Cook macaroni slosh
You’ll need
- Ingredients (see recipe)
- Chopping boards
- Pans
- Plates
- Knives
- Forks
- Spoons
- Wooden spoons
- Bowls
- Tin opener
- A stove or hob
For this activity to count towards the Our Outdoors Challenge Award, it needs to take place on a night away.
Before you begin
- Complete a risk assessment, and read the safety guidance provided below.
- Check in advance whether anyone has allergies or dietary requirements, and make sure you have suitable ingredients or substitutes. We've included some ways to adapt this recipe for different dietary requirements below.
- Ask people which vegetables, herbs, and spices they’d like to add, so you can buy the right ingredients.
- If you’re planning to cook as part of a normal meeting, it may be best to let people know, so that they come ready to eat a meal.
Get cooking
- Split into groups of around six people and give each the equipment they need. You might also want to make copies of the 'safe and hygienic cooking' guidance. Each group should have an adult to offer support and guidance, and make sure they stay safe.
- Groups should remind themselves of the safety and hygiene guidance, and get ready to cook by making sure their area, their equipment, and their team members are clean and ready to go.
- Give each group a copy of the recipe, and their ingredients.
- Groups should weigh and measure their ingredients, and follow the recipe card to prepare a tasty meal.
- Once they’ve finished cooking, groups should sit down together and eat their meal. Then, they need to clean, wash up, and put away.
Store food
- Always keep raw food separate from cooked food.
- Keep frozen food frozen, and don’t refreeze it if it defrosts. Keep food in the fridge or freezer until you need to take it out to cook it – don’t leave it out on the side.
- Keep food covered.
Get ready to cook
- If you’re unwell, tell an adult – you might not be able to cook if you could make others poorly.
- If you have long hair, tie your hair up.
- Take off any jewellery – especially rings (a plain gold ring is OK).
- Wash your hands properly. Cover any cuts, spots, or boils with a waterproof plaster or dressing – if you can, use brightly coloured plasters.
- Check all your equipment – is it clean, and free from damage?
- Clean your work surfaces – use an antibacterial spray.
Time to cook
- Wash fruit and vegetables before you prepare them.
- Wash your hands after handling raw meat, fish, or eggs. Wash your hands again if you sneeze, cough, eat anything, touch your hair, use the toilet, or touch rubbish.
- Always carry knives pointing towards the floor, and cut or chop on a chopping board – never in your hand.
- Use tongs or other equipment to touch food – avoid using your hands if you can.
- Remember that you still need to keep raw food separate from cooked food, including using different utensils like chopping boards and knives (if you can’t, always wash and sterilise them).
- Make sure food gets hot enough – it should be at least 70°C for two minutes.
- Don’t leave metal spoons in hot liquids, and don’t leave pan handles over a hot hob.
- Clean up any spills immediately.
Grub’s up
- Don’t leave leftovers to cool on the side – if you’re going to eat them later, they need to be cooled and put in the fridge as soon as possible.
- Clean the surfaces you’ll eat from – use an antibacterial spray.
- Wash your hands before you eat.
Tidy up
- Use hot water (and detergent) when washing up. Ideally, use a second bowl with hot water to rinse.
- Never use a tea towel that’s fallen on the floor.
For vegetarians and vegans (people who avoid foods which come from animals, usually meat, fish, milk, eggs, and honey):
- Replace the sausages with vegetarian or vegan sausages – remember, vegans don’t eat milk or eggs so make sure sausage substitutes don’t contain these.
- Leave the bacon out of the recipe – it’s optional.
For people who eat halal or kosher food:
- Make sure the sausages are labelled as halal or kosher, or use vegetarian sausages (labelled as halal or kosher).
- Leave the bacon out of the recipe – it’s optional.
- Check with individuals (or their guardians) to see if you need to adapt anything else in the recipe or process.
For people who don’t eat cereals containing wheat or gluten:
- Replace the pasta with gluten free pasta, and adjust the cooking time according to the instructions on the packet. You might need to use a different pasta shape (not macaroni).
- Make sure the sausages or sausage substitutes are free from wheat and gluten.
For people who don’t eat soy:
- Make sure the sausages or sausage substitutes are free from soy.
For people who don’t eat milk and/or eggs:
- Make sure the sausages or sausage substitutes are free from milk and/or eggs.
- Make sure the pasta is free from milk and/or eggs (dried pasta is usually OK, but fresh pasta is likely to contain egg).
For people who don’t eat sulphites:
- Make sure the sausages are free from sulphites – or use sulphite-free sausage substitutes.
For people who don’t eat fish, lupin, celery, mustard, nuts, sesame seeds, crustaceans, molluscs – or anyone with other allergies:
- This recipe is unlikely to contain these other common allergens, but check all ingredients carefully to make sure they contain no allergens (or traces of allergens).
- It’s easy to substitute any vegetables that people are allergic to.
- If anyone’s allergic to tomatoes, you could use pesto (likely to be unsuitable for vegetarians, and likely to contain dairy and nuts), a cheese sauce (likely to contain dairy), humous (likely to contain sesame seeds, and sometimes honey) or oil (you could try a garlic oil, for example).
Reflection
This activity helped you to be independent. Did you enjoy choosing which vegetables, herbs, and spices to add to your food? Do you usually get to choose what you eat? Do you usually cook your own meals? Did you think you’d be able to make a whole meal? Was it easier or harder than you expected to cook independently? Did you need to ask for any help?
It also helped you gain practical skills. What skills did you learn in this activity? What did you learn about staying clean and safe when cooking? Is this as important as skills like chopping and frying? Do you feel more confident about cooking now? Would you like to cook more, perhaps helping cook other meals at home?
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Food
Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.
- Cooking
Teach young people how to use cooking equipment safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Make sure it’s safe to use and follow manufacturers’ guidelines for use.
- Fires and stoves
Make sure anyone using fires and stoves is doing so safely. Check that the equipment and area are suitable and have plenty of ventilation. Follow the gas safety guidance. Have a safe way to extinguish the fire in an emergency.
- Sharp objects
Teach young people how to use sharp objects safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
Make it accessible
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
Young people should choose their own vegetables and spices, to make the dish their own.