Home > Book Based Activities > Vinaigrette Pour La Semaine – Kids Cook French

Vinaigrette Pour La Semaine – Kids Cook French

I’ve always heard that French kids will eat anything and as a mum of 2 picky/fussy/temperamental eaters I envy the French Mums and the lack of fuss meal times must be. I’ve also visited France on numerous occasions and know the food isn’t your standard kids meals, it’s varied and rich in flavour something that I aim for my kids to develop a taste for as they grow older. Cooking with them is one of the ways in which we’re trying to get them to try different foods and our cooking with kids a to z is a great start working our way through the alphabet trying and new and favourite ingredients and recipes as we go. Inventing our recipes and sharing family favourites is always good fun but I do love a good recipe book as do the kids and Kids Cook French: Les enfants cuisinent a la francaise by Claudine Pepin and illustrations by Jacques Pepin [affiliate link] is a beautiful book that combines recipes and language.

Vinagrette pour la semaine - kids cook french, multilingual cookbook for kids

At school I studied French as well as many holidays over the winter months growing up to the French Alps for skiing so French and French food formed a part of my childhood and yes I liked some of it and others I didn’t but I did try it all. Now I am a Mum I want the kids to get some of the same experiences that I had as a child and travel and tasting food from different nationalities is part of that. The Kids Cook French cookbook is ideal for families that love to cook together.

With recipes in English on one page and in French on the other, we’re finding that we can learn some French phrases as we cook together and taste the new food. The book includes some of my favourites – Cheese Fondue Boeuf Bourguignon, Ham and Leek Quiche, Creme Brulee and of course Crepes. Trying to find which recipe to start with and cook with the kids was a real challenge, but as summer is approaching as we are switching to a healthier eating plan which salads make up most of the meals, the simple Vinagrette pour la semaine seemed a good choice, as it’s easy to make, can be kept in the fridge and used time and time again to dress salads.

Vinagrette pour la semaine - kids cook french, multilingual cookbook for kids

Vinagrette Pour La Semaine – Ingredients

1 to 2 shallots minced (I used the food processor)
6 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of Dijon-Style Mustard
1/2 cup of your favourite olive oil

Vinagrette Pour La Semaine – Preparation

Mix the shallots in a food process and add to a mason jar – add the vinegar and let it sit for 20 minutes to 1 hour.

Add the rest of the ingredients and shake vigorously – be aware that if the seal isn’t good this will get messy (yes this is from experience!)

Store in the fridge and take out 20 – 30 mins before using and it will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week (semaine in French)

Vinagrette pour la semaine - kids cook french, multilingual cookbook for kids

Kids Cook French

If you are looking for a cookbook for your children that will grow with them, that introduces them to new foods as well as has additional learning in that all recipes, notes and information is repeated in French as well as English then this is an ideal book for your kitchen. It is not an easy recipe book to introduce your kids to cooking in the kitchen instead this is a cookbook that they can use throughout their childhood with you at first and then on their own to create delicious French meals for themselves, friends and family.


You can purchase Kids Cook French: Les enfants cuisinent a la francaise [affiliate link] from Amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk [affiliate link] as well as your local bookstore. I’m off to check out which ingredients I need for French Style Crepes as they are my favourite French Snack.

Vinagrette pour la semaine - kids cook french, multilingual cookbook for kids
Author
Cerys Parker

Cerys is a marine biologist, environmental educator, teacher, mum, and home educator from the UK. She loves getting creative, whether it is with simple and easy crafts and ideas, activities to make learning fun, or delicious recipes that you and your kids can cook together you'll find them all shared here on Rainy Day Mum.

One Comment

  1. Sara @ Handy Herbs says:

    What a great book! Lovely idea to learn French whilst having fun cooking together. Good to learn about French recipes too. Also nice to see something a little bit different Win, win!.

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