Cooking with Emily

Tuesday again.  Of course that means last night I had a reprieve of sorts in the kitchen.  Not a "I don't feel like cooking so it's every man for himself" night, but a teaching night, letting Emily plan and execute supper, with a little (or a lot) of direction and help.  She is getting better and choosing recipes she can manage, and at putting together the separate elements of a meal.  True, most of her choices are single dish meals, soups or casseroles, but sometimes she opts for a dish that requires dishes to balance the meal out.  We still have to learn about colour balance, chicken, mashed potatoes and cauliflower is a rather bland looking plate, but that will come.  Aesthetics take time,  like developing a palate for anything does.
Sunday night I set my junior chef to choosing her menu so I could make a grocery run if necessary Monday afternoon, or at least unearth the right things from the deep freeze.  Again the Ginger Carrot Soup was chosen.  I read the instructions and quietly dissuaded her, explaining it had a lot of steps, so was likely better suited to a weekend, or a week night when we had more time.  The book says it takes just under an hour, but that's not accounting for an inexperienced cook.  I handed her the stack of Kraft magazines and suggested she re-think her plans.
She dove in, and shortly handed me a well thumbed issue.  Opposite a carrot soup recipe that has become a favourite of mine for being quick and easy, she had discovered a pair of recipes for carrots.  "I'm making these," she declared, "with pork chops."
I skimmed the page, yes, they were easy enough, with some minor modifications.  Dinner was planned.
Monday morning I found a package of pork chops buried under the recent influx of bison I had received.  A perusal of the fridge suggested the purchase of a few more carrots, but that otherwise supplies were well in hand.  I figured with two side dishes we could probably forgo starch.  It wasn't missed, by either of us.
At home Monday evening Emily started peeling carrots.  One recipe called for eight (with the tops still on, our first modification-pretty, but not necessary) the other for a full two pounds.  I quickly took a pen and reduced both recipes by half.  There are only two of us, after all.
She needed a little help slicing the first batch of carrots in half on the diagonal.  The second just needed slicing, she managed that task just fine, although I had to walk away.  She understands knife safety, but the speed was painstaking.   The diagonally cut carrots went into a pot of boiling water, the sliced ones into chicken broth.  Then I realized they needed to boil for 30 minutes, to be soft enough to mash!  I cook most vegetables a long way short of mashed, so I hadn't even considered this.  I transferred them to a microwaveable pot to speed things up a little, as Emily began the simple sauce for the first dish.  The recipe called for "Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tuscan Italian Dressing".  Not something I would buy, not liking Italian dressing much.  But I did have Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar dressing, so I said nothing and handed her the bottle.  She blended the dressing with brown sugar, commenting on the smell (balsamic vinegar does have a rather sharp aroma) and on the appearance of the dressing. as the olive oil had congealed in the fridge.  I drained the carrots, and she tossed them with the glaze.  I put the pork chops on the barbeque (yes, I barbeque in January).  The house smelled great, things were looking great.
Once the second batch of carrots were close enough to tender (I confess they should have been cooked a little longer for the sake of texture-they tasted great) Emily mashed them and stirred in some cream cheese spread.  I brought in the chops and it was time to eat.

Dinner was delicious.  Despite her comments on the glaze, Emily enjoyed both dishes and requested a plate of leftovers for school lunch the next day.  (I do wonder sometimes what kind of comments her unique lunches get.  She rarely takes a sandwich, leftovers heated in the community microwave are the norm.)  As it happened this little foray into the culinary arts became a school project.  Something to do with kitchen science, but I'm not clear on the details.  I was asked to write a review on the back of her carefully copied recipes.  As she finished copying the two recipes she had made she came and asked if I would write out the recipe for the pork chops.  I laughed and explained there was no recipe.  I had seasoned them with a little Tex-Mex seasoning I had in the cupboard and grilled them.  Sometimes simple is best.

By the time we were done in the kitchen we had dirtied several extra dishes....but we were both well fed, and as I set to the mountain of dishes we had created (good thing I went with the barbeque and not the broiler!) Emily went to finish her homework.  Can't wait to see what she discovers next week

Tuscan Glazed Carrots

1 bunch of carrots, with the tops (about 8) peeled

1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tuscan Italian Dressing (we used Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Cut the tops off the carrots, leaving a 1/" stem at the top of each. Diagonally cut carrots crosswise in half, then cut each top piece lengthwise in half.

Add carrots to a large pan of boiling water, cook 3-5 minutes, until tender-crisp.  

Meanwhile, cook dressing and sugar in a small pan over low heat 2-3 minutes, until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly.

Drain carrots, return to pan.  Add dressing mixture, cook & stir on medium heat 2-3 minutes, until carrots are evenly coated.

Creamy Mashed Carrots

2 pound carrots, peeled & thinly sliced

1 c chicken broth

1/2 c light cream cheese spread

Bring carrots and broth to a boil. Cover & simmer on medium-low heat 30 minutes, until carrots are very tender & most of the broth is absorbed, uncovering for the last  5 minutes.

Remove from heat, mash until smooth.

Add cream cheese spread; stir until melted.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives, if desired.