Cooking: A Recipe for Learning - Rainbow Rice

"Let's cook together or help me cook" is always a nice solution to keep children entertained - killing 2 birds with one stone is always how we like it when we are so busy. When kids help you cook, you can teach much more that the basic techniques.  In this recipe below, Rainbow Rice, you can teach your little chefs about health, colors, geography, math, nutrition, social science, language art, and science in general.  Let's see how you can do this.  First, let's get the ingredients together and set aside, then learn the instructions of how to do this, and finally, you will find out how you can make cooking a learning experience beyond basic cooking skills.

Ingredients:

1 onion

2 small RED tomatoes

1 ORANGE pepper

1 YELLOW squash

2 BLUE potatoes

1 small PURPLE eggplant

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking rice (brown or : white)

3 cups chicken stock (vegetable stock or water)

1 small bunch of fresh GREEN cilantro

1.5 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Tips: Before having the kids roll over their sleeves to help you cook, you may want to wash and cut the vegetables into shapes that are easy for the children to handle and cut.  Use plastic knives and encourage the kids to be safe when cutting by curling fingers in!

Instructions:

1. Dice the onion, tomatoes, orange pepper, squash, blue potatoes, and eggplants, and set aside.

2. In a large frying pan (that has a lid), heat the oil over medium heat.

3. Add onion and saute until tender, about 2 minutes

3. Add the remaining dices vegetables and cook until the vegetables are slightly tender, about 7 or 10 minutes.

5. Add the rice to the pan and stir.

6. Pour the chicken stock into the pan and stir.  When the stock begins to simmer, cover the pan with lid, and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the rice is soft.

7. While the rice is cooking, remove cilantro leaves from stem. When rice is finished, add leaves to the pan and stir.

8. Add the cheese (if using) and season with salt and pepper. Mix well and serve.

Learning beyond cooking:

Science - encourage your children to smell, taste and discuss each vegetable, and whether they grow below or above the ground. When bringing the water to boiling temperature, you can teach them how hot is boiling temperature, where does the liquid disappear to, etc. 

Social Science - You may want to discuss all the cultures that eat rice as a staple.

Math - ask your children to help you measure the ingredients using spoons or cups and discuss the different sizes and measurements.

Geography - you can engage in a nice discussion about which country grow the different vegetables of the recipes. 

Nutrition - teach your children about the vitamins and minerals vegetables, grain and cheese  contain.

Even though this Rainbow Rice serves like the perfect example to teach children about many other subjects beside actual cooking, you may find there are other recipes with which you can do the same exercise. You will see how many sous-chefs you will end up having after this cooking class!

Grands chefs and petits chefs can do wonders together!

- The Moms' Buzz

source: Kiwi Magazine