Proofreading a recipe for home economics homework...?

The theme for the 4th installment of the series "Mass-Produced Simple Life" is "Proofreading a recipe for home economics homework...?" This is a story about Niko (my second daughter) who worked on a cooking assignment that was given as summer vacation homework.

Click here for more on "Mass-Produced Simple Life" (a coined term) ↓

Part 2 "Organizing your "daily life" before things get busy"
Part 3 "More helpful than just helping out! Kids can participate in housework too."

Out of the 4 articles in "Mass-Produced Simple Life," 2 are related to cooking. Reading the article I wrote previously, "Food education? Intellectual training? If you turn the kitchen into a laboratory, you might be able to handle housework and childcare at the same time," I realized once again that I find cooking to be quite a burden.

Now, for my elementary schooler Niko, this year's home economics homework was to "think of a menu using specified ingredients and cook it."

As someone who isn't good at cooking, I've always managed to get by that way, but it seems Niko tried to create a menu by seasoning the specified ingredients to her own taste. Good for her... It was the right choice not to ask Mom...

On the afternoon she bought the ingredients, Niko said, "If I make it now, it can be dinner, right?" What? I hadn't thought of that. I thought homework was just homework. You know, even on cooking practice days, there's still school lunch.

Me: "Seriously?"
Niko: "If I eat what I made, won't I be too full for dinner later?"
Me: "That's true. Well, shall I help with the soup?"
Niko: "No. I'll do it myself."
Me: "Seriously!?" (again)

It seems she's using the specified ingredients for the main dish and using ingredients from the fridge for the miso soup. That's amazing. She's like someone who does housework every day... Oh, wait, she is someone who does housework...

I watched her, feeling excited and restless, while sorting out the recyclable waste in the dining room or organizing the handouts I had been meaning to deal with during summer vacation so as not to get in Niko's way♡ (I'm like a child doing homework while waiting for dinner to be ready. Huh. The parent-child roles are reversed...)

And, it's done!
I also took a photo for her to submit.

However, although I got permission to write about it here on note, I was told not to post the photo of the food, so I am delivering this information in text format☆

The whole family enjoyed it♡ Rei-kun and Icchan were also super excited, saying, "Yum! This is delicious!" Everyone was smiling so much. After the meal, Niko started working on her report. She wanted to do it before she forgot. She's even more impressive! (I should learn from her)

Niko: "This is hard..."
Me: "Did you leave any notes?"
Niko: "I remember that part, but I find it hard to explain."
Me: "That's true. Why don't you try referring to a cookbook or the packaging of a side dish mix (retort seasoning)?"
Niko: "Okay. I'll borrow them."

A little while later, what Niko was holding when she returned to her desk was,

She brought back a serious one!
That's for my work!

There are many points to be careful about, such as how to write quantities and how to explain procedures, in order to write them "clearly" and "without misunderstanding." For a moment, I thought she didn't need to go that far, but I think that "being exposed to the fact that there are points to be careful about" might actually be very meaningful.

Niko-chan finished her report after revising what she had written once by referring to a book. She worked so hard! By the way, she said, "You can't post the completed report." Oh, that's a shame. It turned out so, so wonderful.

Once it's returned from school,we're talking about laminating it and making it a staple recipe in our home (A house with a laminator...)

As it says on the book's obi strip, I think this content is useful not only for editors and writers in charge of cooking pages, but also for culinary researchers and food coordinators who publish recipes on the web. If you're interested, please pick it up. It's a bit pricey, but it's worth it!

I think the reason there are rules for how to write recipes is for thereproducibility of the cooking. So that anyone can make it the same way. It ensures a stable quality.

What I want to value in this series, "Mass-Produced Simple Life," is the reproducibility of a simple lifestyle. I thought that I would like to continue writing downthe "rules of our home" that allow anyone in the family to continue their daily life easily and without hesitation.