Cooking with my kids

I love my new kitchen. What I love most about my new kitchen is that I get to cook in it with my kids. This has been quite a learning experience for me - to cook with my children. In the fall last year I attended cooking classes led by my friend Rachel over at Hounds in the Kitchen. I not only watched how she taught the kids to cook, but watched how she taught them useful skills with the patience of a saint. She taught me too, and probably didn't even know it. She taught me patience in the kitchen with my kids, and that even the smallest task assigned to them is fine. I was having a hard time before that figuring out what I could let them help with as I cooked. I was worried they'd burn themselves, make a mess, or start throwing food everywhere.

Rachel of Hounds in the Kitchen "Kids Cook Class" featuring applesauce.

I think I was being too controlling. And seriously, a mess? Really? C'mon. A mess can be cleaned up...and sometimes it is fun to make a mess. The kids just want to help, be involved, be with mommy. My mom always has P help her in the kitchen...and she also has the patience of a saint. P always gets so excited and LOVES helping her Grammies make applesauce or cookies. I think what I love more than the actual act or the result (even though I could eat mounds of raw chocolate chip cookie dough and a dozen cookie by myself) is that spending time with my kids together doing one common act is fun. Quality time is good time.

Seeing what P and bubbies can do if you let them, I now let both of them chop (with a plastic kid knife), stir, pound, sprinkle, and most of all EAT. It is enjoyable to watch them eye recipes as if they know how to read them, pour ingredients into the bowl, and taste as they go along.

There are even fun experiments called "What will my brother eat off this teaspoon?" Yes, P fed bubbies a 1/4 of a teaspoon of baking soda. Being the little lovey dovey wanting to please big sister, bubbies did it without even questioning what that salty white stuff was. I think it was as if a volcano was errupting in his little tummy. He immediately turned red and puked everywhere. He cried and cried because it scared him and probably hurt his little tummy. Guess "Mom of the Year 2010" is out...but, I did call poison control! Isn't that considered in the "problem solving" category?