Jamie Oliver is famous for his food revolution. He has been advocating that people in the United States and the United Kingdom go back to eating healthy foods. A big part of his campaign is to change school hot lunch programs, and to teach kids to eat better meals. Now, I am not setting my goals that high, but I am trying to show kids that making food is something they can do, and that homemade food is even better when you make it yourself.
With all that said, I used his recipe for Bolognese sauce when making spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad with the kids.
We divided into three teams. Two teams cut carrots and celery as part of the prep work for the recipe. I had the moms chop the onions for the kiddos(BIG THANKS TO JENNY AND STEPHANIE!!). I did not want tears. Or severed fingers.
Meanwhile, my lovely wife supervised the kindergarten team in making garlic bread. They combined softened butter, olive oil, garlic and salt in a bowl, then spread it on two french loaves from Fazio’s bakery here in St. Louis.
Once the veggies were chopped, the two teams of older kids heated some oil in a frying pan and then added their vegetables to the pan. They then proceeded to sauté their vegetables, until they became translucent. Then they added the ground chuck to their pans. It took a while, but they browned the meat. Once it was browned, we added the two cans of diced tomatoes. Finally we added a can full of water to each of the pans and let the sauce simmer.
The only variation I make to Jamie Oliver’s recipe is that I add tomato paste to the sauce to help thicken it. The original recipe doesn’t call for it, but I think it makes a real difference in the thickness of the sauce.
The kindergarteners triple washed the lettuce, and our dinner was made. The only thing we needed to do is boil the spaghetti. This was a flaw in my plan as I had thought the sauce would take longer to make. While we waited for the water to warm, we showed the kids how to properly set the table and clean the kitchen. The kitchen was clean, the garlic bread was toasted, and dinner was served.
Overall, the kids enjoyed the spaghetti, with several asking for seconds. Everyone loved the garlic bread, and the kids even ate most of the salad.
We’re about halfway through the cooking club this semester, and overall, I think it’s gone well so far. Hope you’ve enjoyed reading about it. Have a good week!