Tonight, the boys were really excited about Scouts. They were working on earning their whittling chip. I'm not really sure what this means because I was assigned to another task, but I do know that we didn't have to use any of the numerous Band Aids I brought! Anyway, the kids were working with soap and I think they did a pretty good job. The parents were asked to stay and help and almost all did...although one of the parents left her son AND HER DAUGHTER without saying anything to anyone. WHO DOES THAT? Especially since it involves using knives!!!
Kevin decided that it would be a good idea if I helped the kids with their "Cooking lesson" (STOP LAUGHING) while he and Brian worked with the kids on the whittling. My parents wondered what he was thinking, but the only other option involved knives and with my past record of mishaps, apparently nobody wanted to risk it. I'm not sure if I would be covered by the insurance ;)
So, they divided the kids into two groups so they could work more one on one with them. GREAT idea. Seriously. It worked perfectly. I had to cut the recipe in half for making Chocolate Chip Cookies. No problem, Right? Sure. Like when is the last time you actually did fractions? In front of kids? Or other parents? Tell me...immediately...what is 1/2 of 3/4. See, this is what I was doing. So, we got everything figured out and were doing great. All of the kids were dumpign their ingredients in.
The boys had to mix it by hand...no mixer. They were doing great. I kept thinking, WOW. This is really easy. Totally smoothe. So, they put the cookies on the Pampered Chef baking stone (because I'm that cool in the kitchen...I own a ton of Pampered Chef stuff--not that I know how to use half of it, but at the party, I HAD to have it!) Anyway, they bake the cookies....and they didn't look done after the 11 minutes. So I added two more and then took them out. I thought to myself, "Well, they will finish baking on the stone." So we waited. And waited. And I thought. They really aren't setting up much. They are kind of slimy. And they really spread out!
They oozed over the side. See the centers? One of the boys, (keep in mind there are employees in the break room next to this kitchen) very loudly says, "Whoah. That looks like our cat's barf". So I started laughing. Hard. We all did. They do kind of look like barf. I kept thinking that I have made cookies at home before and they've turned out fine. WHAT WAS DIFFERENT? See that first picture? What is half of 2 Eggs? NOT 2 eggs! We put too many eggs!!! The kids didn't seem to think the cookie dough tasted bad. In fact, they loved it!
I'm not sure if you can tell just how slimy it was. I had to use the spatula and kind of peel them off of the baking stone in this big goopy mess. I put them on a paper towel and started with the next group. They seemed to get it right. This time, the dough wasn't as smoothe. But the cookies did set up better.
Their cookies tasted better. The adults said the others tasted good, just looked gross. They had them as a snack with milk. What a great idea. I looked like an idiot teaching boys how to cook. Then again, as I said...the Motto is "Do Your Best". And I did. Even if they look like cat barf.
Look at how serious Trevor was with the soap. They were so excited. I picked up enough knives for all of the boys...they will actually earn their Boy Scout knife at the end of the year, but they are practicing with these.
I guess even without the blades being super sharp they cut through the soap. We were talking about how we can never let Grandpa Haun sharpen their knives...otherwise, we WILL be using Band Aids. And gauze. And maybe the occasional stitches. Hee hee. That man sure can sharpen knives. I remember my Grandpa Poplette used to sharpen his pocket knife all the time. I'm not sure what he used it on other than to open mail, but it was always ready. Just in case. Maybe I should carry a pocket knife. You never know when you might have a Fish Scale emergency! So, needless to say, it was a busy night! I'm tired...really tired. I don't think I will be teaching cooking again. Sadly the boys have a better chance when the Dad's teach it!
