A post that isn’t about a cat!
I know, amazing that I can write about anything other than the cats. (I am sure there will be plenty to write about soon)
My daughter is studying American History, from the Pilgrims to the Revolutionary War, this year. So, they had a ‘colonial feast’ yesterday. The children got to pick recipes, which of course us parents got to prepare (with a little help from said child).
My daughter and I picked out the recipe together and I thought little about what we had picked, other than; I knew she didn’t care for it, and I knew how to cook it (or so I thought). We picked “Winter Squash” aka Acorn Squash. I have always cooked it the way my Mom cooked it (see I did learn something) but I had to follow the directions…(note to self, read the directions before agreeing to make something for the kids for school).
I have always cooked the Acorn Squash by cutting it in half, clean out the seeds, put it upside down in boiling water in the oven at 350 for 40-50 minutes, turn it over, put brown sugar, butter, a little salt and pepper and put back in the oven untill melted. Easy right? I know the directions by heart, as I make it a couple times a year.
The recipe from school was not as easy. First we had to wash and peel (not as easy as it sounds) the squash. Cut in half, and clean out the seeds, and cube. Place in layers in a pan, dotting each layer with butter and brown sugar, at the end add 1/4 cup of water and bake at 375 for 60 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking. It looks easy and if Acorn Squash came with no skin, it would have been. It took us about 20 minutes to peel the squash, the rest was pretty easy…and tasted good, but I can get the same result by cutting the squash in half and making it my way.
The other part of their ‘project’ was to wear appropriate garb to the school yesterday. So I gave my daughter a dress that I had made for myself when she was little, she had a shawl, but…we also needed a bonnet. I spent Sunday making bonnets. After hunting down an appropiate pattern and making one, we discovered that it was to small for her head. So I made the needed alterations and created a second bonnet. It came out pretty good too. I understand that the day went well, the food was good, and the kids were able to get a ‘taste’ of colonial cooking.
So, when my daughter came home, I wanted to take a picture of my daughter dressed up…
She forgot the bonnet at school…that is a picture that I will have to take another time…
Tags: Thanksgiving, Education, School, Family
