Les Petits Chefs – Food Revolution Week 11

 

Henry requested “soup and a salad with dressing that doesn’t come out of a bottle (!)” this week so that’s what we made.  We’ve actually made the salad before with last term’s group of Petits Chefs but I wanted to show this group that the type of salad you buy at the store is really so simple to make at home and that way  you know exactly what’s going into it.

The soup I chose was Pea and Mint because I though it might be a nice one for the hot weather we’ve been having.  I knew it was a bit of a gamble with 9 year-old boys but hey, they can’t like everything, right?  All I ask is that they try. They love peas (especially eating them frozen) so I figured it might be ok.  It was a super easy recipe – we bunged all the ingredients in the pan (above) and let it cook away for about 40 minutes, then blended with an immersion blender until it looked like this:

Henry and I were impressed that the soup matched the placemat.  As far as taste goes, well this was definitely not a huge hit (though Oliver, I saw you sneaking a LOT of spoons of this as I cleaned up around you!!!). Charles declared it too thick and Henry thought it was too watery.  Liam declined the offer to try (he is quite particular about food and I have been absolutely thrilled that he has tried so much of the food we’ve made so I gave him a pass on this one!). Me? I liked it. I agree that it could have been a bit thicker – I might have been a bit light on with the peas. But definitely tasty and fresh for warmer weather.

The salad had everyone chopping…

This is Liam above ^^ facing his nemesis – peppers!  Remember when he rubbed his eyes after cutting jalapenos?  Well this time he was taking no chances and washed his hands well and often. He also spoke sternly to the pepper telling it who was the boss.

They all enjoyed squeezing the lemon for the dressing:

And mixing the ingredients:

And they LOVED this salad, judging from the “nom nom nom” noises emanating from the tasting station:

So all in all a great week. I don’t expect the boys to LOVE everything we make – I am simply glad they are interested in learning some basic cooking skills.

The quote of the week comes from Henry: “I wish we could have food like this for lunches.” Considering we have an AMAZING lunch program at my school that is high praise indeed 🙂 You made my week!

ngredients
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
250 g mixed long grain and wild rice
A few sprigs of fresh basil
A few sprigs of fresh mint
A few sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
200 g roasted red peppers from a jar
1/2 a fresh red chilli
1 lemon
4 tbsp (60 mL) lemon dressing (please see below)
Add to Grocery List
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the rice and cook it according to the packet instructions.
Once cooked, drain the rice in a sieve and spread it out on a tray to help it cool down quickly. Meanwhile, pick
all the herb leaves off the stalks. Finely chop the peppers. Halve, deseed and finely chop your chilli. Make
your lemon dressing. Put your cooled rice into a big serving bowl. Finely chop your herb leaves and add them
to the bowl, together with the peppers and chilli. Zest over your lemon, add the dressing and mix well. Taste,
add salt and pepper if you think it needs it, and serve.
1.
Lemon dressing
Put 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil into a jam jar with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper. Squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon. Put the lid on the jar and shake well.

26 thoughts on “Les Petits Chefs – Food Revolution Week 11”

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  2. Great work. I learned to cook as a kid and thank my mother and her late mother for showing me all sorts of cool stuff. As a young boy it made me a bit strange to the other kids, but I’m laughing now!!

    Jason

    Reply
  3. I love seeing their little fingers chopping up ingredients and working hard to create these wonderfully colourful dishes.

    Great work all! Unfortunately we don’t always love what we make, but at least your trying.

    -foodnetwork.ca

    Reply
  4. I always feel like I’m standing over your shoulder looking down into the pot with you. I just love it!
    Thanks,
    Penelope

    Reply
  5. I am happy that Liam has learned the stern talking method. This works for many inanimate objects. I used to have to swear quite loudly to my first car to get her to start some mornings (and then would shower her with praise, of course… break them down, build them up again).

    Reply
  6. The soup and the salad both look wonderful! It sounds like you had fun pulling it all together as well. I will have to give these a try!

    Reply

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