Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Years ago I taught a 6-week class about cheese! I was reminded of that when R brought up bringing cheese for a cheese tasting in his chemistry class this week. This was our discussion...and it always comes back to those IB learner profiles at our house. R: Mom, Thursday I need to bring cheese to my chemistry class for a tasting. D: Oooo! What kind? Gorgonzola? Époisses?? So many possibilities! R: No. Basic cheese. C: What's 'basic cheese'? R: Some kids have never had cheese other than on pizza. C: How is that even possible? D: They aren't risk-takers. So, I bought a small wheel of brie and sliced up a baguette for him, reminding him that that was for chemistry class not  his lunch. I was a little sad that he didn't think his current classmates would be open-minded enough to try some more exotic cheeses.  But I thought I'd share the cheese tasting I hosted at ISM several years ago. Talk about caseophiles in training...

One of the first projects they do in 5th grade is to identify, research, and express their cultural history. Since R did this two years ago (when he made an R-ball), D already knew the percentages: 50% Filipino, 12.5% Swedish, 12.5% Portuguese, 12.5% German, and 12.5% Irish. Somehow, D decided that the 50% Filipino was itself 50% Filipino and 50% Spanish - since the Philippines was a Spanish colony and Nonno looks like he's from Spain. Okay, it's your project, Wom. Here's his progress post for his teacher: D's Spice Box, Part I . We tossed around a couple of ideas, but since he's such an avid cook, he decided that he would make a box of spices with spices from all of the countries from which his ancestors hailed. Cool idea. He made a list, checked it twice, and off we went to buy some spices. We already had several of the spices on his list, but he needed juniper berries... ...he also needed dried dill, rosemary, and thyme since we usually onl...

Now those are five words I never thought would get me into the kitchen - Cookies. For. The. Leprechaun. Trap. But that's what I heard, late last night, as Dylan was heading up the stairs to go to bed, "Mom, don't forget that I need cookies for the leprechaun trap! Good night. I love you!" Just in case there was any doubt - was there any doubt?!? - I whipped up some peanut butter cookies for the trap. Here's how the trap works... "The leprechaun will smell the cookie and climb up the cactus. Up. Up. Up. Then he'll see the cookie and jump onto the top where the cookie is glued on the trap door. Whooosh. He falls in. And the cookie is still there for the next leprechaun."  While I am thrilled that my boys' school doesn't assign them busy work for homework, I was a little bit perplexed by this week's homework assignment: plan and build a leprechaun trap, detailing what leprechauns look like, what might attract them to your trap, etc. Ok...