“If you can read, you can cook!”
With many of you suddenly faced with unplanned homeschooling right now, how about having some constructive fun in the kitchen? If your kids can read, they can cook! Those wise words came from my mother many years ago and she was right! I will share a few of my favorite recipes here that have ingredients you very likely already have in the home. Let’s use what we have and be creative, minimizing our trips out in public. Going through our freezer recently was like doing an archeological dig with many wonderful discoveries uncovered! I recommend you try it.
For starters, how about a giant baked pancake for breakfast that will feed the family? Pfannekuchen is so easy and delicious you’ll wonder why you never made it before now. What, no apples in the house? Feel free to substitute bananas…or any other fruit that is handy. Another easy favorite that you may have already made for St. Patrick’s Day is Irish Soda Bread. This has so few ingredients you will be shocked. No buttermilk in the house? Use one teaspoon white vinegar and fill measuring device with any ol’ milk to the desired level. Yes, it works! Did you buy a few too many bananas on your last grocery store outing like I often do? One day they are green and then…suddenly they are soft and on the verge of turning brown. Yikes, time for Banana Bread, once again. I especially love this recipe because it includes oatmeal and chocolate chips. Warm it up with peanut butter and call it breakfast. Speaking of peanut butter and chocolate, don’t forget about Monster Cookies. They are even gluten free! These huge cookies freeze nicely in case you don’t “need” 60 giant cookies all at once! My son LOVES this recipe and never lets even a crumb go to waste. If a few unfortunate cookies end up crumbled, he just adds them to cereal and has a fantastic flavor combo going on.
Now let’s talk about some savory dishes that will be wonderful paired with any dinner protein. I love to roast vegetables and this is a favorite. This Roasted Vegetables recipe should merely act as a guide for you. We are not baking so there is a lot of flexibility with this recipe. Change up the veggies and spices and you’ll have a new recipe every time. Just use this for the basic steps, cooking time and temperature. I usually make a new recipe verbatim the first time and then add my own touches to it the next. Spring has sprung and so has the asparagus. Have you ever cooked with leeks? Well, that needs to change if not! Roasted Leeks and Asparagus define spring for me. Check it out.
Like I mentioned earlier, get the kids in the kitchen and call this lesson…..Home Economics, Science, Math, Art….the possibilities are vast! But above all, have fun and keep it eclectic!
Barbara
