Good words to know:

Boil—to heat water to the point where it bubbles rapidly, like a hot tub

Cooking supplies needed:

Saucepan with a lid, oven mitt, timer, small mixing bowl or cereal bowl, slotted mixing spoon. Don’t forget the stove and the fridge!

Ingredients needed:

1 egg

Water

6 ice cubes

Let’s cook it!

Gently place your egg in the saucepan. Cover with cold water. If a little shell is peeking through the surface of the water a tiny bit, it’s okay.

Set the saucepan on the stove burner that best fits the pan. Just like in Goldilocks and the Three Bears, not too small, not too big, but just right.

Turn the stove on high and let the water come to a boil. This could take up to 5 minutes, so be prepared to wait.

Once the water starts to boil, slip on your oven mitt and use the saucepan handle to carefully move the egg and VERY hot water over to a cool burner.

Place the lid on top. Set your timer for 17 minutes.

While you wait, place the ice cubes in the mixing bowl. Fill the mixing bowl halfway up with cold water.

When the timer goes off, use your oven mitt to remove the saucepan lid.

Use the slotted spoon to slowly lift out the egg, and lower the whole spoon into the bowl of cold water. Don’t drop the egg in the bowl or it will break the shell before the egg is ready!

Place the bowl in the fridge for 10 minutes.

When the egg is cool to touch, it is ready to peel.  

Take your bowl to the sink and remove the egg. Crack the bottom of the egg on the side of the sink or the counter top. Under cool, running water, start to peel or pick the shell away beginning at the cracked spot. Rinse the egg as you go to remove bits of shell.

Once all the shell is removed, place the pieces in the trash or composter!

Now you’ve got a good egg! 

Good words to know:

Slice—to cut into long, ½- to ¼-inch-wide pieces

Chop—to cut into several chunks at the same time. A chunk is a little smaller than an ear bud.

Cooking supplies needed: Cutting board, knife

Ingredients needed: 1 white or red onion

Let’s get choppin’!

First, a little knife know-how: To hold a knife, wrap your hand around the handle close to the blade and with a firm grip. Your fingers should be underneath the handle with the back of your hand facing up.

Cut off the curl end and the root end of the onion.

Set the onion up on its flat bottom where the root used to be.

Set your blade across the center of the flat top.

To hold the onion, arch your free hand over the blade by placing your thumb on one side of the onion and your pointy forefinger on the other. This will help keep your fingers away from the blade. Cut the onion in half.

Peel off the outer layer of paper-y skin from both halves.

Place the flat side of one half of the onion on the cutting board with the rounded side facing up

You are going to cut across the onion, not lengthwise. Your cuts should make little half circles of onion.

Rest your free hand on top of the onion half. Slightly bend your top three fingers under so only your knuckles are almost resting on top of the onion. Loosely wrap your pinky and thumb around the sides of the onion, careful at all times to keep them clear of the knife blade as you slice.

You’ll use your middle finger knuckle to guide your knife as you drag it across the onion.

Now you’re ready to slice the onion crosswise into ¼- to ½-inch-thick slices. If you’re right handed, your knife and left hand will all move towards the left as you cut. If you’re left handed, your knife and right hand will move towards the right.

Flip your freshly cut slices onto their sides in a stack. The rounded part of the onion should face your non-cutting hand. It’s easier to cut one slice at a time instead of a stack.

Using the same technique as before, slice across the onion.  

You will leave behind a trail of happy, chopped onion chunks.

Makes 3½ cups

Good words to know:

Dice—to cut into pieces smaller than chunks, about the size of a bean or pea. Chop—to cut into several chunks at the same time. A chunk is a little smaller than an ear bud.

Mince—to finely cut. It is a lot like dicing, but smaller. Think a grain of rice.

Seed—to remove the seed or seeds from a vegetable or fruit.

Slice—to cut into long, ½- to ¼-inch-wide pieces 

Cooking supplies needed:

Cutting board, kitchen knife, 1 and ½ dry measuring cups, small mixing bowl, ¼ dry measuring cup, small spoon, paper towel, tablespoon, mixing spoon

Ingredients needed:

1½ cups of diced fresh pineapple 

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

1 jalapeño

½ red onion

1 avocado

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lime

Let’s cook it!

Using your cutting board and knife, dice the pineapple and place it in a small mixing bowl.

Cut off a handful of cilantro leaves (not the stems). Mince them into fine, wispy pieces (which will probably get all over your hands). Measure out ¼ cup. The minced leaves do not have to be packed into the measuring cup. They can be loose just as long as they reach the top.

To seed the jalapeño, slice it down the middle of one side but don’t cut it all the way through. Use the end of your knife or a spoon to scrape the seeds out onto a paper towel. 

Once the seeds are removed, dice the pepper and toss it on top of the pineapple.

Following the instructions for Making Happy Onions, chop your onion into chunks and add it to the bowl.

Robert’s On-The-Go Huevos Rancheros

Serves 1

Good words to know:

Slice—to cut into long, ½- to ¼-inch-wide pieces

Cooking supplies needed:

Cutting board, kitchen knife, 2 paper towels, microwave-safe plate (paper, ceramic, or glass—not plastic!), spoon

Ingredients needed:

1 peeled, hard boiled egg (See, The Good Egg: How to Boil an Egg)

1 whole wheat tortilla

1 tablespoon water

1 slice pepper Jack cheese

1 tablespoon salsa

Let’s cook it!

Set the peeled, hard boiled egg on the cutting board. Place the fingertips of your non-knife hand on each side of the egg. Using the knife, cut lengthwise into ½-inch-thick slices. There should be a yellow bulls-eye yolk in the center of each of your slices. Set aside.

Place one paper towel on your plate. Sprinkle it with half the water. Lay your tortilla on top of the paper towel. Set the other paper towel on top and sprinkle it with the rest of the water. Heat it in the microwave for 20 seconds. When done, take the tortilla from the microwave and remove the paper towels.

Lay the slice of pepper Jack cheese in the center of the tortilla.

Spoon the salsa on top of the cheese. Spread it around so it’s not one big glob.

Lay the egg slices on top of the salsa so they overlap but are not completely covering each other.

Fold one edge of the tortilla and wrap it over the filling. Tuck the opposite edge under that, like you’re making a bed. Take the ends and fold them so they are resting on top of the burrito. Give them a good press with the back of your hand so they will stick.

Using your hands, gently and with courage, flip the burrito over so that the folded ends are resting on the bottom of your plate.

Eat with your hands or a fork.