Julie Azuma

Founder, Different Roads to Learning

Julie Azuma, mom and entrepreneur, founded Different Roads to Learning in 1995 with the mission to support, educate and inspire teachers, families and individuals affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder. Over the past 20 years, Different Roads has grown to be an international provider of more than 600 of the most effective tools for educating and empowering students with autism. With a carefully curated product line supporting the social, academic and communicative development of children on the autism spectrum through Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior interventions, Julie’s mission is to provide the best teaching tools for caregivers and professionals to use in their home-based or classroom programs. In what is often an overwhelming experience, Different Roads strives to support the hope and dedication of parents and professionals who devote themselves to helping our exceptional children learn. That’s why The Creative Kitchen has teamed up with Julie and Different Roads to Learning to produce Everybody Can Cook, a comprehensive cooking curricula that has adaptations for various developmental and physical abilities. Learn more about Julie below and click here to see great educational products from Different Roads to Learning.

Website: http://www.difflearn.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/difflearn

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Difflearn

What was your favorite food to eat as a child?

As a little kid growing up in a Japanese American household, I loved eating a bowl of short grain rice mixed with green tea. Pickled plums or stewed seaweed usually accompanied the Ochazuke (tea and rice).

Do you have children? If so, what do you like to make for them or with them?

My daughters Miranda and Sophie called it yellow rice. I made a bacon and egg fried rice with scallions every weekend for breakfast.

What is your favorite childhood memory in the kitchen?

My father was a better than great cook, he made strawberry short cakes from biscuit dough. Another favorite was a chocolate roll filled with whipped cream and topped with chocolate sauce.
He’s the only person I’ve ever seen make doughnuts and coffee cakes.

What was your favorite recipe to help make when you were a kid?

Toll house cookies from the chocolate chip bag.

The Creative Kitchen™, LLC, teaches children about food and how to cook in a fun, safe, and educational manner. Targeting families with children ages two to teen, the company focuses on teaching, writing creative content and curriculum, special events, recipe development, spokesperson work, webisode production and consulting to present educational and entertaining content through food-related activities. The founder, Cricket Azima, is an expert in cooking for and with children. She inspires kids to express themselves creatively through food and cooking, while complementing lessons with traditional educational material such as social studies, math, arts, science, and more. Visit www.thecreativekitchen.com for more information.