The science of banana bread

Hey look, two posts in one day! Beware of airborne livestock!

Just a little while ago I was making banana bread, and the girl child was helping (by mashing bananas in a plastic zippered bag) while the boy child was observing and asking questions. He was looking over the recipe and asked me why there was no yeast, and how the bread could rise without it. I told him this particular recipe (which is my mom's -- thanks, Mom!) uses baking soda instead.

So then he continued to look over the recipe and noticed that vinegar was also present. And I explained that yes, this recipe calls for milk that has been soured by vinegar or lemon juice, but that I had used lemon juice this time. And the boy child hypothesized that had I used vinegar, there was a good chance the banana bread would explode. Because he knows what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar, you see. We have constructed many volcanoes and launched many rockets around here.

This all led to a lively discussion about the fact that lemon juice is acidic, and about all the different chemical processes involved in making bread rise, and it ended with me reminding him that cooking is all about the science of changing matter from one form to another through the application of heat, cold, certain acids and whatnot. And it was great fun. And also tasty, or it will be when the bread gets out of the oven.

There was a time when I considered homeschooling my kids. I was particularly enamored of the concept of "unschooling" and in fact that's pretty much what I did with them when they were toddler/preschool-aged. I eventually decided, for a multitude of reasons that I won't get into here, to send them to public school. (And seriously, the reasons? They are LEGION. I should write about them sometime. But not now.)(And also, if you homeschool your kids, that's fine and dandy with me. My reasons have nothing to do with thinking anything is inherently wrong with homeschooling. Yay, homeschooling!)(Okay, moving along....)

But, the unschooling didn't stop! No, we still do it all the damn time, even though the kids are in public school. They have a multitude of interests, these kids, and so we do what we can to feed them. Particularly in the case of the boy child, with his perseverations and whatnot, we have gotten fairly deep into some of his areas of interest. We have even planned family vacations around them. It's fun, and in addition to the kids learning a lot, DH and I have learned quite a bit, too.

And so in conclusion: banana bread is yummy! Cooking is fun and also scientific! And unschooling as a supplement to a public school education is a very good thing indeed!