Cold Spaghetti Salad

[30 Minutes]

Prepare this cold spaghetti dish together--a great way to exit a hot kitchen and stay cool!

You'll need:

• cooked spaghetti • tomato • cucumber • slices of cheese • plastic knife • slices of salami • bowl • salad spoon and fork • lettuce • parsley • bottled dressing or oil & vinegar • salt & pepper • broccoli, carrot, cauliflower, green pepper (all optional)

What to do:

1. Invite your child to help wash all the vegetables and break or cut them into bite-sized pieces. Encourage him to name the different vegetables and to sort the ingredients by color and size.
2. Cut the meat and cheese into strips.
3. With your child, toss all the ingredients together with the cooked spaghetti. (Count how many pieces of each you add to the salad.)
4. Let him sprinkle on his favorite dressing.
5. Chill before eating.

Let's Talk: Ideas to Explore Together.

• What happens to the dry spaghetti after it is cooked? Why?
• What is the difference between spaghetti with meat sauce and cold spaghetti salad? Which do you like best?
• Can you think of some other things we could add to spaghetti to make a new dish?

Useful information:

Your child will be developing small muscle skills with all the slicing, dicing, and chopping.