Chef Jack.
Jack helped with dinner tonight. It wasn't planned, but right as I entered the kitchen, he be-bopped in, asking, "Mom, can I help make dinner tonight?" Now how could I say no to that? :-)
Tonight's menu was Stuffed Zucchini, so we set to work. I taught him how to light our gas burners, and he began browning the hamburger. He wanted to stir it constantly, so I explained that it needed to be still just a moment to actually brown - hehe. Then I chopped onions and bell pepper for him, but he scraped them off the cutting board into the beef with the sharp knife. He pressed the garlic cloves and slowly - with the *point* of the knife, that is - scraped them off the board into the mixture as well. He measured and boiled the water for rice, watched it and added the rice once it was ready. He made sure to switch the drain to closed, too (anything with switches is fun in the kitchen, right?). Then he poured the tomato soup into the meat and stirred it up well.
I showed him how to cut the three zucchini into quarters, and he did that. Those were some tiny zucchini, too; I can't wait until it's back in season fully. I showed him how to scoop out the seedy innards, and he worked away at that while the rice set up and the meat mixture heated. Finally, he turned the oven on for preheating, and then we formed an assembly line to stuff the zucchini shells: I dumped a heaping spoonful into the shells, and he topped them with cheddar cheese, stealing several bits while he worked. *wink*
Success! He had a lot of fun, and he was much more confident about the tasks than he has been in the past. This was the first time I let him use a super-sharp knife, so he was very slow, very careful. I was quite proud of him. :-)
Jack's Stuffed Zucchini.
Tonight's menu was Stuffed Zucchini, so we set to work. I taught him how to light our gas burners, and he began browning the hamburger. He wanted to stir it constantly, so I explained that it needed to be still just a moment to actually brown - hehe. Then I chopped onions and bell pepper for him, but he scraped them off the cutting board into the beef with the sharp knife. He pressed the garlic cloves and slowly - with the *point* of the knife, that is - scraped them off the board into the mixture as well. He measured and boiled the water for rice, watched it and added the rice once it was ready. He made sure to switch the drain to closed, too (anything with switches is fun in the kitchen, right?). Then he poured the tomato soup into the meat and stirred it up well.
I showed him how to cut the three zucchini into quarters, and he did that. Those were some tiny zucchini, too; I can't wait until it's back in season fully. I showed him how to scoop out the seedy innards, and he worked away at that while the rice set up and the meat mixture heated. Finally, he turned the oven on for preheating, and then we formed an assembly line to stuff the zucchini shells: I dumped a heaping spoonful into the shells, and he topped them with cheddar cheese, stealing several bits while he worked. *wink*
Success! He had a lot of fun, and he was much more confident about the tasks than he has been in the past. This was the first time I let him use a super-sharp knife, so he was very slow, very careful. I was quite proud of him. :-)
Jack's Stuffed Zucchini.