Prep School Recipes and Extension

January and February 2026: Ready, Set, Prep!

  • Week 1: PEELING; STAR TOOL: Peeler and Palm Peeler

    • Welcome to Ready, Set, Prep! This week students will focus on safe food prep with peeling! We’ll start out as we always do - by reviewing kitchen expectations and basic safety - then learning how to properly wash fruits and vegetables. We’ll be washing fruits and veggies every week to really get that habit established. Next, we peel! While the peeler is one of the most common tools used in the kitchen, it’s as sharp as a knife. We’ll talk about how to use a peeler safely and the best ways to peel specific items. We’ll talk about how to tell when to stop peeling. Then, we’ll make our carrot ribbon salad, veggie fries, and homemade ranch dressing to practice peeling on several different vegetable with different skins and surfaces.

    • Week 1 Recipes:Carrot Ribbon Salad, Veggie Fries with Homemade Ranch (we’ll add the links here!)

    • Extension Practice ideas for home this week:

      • Let your child be in charge of washing fruit and veggies at home. Have them explain why we wash produce and check that everything is clean before it’s used.

      • Give your child a carrot or sweet potato and ask them to decide when peeling should stop. Talk about what the skin looks like when it’s clean enough and how leaving some skin helps reduce food waste.

      • Once this week, have your child peel something. Simple, continued practice at home is such a great way to reinforce these skills.

  • Week 2: GRATING; STAR TOOL: Box Grater

    • This week students focus on grating and shredding, using the box grater as our star tool. We’ll learn why grating helps foods cook, melt, and mix more easily, and practice how to safely use a grater by keeping ingredients dry, holding them at the top, and stopping before fingers get too close. Students will put these skills to work while shredding zucchini for our Invisible Zucchini Brownies, measuring ingredients, mixing batter, and scooping it into mini muffin tins. While the brownies bake, we’ll extend our learning by practicing shredding different cheeses and experimenting with the various sides of the box grater.

    • Week 2 Recipe:Invisible Zucchini Brownies

    • Extension Practice ideas for home this week:

      • Help shred cheese for a family meal or snack, practicing safe hand placement and stopping before the piece gets too small.

      • Grate a vegetable like zucchini or carrot to add to muffins, pancakes, or pasta sauce.

      • Explore the box grater or microplane that you have at home, if you have one. Identifying what each side is best used for and trying them out with an adult nearby.

  • Week 3: CHOPPING; STAR TOOL: Wavy Chopper

    • This week students will focus on chopping, using the chopper as our star tool. We’ll learn why chopping helps foods cook and mix more easily, and practice how to chop safely by keeping ingredients flat on a cutting board, using a sharp blade, working slowly, and stopping before fingers get too close. Students will put these skills to work by rough-chopping vegetables for our roasted veggies. While the vegetables roast, we’ll extend our learning by making a simple béchamel (cheese) sauce - using grating skills from last week! - and mixing it with pasta before enjoying what we made together.

    • Week 3 Recipe:Everyday Roasted Veggies; Homemade Mac and Cheese

    • Extension Practice ideas for home this week:

      • Invite your child to make their own snack by chopping soft foods like bananas, strawberries, or crunchy foods like raw veggies. This builds confidence with real-life kitchen tasks.

      • Have your child help chop one fruit or vegetable for a family meal this week (cucumbers for salad, peppers for tacos, strawberries for yogurt, etc.). Remind them to use a cutting board, keep the food flat, and work slowly.

      • Continue to practice grating and peeling, which can be combined with either of the ideas above!

  • Week 4: SLICING; STAR TOOL: Serrated Knives (age appropriate varieties)

    • This week, students practiced the skill of slicing, learning how and why certain ingredients are sliced in cooking. We discussed the difference between chopping and slicing — chopping pushes the knife down, while slicing uses a sliding motion across and down to create thin, even pieces that cook evenly and layer nicely. Students practiced safe slicing techniques, including keeping ingredients flat on the cutting board, tucking fingertips, moving slowly, and stopping when ingredients become too small to safely hold. We applied these skills while making Individual Upside-Down Apple Tarts, carefully slicing apples and layering them with honey and puff pastry before baking.

    • Week 4 Recipe:Upside Down Puffed Pastry Tarts

    • Extension Practice ideas for home this week:

      • Invite your child to practice slicing at home by helping prepare fruits or vegetables for a family meal or snack.

      • Try slicing apples, bananas, cucumbers, strawberries, cheese, or bread using age-appropriate knives.

      • Encourage slow, thin slices, tucked fingertips, and stopping when pieces become too small. Remember — practicing the skill is the goal, not eating the food.

  • Week 5: SLICING & JULIENNE; STAR TOOL: Plastic or Blunt-Tip Serrated Knives (younger chefs) & Small Chef’s Knives (older chefs with 1:1 supervision)

    • This week, our chefs focused on precision as they learned how to safely slice and julienne fruits and vegetables. After settling in and reviewing how and why we wash produce, students practiced creating thin, even slices and then turning those slices into uniform strips (aka the classic julienne cut!) We emphasized laying ingredients flat, tucking fingertips, working slowly, and stopping when pieces become too small to hold safely. Chefs applied their new skills while preparing colorful Veggie Spring Rolls, julienning carrots, cucumber, cabbage, bell pepper, and lettuce before rolling them with rice noodles into rice paper wrappers and serving with peanut or sweet soy sauce. Through repetition and reflection, students strengthened knife safety, control, and confidence while discovering how even, equal cuts improve both presentation and texture.

    • Week 5 Recipe:Rainbow Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

    • Extension Practice ideas for home this week:

      • Practice julienne cuts at home with a soft vegetable and focus on even, equal strips.

      • Compare rough cuts vs. julienne strips and notice differences in cooking time and texture.

      • Recreate spring rolls or wraps at home and let your child lead!

      • Teach a family member the knife safety rules learned in class.

  • Week 6: DICING & MINCING; STAR TOOL: Plastic Knives/Small Chef Knives and Slam Chopper

    • This week, we focused on precision cutting and how sometimes recipes require ingredients to be cut very small. Our skill focus was learning the difference between dicing (small, even, cube-shaped pieces) and mincing (the smallest, finest chop). Students practiced laying their ingredients flat on the cutting board, tucking their fingertips in, and working slowly to create thin slices, long strips, and then even cubes. For mincing, they learned to keep the tip of the knife on the board and rock the handle up and down for a fine chop. We emphasized safety throughout: creating a flat base, using a sharpened knife, tucking fingertips, slowing down, stopping when pieces become too small to hold, and always carrying blades down and away from the body. To practice our new skills, students made Salsa Two Ways — a fresh fruit salsa served with homemade cinnamon chips, and Cowboy Caviar.

    • Week 6 Recipes: Cowboy Caviar; Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips

    • Extension Practice ideas for home this week:

      • Practice dicing one fruit and one vegetable at home, focusing on even cubes.

      • Compare diced vs. minced ingredients and notice how the texture changes.

      • Use the rocking motion to mince fresh herbs or garlic with a grown-up.

      • Make a simple salsa (or repeat one of these recipes!) at home and adjust the size of your cuts to change the texture.

    All recipes and curriculum are the intellectual property of Happy Place Cooking Space, Inc. Unauthorized sharing, reproduction, or publication in any form is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. Written permission is required for any use beyond personal, private cooking.