Tuesday

This morning was spent taking some time out at preschool.  Audrey's class were spending time in the new school kitchen, making Minestrone soup.  Audrey's contribution was the chicken stock! 

She has recently been cooking quite a bit at home - we made chocolate chip biscuits together the other week.  It was something Nicholas and I did often and breaking the eggs was his specialty.  I thought it was time to get Audrey involved as well - it seems too easy for me to err towards just wanting "to get the job done".  I am a creature of habit.  If I like a recipe I am not likely to try another version.  I make the same chocolate chip biscuits.  I make the same brownies and I make the same banana bread.

The other night she helped David cook a Japanese dish.  the sight of her cutting vegetables and chicken with out kitchen knives gave me chills, but I was reminded of the Montessori theory that young children learn more appropriately if using utensils, and they will learn to handle them with care....

Today Audrey cut up onions and carrots for her class soup. 

On cooking, these are my favourite family cookbooks.  Tana Ramsay (yes, wife of Gordon Ramsay) is a former Montessori school teacher and has a number of family cookbooks.  I love them because they each contain a variety of recipes that are easy to follow, with ingredients that are just as easy to get.

On Sunday afternoon I like to sit with her cookbooks and find 3 family friendly, time saving meals to make for the week (David cooks on Monday and we like to leave Friday night for something spontaneous so that leaves Tuesday to Thursday for me).  My menu then forms our weekly grocery list and I am left feeling all is right in the world!  :)