Let’s get cooking, kids! While you are staying at home, you can play with your food plus you get to eat the yummy results. An added bonus is that you’ll learn math and science skills while you have fun in the kitchen. I recently chatted with my friends about their childhood cooking memories and they were eager to share their stories:
My friend Kate’s college physics teacher got interested in physics when he was cooking with his mom as a child. He learned that adding a cup of butter to a cup of milk would displace the milk by one cup (displacement volume).
My friend Mary Ann says her grandchildren are having fun in the kitchen while staying at home making one of their favorite snacks: Frozen Jell-O® Grapes.
Frozen Jell-O® Grapes
- 2 cups of grapes
- 2 x 0.3oz box sugar free flavored Jell-O® gelatin or 1 box (3 ounce) regular flavored Jell-O®gelatin (I like cherry, strawberry or raspberry flavor for this recipe.)
- Water
Rinse the grapes in a colander – do not allow to dry – the grapes still need to be wet
Place flavored Jell-O® gelatin into a small bowl.
Dip the grapes one by one into the powder, rolling them around so that they are evenly covered with the mixture.
If the grapes start to dry out, you can rinse them again..
Place the gelatin covered grapes in a single layer in a freezer container and put in the freezer.
I remember the first thing I ever cooked – No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies. My grandmother taught me how to make them. I learned so much by making these simple cookies – how to measure, how liquids turn to solids as they cool and possibly the most important lesson – Formica kitchen counter tops melt when a hot pan off the stove is set upon them. My mom was not too happy about that last lesson.
No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
Makes 24 cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 cups quick-cooking oats
- 1/2 cup chunky or creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, sugar, and milk.
Stir well and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 90 seconds, stirring occasionally.
Remove from the heat and stir in the oats, peanut butter, and vanilla.
Drop by heaping spoonfuls (about 1 tablespoon per cookie) onto baking sheets lined with wax paper or parchment paper. Let cool to set.
My friend Margaret remembers the fun she had making popcorn balls when she was growing up. You can make them with the multi-color mini marshmallows to make them even more festive.
Marshmallow Popcorn Balls
Makes 10 popcorn balls
- 1 package (16 ounce size) marshmallows
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- Vegetable food coloring (optional)
- 14 cups popped popcorn
DIRECTIONS
Combine the marshmallows and butter in a large microwave-wave bowl. Microwave on high for one minute or until just melted. Stir until completely smooth. You can add food coloring at this time if desired (add a few drops at a time while stirring).
Gradually fold the popcorn into the warm marshmallow mixture. Add it just until the popcorn isn’t too sticky and it’s fully coated.
Let cool enough to handle and then place one cup of the popcorn mixture in the center of a 10-inch piece of plastic wrap. Form the popcorn into a ball and then twist the plastic wrap around it and secure with a twist tie or ribbon. Repeat with remaining popcorn mixture.
In third grade our teacher asked us to go home and make butter in a mason jar. It was so easy, but kept me busy for quite some time shaking the jar. Here’s how to do it:
Mason Jar Butter
- 1 pint sized 16 oz. Mason jar
- 1 cup heavy cream 38% fat content
- Cold water
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour heavy cream into the Mason jar, filling it half-way full. Screw the lid on.
Shake Mason jar for approximately 5-7 minutes. After the first 2 minutes you’ll have whipped cream. Keep shaking until you hear that a lump has formed inside, and shake an additional 30-60 seconds after that.
Remove the solids from the jar. The remaining liquid is buttermilk. You can save that for other recipes, or discard it.
Place the solids into a small bowl. Pour cold water over the butter and use your hands to squish it into a ball. Discard water and repeat rinsing 2 times more.
At this point you have butter. You can add in things like salt, honey, and herbs to create flavored butters, or serve in its pure form as is.
Colors in Nature
Natural food coloring is a good way for children to learn about where color comes from in nature. Dye boiled eggs with beets (pink to red), turmeric (yellow) and blueberries (blue), red cabbage (robin’s egg blue).
Here’s how you do it:
- Combine 1 quart of water and 2 tablespoons white vinegar in a saucepan.
- Bring water to a boil and add dye ingredients. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Strain the dye and add eggs. Let sit for 30 minutes (or longer for a more vibrant color).
- Remove eggs from dye and pat dry with a towel. Place eggs covered in the refrigerator.
Dye amounts:
- Beets: 4 cups chopped beets
- Turmeric: 3 tablespoons ground turmeric
- Blueberries: 4 cups fresh blueberries
- Red Cabbage: 3 cups – let sit overnight for the most vibrant robin’s egg blue
About the Writer:
Following her career in healthcare dining and nutrition management, Becky Ellis followed her passion to create Bubblybee, a champagne and food blog. Her motto is “Don’t wait to celebrate! Pop the cork now!” She loves to share tips for entertaining with bubbly. Find her creative recipes and champagne tasting notes at bubblybee.net and Instagram @cocktails_w_bubblybee.
