Book Cooks Week 1

Since we only had two days in Week 1, we kept it pretty basic. Students learned a little bit about food safety before we began. There are 3 important tips: 1) Wash your hands, 2) Hot and cold foods need to be eaten within 2 hours of being at room temperature, and 3) Keep your kitchen (preparation and cooking areas) clean.

On Thursday, both Breakfast and Afternoon Snack made their own butter. Each group got a jar of heavy cream and took turns shaking it until the butter separated from the buttermilk. They then drained the butter and ate it with strawberry or grape jelly. Breakfast ate theirs with a piece of cornbread, while Snack made sandwiches out of white or wheat bread. This recipe was inspired by an excerpt from Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In it, she tells how her mother would make butter; coloring it with grated carrots, washing the lump of butter, and then pushing it through a butter mold.

Friday was popcorn day! In both classes, we attempted to make popcorn using two different methods. First, we tried the Jiffy Pop. This is a store-bought pan filled with kernels which you shake over a heat source. We weren't very successful with Jiffy Pop, though 4th Period's (pictured) turned out really well. We also tried making popcorn the old-fashioned way (not in the microwave!). Using a pot and burner, we heated corn oil until a few test kernels popped. Then we added popping corn and put on the cover. After a lot of shaking, almost all of the classes enjoyed a full pot of popcorn (5th Period's just would NOT pop, we'll try again later). Students seasoned the popcorn with butter (leftover homemade butter from Thursday), popcorn salt, and/or sugar. Breakfast ate theirs by dropping individual kernels into milk. This was inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder's book Farmer Boy. In it, young Almanzo Wilder wants a glass of milk for his popcorn because only popcorn and milk can be in the same place at once. Popcorn with milk is a lot like eating cereal. Afternoon Snack enjoyed reading The Popcorn Book by Tomie dePaola. The book tells about the history of popcorn in the Americas. There is a funny myth about a tiny demon who lives inside each kernel. When you heat the kernel, he gets so angry that he blows it up!