Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Wee Ones Wednesday - Cooking with Kids

I've decided, for the time being, to dedicate Wednesdays to my kids.  Here only for the food?  Skip out on Wednesdays.  Here to see the fam?  Wednesdays are your day.  Well, today I have food and family, a little something for everyone and I can't promise I won't go on about my kids on other days, but I am more motivated to post when I have cute names for the days of the week.  Deal.
Josie, 3 years old, woke up the other morning and asked if she could make breakfast.  I am happy for the kids to cook so I said yes, she could help.  No, she didn't want to help, she wanted to do it all.  Okay.  She also wanted to make pancakes, something the kids help with on a regular basis.  I asked if she wanted me to read off the ingredients and help her with the measuring and she said, no.  Alright.  I try not to argue with three year olds, unless absolutely necessary.  In my experience, the three year old brain is way beyond us mere mortal adults and has the tenacity of nothing else on the planet.  Add to this mix, the fact that despite their intellect, when challenged, they tend to throw all sense out the window. (Honey, the glass will break if you throw it on the concrete.  No it won't!!!  Crash, followed by tears.  This situation is easier to avoid when adults trust the children and don't challenge them to challenge us, but this is easier said than done.)  We arrived down in the kitchen and Josie started asking for ingredients...."Mom, give me the flour."  I handed her the ingredients she asked for and strategically got out the proper measuring tool for the job.  I would politely suggest two of cups of flour and she was happy to go with my suggestion.  She asked for all the ingredients we normally put in pancakes, she forgot the name of baking powder, but had me pick her up and she pointed to it.  I was pretty impressed and made a mental note that we've been making way too many pancakes lately.  When the batter was ready and the skillet heated up, I moved in to take over.  Me:  "Josie, pouring the batter can be messy and tricky so I'll do that part."  Josie (without missing a beat):  "Mom, I need to try, trust me to make my own mistakes."  How could I argue with that?  She poured the batter and flipped the pancakes by herself, until the boys clamoured for their breakfast and she joined them in the dining room to dine on her blueberry coconut pancakes.  The kids were on a kiwi kick for a few weeks while they were available (and on sale...score!) at the co-op so she cut  up some "kiwi salad".  She also made grits (this is pretty easy, but she did her normal peeling of the garlic and I pressed it for her) and added the hot sauce.  She also set up the photo, complete with insisting the shot have her hand since she had made the breakfast.  As the kids were eating and I was finishing the last of the batter, they asked if they could add kiwi  and tangerine slices to the pancakes as they cooked.  I was pretty sure kiwi blueberry coconut pancakes would not be a taste sensation, but they turned out really well.  The tangerine ones, not so much, but that is how we learn in the kitchen, trial and error.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  I know it is a cliche, but kids, they grow up so fast.

1 comment:

Emily and Kit said...

Linda, I love this entry. Norah and Kai love to help in the kitchen too; I need to trust them to do more on their own. Thank you for the inspiration.