Their First Cooking Lesson

Although she was looking forward to it, The Girl wanted to know why I designated one day a week for each child to cook dinner with me. I explained when Elder Boy moved out of the house, he could only make a few things without panicking - Spaghetti, Ramen Noodles, Mac & Cheese (from a box!) and a handful of sandwiches. Baking anything was out of the question. I told her when she grows up and moves out of the house, I want her to be able to cook anything she wants.

This past Wednesday was The Girl's first cooking lesson. I wanted them to choose what they would be preparing and she chose to make a stir-fry with rice (she loves rice) and crab rangoon. She has helped me prepare crab rangoon before but the rice and the stir-fry were new to her.

The Girl especially liked the idea of finally being able to use the knife. The Girl wielding a knife made Mr. LH quite nervous but I told him I would be responsible for teaching the children how to cook and use a knife in the kitchen if he took over the responsibility of teaching them how to drive. Seems fair to me...

The added bonus to The Girl learning to cook is the math tutoring she is unknowingly receiving. She didn't realize when I had her adding 1/2 cups together to make 2 cups that she was adding fractions.

Crab Rangoon - made with The Girl's help

On Thursday, The Boy chose to prepare a meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy and broccoli. He was also excited about using the knife...

but more excited about mashing the potatoes. I only wish I had been able to get a picture of him mixing up the meatloaf ingredients with his hands...

The Boy's verdict..."It was a lot easier than I thought it would be!" And very very tasty...

I didn't expect them to choose meals that were so involved for their first go-round. Frankly, I didn't care if they chose grilled cheese sandwiches and soup as long as they got into the kitchen and learned something. But with the cooking lessons worked into the schedule as a weekly event, they'll be exposed to all kinds of different foods and techniques. The good news is they are both looking forward to next week's lessons.

The Girl hopes that by Christmas she'll be able to cook meals all by herself. I'm not quite prepared for that, yet.