is your excuse?

At the end of the show Lleyton gets to choose a balloon with a recipe, which her mom pops with the chopping knife. (Kudos, btw, to mom and her herb-chopping technique.) Stay tuned for lobster ravioli....