When the weather is icky, what does our family like to do?  Cook and eat of course!  The kids have been pretty excited to do our summer cooking lessons, so we started this week.  But first here are some yummy items I've been cooking up.

Chocolate malts

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Rhubarb is in season and it's so yummy!
4 1/2 c. diced rhubarb
2 cups strawberries
3 TBL. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar

Mix together and place in an 8x8 dish.
Crisp:
1 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. oats
 cube of butter
dash cinnamon
Crumble over the top and bake at 375 for at least 35 minutes.  Must serve warm with ice cream.

These lasagna rolls from Giada were pretty good.  I would sub out the proscuiotto for Italian sausage though. 

Here is the link to devil dogs, she loved the frosting, I thought it was weird. I'd use a traditional buttercream. Yum.  I do love the Pioneer Woman!

Hannah loves giving me "pedicures", and serving snacks, and making the snacks look pretty.  Here was my fruit plate.  Is that so cute or what?


Cooking Lessons-Take one
The first of our cooking lessons commenced yesterday.  We looked through cookbooks and Hannah decided she wanted to make chocolate chip cookies all by herself.  I kind of wished she had selected something different but I am trying to do a little less talking and a lot more listening like good mothers do.  Ha. I remember wanting to make cookies when I was 8.  My very patient mother let me go for it and the cookies had double the amount of sugar and were gritty.  I never made that mistake again! 

We will share Taylor's cooking experience later.  I love what he selected.

So here are the pics of Hannah making cookies.  I directed from a chair as she measured (very efficiently using a knife to level everything), learned how to use the KitchenAid (she remembered every step), cleaned at every step (a little bit type-A on that ), and found out it was so much work she was never making them again.  That one made me laugh.  A lot.  Pictures via the lovely Hipstamatic app on my iPhone.

Gotta read that recipe.

Concentration.

She liked standing on a chair.  Adding the flour took some coordination.

Adding the chocolate!

Her favorite part-licking the beaters!

I was very impressed by her careful lining up of the batter.

You cook in Mama's kitchen, you clean up your mess. I hear my mother's words echoing in my head..

Waiting not so patiently.

Success! With a neckerchief too!

They were really delicious.