As I mentioned before, Jadyn loves to help in the kitchen. I have mixed feelings about this. I started letting her in (we have a gate because the outside of the oven gets really hot--so I literally have to let her in) to help several weeks ago. My parenting book said this is the age where she starts to pretend play, taking things from her daily life and reenacting them in play. I thought showing her how we cook would feed her ability and desire to pretend play with her little kitchen in her room. It worked, but now every time I go into the kitchen she runs over "I want mommy's big helper, I want mommy's big helper!" The other problem is I have found I am a little anal when it comes to my cooking. I want to work quickly and I want it done my way. A two year old is not capable of either of those things. Some things she is capable of are getting into everything, spilling the flour, dumping out the salt, etc. I like having her in there to "help," because then I know where she is, we are spending time together, I'm teaching her a skill, she is not whining at the gate for attention, etc, etc. So my question is how do you let your kids help you in the kitchen? Right now the only things I really let her do is shake in seasonings and measure out the flour and sugar (with my help of course). The rest of the time she is just playing in the sink, cupboards, or fridge... or burning herself on the pot on the stove...
On a side note, our dinner last night totally hit the spot! I'm so excited for the left overs tonight. Check out this post for recipes. We don't have Mexican food very often because almost all the the ingredients are import foods (sour cream, cheese, refried beans, salsa, etc.) and can be very expensive. At $3 an avocado the guacamole was for sure the most expensive guac I've ever had.Oh, and did I mention I try to move quickly when cooking? It comes at an expense though. My kitchen is a disaster afterwards! I am such a messy cook! Good thing the kitchen is tiny, so the mess is at least contained, or maybe its size is part of the problem...
5 comments:
I'd never heard of this website before! It's awesome! The taquitos look really good.
Have you heard of Pioneer Woman? It's a lady who blogs about the recipes she makes and much more. She's a great writer and I laugh when I read her stuff. You can find her site from my blog if you haven't heard about her.
I love that she's wanting to help out. David's the same way. And I'm the same as you with how I cook. So I have the same dillema. I do the same thing as you - let him measure things out with my assistance. If there's ever a night that he is really really wanting to help out, I'll make cookies with him. By the time the dough is done, he's usually bored of the kitchen and lets me make dinner. And by the time he wants to come back and help, dinner's pretty much done so he helps me roll the dough into balls or whatever shape we're doing. It buys me all the time I need. Cookies are the one thing that I could just let him do by himself (and sometimes I do - I just tell him what to do and he'll do it). Sometimes there's eggshells in the dough. Or too much salt. Or they're mishapen. But he always has a good time and is always so so so proud. :) Also, if I ever have anything that requires rolling out, I always tear off a section and give it to him with a heavy cup and let him roll out his peice with a cup. That's his favorite kitchen activity. And if none of these things work or apply, then I just give him a pot filled with water and a wooden spoon and construction paper. He makes "soup" by tearing off pieces of paper and telling me what he's putting in there (the green is usually brocolli, the yellow is bananas, the red is either apples or tomatoes). He makes some interesting soups. And sometimes I have to try them. But it's worth it. And fun to watch his creativity.
I'm just so impressed because you're such a great cook and you desire to have your daughter help you. I need to become a better cook for the here and now and to teach my kids for when they leave the nest.
Jadyn is getting SO BIG, she is more beautiful everyday. Oh...miss you guys.Sweet little Jadyn wants to be a big helper..know how you have those mix feelings, Mason has been crazy about "helping" me. When it comes to cooking/baking, sometimes I just give him a small portion of what I'm making in a separate bowl so he feels like he is really 'helping.' and yes, we need LOTS of patience doing all these and one day we gonna miss it too ^^
How in the world did you get that picture of your kitchen to look so big?! Seriously deceptive, lol.
I don't often have the patience for "helpers" when I'm trying to get dinner done but letting the kids 'cook' with playdough at the table while I'm working seems to satisfy us both. Then I let them take turns making the FHE treat on Monday nights so it's just one child at a time and something they are excited to make.
PS. I love your cooking.
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