4 for 4 with Cauliflower!

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Yes, it's true, ALL of the kids at yesterday's cooking class liked (or LOVED) the cauliflower!  Four kids ate TWO heads of cauliflower.  And this was after they made their own peanut butter for the dark chocolate peanut butter bites.  And after they made some yummy mac-n-cheese.  Read on for some highlights from yesterday's Mac-n-Cheese Please class...

  • We started off by making peanut butter from.....peanuts! That's it! And it was so good, we had to make a second batch so that everyone could take some home to share. I asked if it was good, or if they thought we needed to add sugar (like most peanut butter's at the grocery store) and the answer was NO! The kids made the peanut butter themselves, using a Vitamix (safely).

  • We used our peanut butter to make dark chocolate peanut butter bites. We used unsweetened chocolate. Everyone already knew that chocolate comes from a bean! Three kids gave it a taste and it did not taste good - in fact it tasted awful. But, the dark chocolate peanut butter bites were delicious!

  • Next, they chopped up TWO heads of cauliflower. The kids tried out both real and plastic knives to core and then chop the cauliflower. They mixed it with some oil, salt and pepper and roasted it in the oven. We put some cheese on top for the last few minutes. Did I already say that they LIKED it!

  • Finally we got to the mac-n-cheese. They sampled the three different cheeses, and got their approval on all. The cheeses were selected because they melt easily. They learned how to use a food processor (again, safely) with a shredding blade, and shredded a pound of cheeses. Next they cooked a pound of pasta and drained it, doing all of the work themselves. Then we made a roux, learned how to incorporate an egg without scrambling it, and patiently whisked until it thickened. They mixed it all tougher, and voila! Everyone had different spice preferences, so they mixed in their own when eating. Paprika was the favorite, with cayenne pepper coming in second.

  • I was impressed with a great group of young cooks! I'm looking forward to teaching this class again!

 

That's all that's left from 2 heads of cauliflower!

That's all that's left from 2 heads of cauliflower!

Sweet!

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Six little girls were fabulous bakers on Tuesday!  I caught a glimpse of many stolen licks (followed by much hand washing, and re-washing).  Here are some highlights from our Sweet Treats class for 5-7 year olds:

  • Cupcakes:  The ingredients seemed strange (sour cream?) but the end result was delicious! The girls smelled and tasted several ingredients along the way :) The brown sugar smelled like raisins and the vanilla did not taste good!  Everyone cracked their own egg, and we had no shells!  (I scrambled up the extra for diner, thank you!) We talked about when to use dry measuring cups (flour, sugar) and when to use liquid measuring cups (milk, cream). We talked about how to fill dry measuring cups.  They spooned in the flour, and packed in the brown sugar. We talked about how to look at the line when using liquid measuring cups. Everyone used the big stand mixer!  They all took turns spooning the batter into the mixer, locking it in place, and turning it on (gradually!). Everyone took turns using an ice cream scoop to fill the cupcake liners.

  • Frosting: That was easy! The girls tried mixing up the frosting ingredients with a spatula, but several lumps of butter remained.  So, we switched to the hand mixer and they all took turns beating the frosting to perfection!  At their age, it took 2 hands, and a gentle reminder to keep the beaters on the bottom of the bowl. They all did a great job!

  • Ice Cream: Everyone had a role in measuring out and whisking the ice cream ingredients. There was a lot of peeking in the ice cream maker as it turned our liquid into ice cream.  The girls were a big help here - I initially put a room temperature mixing bowl in the ice cream maker, instead of the frozen one, so nothing was happening!

  • YUM! Each girl had 3 chocolate cupcakes, a generous spoonful of frosting, and a full dixie cup of ice cream at the end.  Most of them left with a few cupcakes to share!  I wish I had taken some pictures, but we were too busy!

Uno, Dos, Tres!

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We had a really great time during our very first Taco Tuesday class! All of the kids were wonderful chefs. Here are some highlights: 

• Onions really do sting your eyes, but that didn't stop anyone!
• We learned how to easily remove the skin from garlic.
• The food processor made making the salsa a breeze, we even included the stems from the cilantro.
• Some were initially skeptical, but they all liked the salsa!  We took a quick break to try it with some chips.
• The potato masher was quite fun to use to mash the avocados.
• Everyone juiced their own lime, and then took a lick of the remaining pulp. Some liked, some did not!
• We decided against using the stems from the cilantro in the guac.  And skipped the garlic.
• Everyone did great with the eggs, so we skipped the video that I had listed on the recipe sheet.
• Some of them mastered turning on the gas burners!
• They all did great making their own tortilla dough, and flipped them on the stove.

It was a great success and I can't wait for our next Taco class. If you are interested in learning more or registering your child click on the link below.