My Sophie loves cooking shows. Particularly Cake Boss and Paula Deen's Home Cooking. So when I offered to teach her how to make a pot roast yesterday, she was quite excited, and had a gleam in her eye when I pulled out the cutting board and handed her a large knife.
She washed vegetables, learned how to peel garlic cloves and onion skins, and the best part of all: she got to chop carrots and celery. After I made the first chop to demonstrate to her how it's done, she told me that to her, chopping celery had always been one of the coolest kitchen sounds in the world. I laughed, and definitely agreed. There is something very satisfying about a clean cut through a bunch of crisp celery!
Sophie was so happy with her celery-chopping ability that she asked if the celery base would rot if she kept it as a souvenir. I explained to her that yes, it would eventually rot, so she found a new use for it...
After all the preparations were made, she got to work...
Once the roast was in the post to simmer for the remainder of the day, she got to work on that celery base again, and discovered something very exciting: by peeling away the outer stalks, she revealed a tiny "celery tree," as she called it...
The celery tree is still sitting on the counter this morning, although it's looking a little less excitable by now.
It was fun cooking with such an eager "student." Later that night, when we sat down to eat, she quietly asked me, "Even though you helped me with everything, is this still a dinner that I cooked all by myself?" At that moment, Mike and Sabrina said, "Sophie, your roast is great."
She smiled. :)
P.S. Mom, thank you for teaching me how to make pot roast.
