The Hands On French Cookbook

France is my happy place, so when I heard about a French cookbook, and I learned it's a French cookbook that helps you learn French...

Well, yes, please.

As an educator, I immediately saw the value of using cooking as a venue to learn a language. As Maria Montessori said, “What the hand does, the mind remembers.”

Exactly.

The author notes, “This book is not about becoming a chef or a fluent French speaker.” Instead, she invites us to simply “cook and explore French.”

Doesn't that sound delightful?

And that's exactly what I did.

So how does the cookbook/language lesson work?

The cookbook contains ten recipes, and the instructions are given in French, with translations for the uncommon words and phrases. As you work your way through the book, trying the recipes, more and more words become familiar to you in French, and the English translation of these disappears.

You can't really judge the effectiveness (and, remember, we are simply cooking and exploring French, not becoming a chef or a fluent speaker of French) of this cookbook without trying a recipe. So I did.

QUICHE SANS PÂTE AUX ÉPINARDS ET À LA RICOTTA
(Crustless Quiche with Spinach and Ricotta)



It's crustless. Instead of a flour crust, you use spinach.



Mix the eggs with the cheeses and the milk.
Pour atop the spinach.
Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.



Voila!


Overall assessment: The Hands On Cookbook is a fun way of learning French and trying out some classic French recipes.