I almost wrote "Cooking with Toddlers" as my title, but realized that at the ripe old age of 4, Lydia doesn't really qualify as a toddler anymore (/tear).
Also, this post is not a revelation of how to make your chicken and child casserole taste delicious, so if you're looking for cannibalistic recipes, move along.
The actual point of this is to ask the question "How on earth do you cook alongside your children without losing your mind?"
A typical cooking session for me looks like this.
"Okay, keep fingers out while I'm chopping, thanks! Yes, you can help pour, but...OH that was a lot. You are such a HELPer! Yay! Rafe, the microwave is not a toy, no really, not - Stop pushing the buttons...okay, let's unplug it. Hey Lyds, what have you been up to? Oh, what else did you add to the recipe? Great (big smile) No, buddy, your sister is on the stool right now. Can we keep the fridge closed? Oh, be careful there, that's hot. Chopping is really Mom's job, but that's really nice of you to want to help. We're not unloading the dishwasher right now. Yes, stir all you want. Preferably keeping some of dinner in the bowl...
And so it goes.
I want them to learn to cook, and I want to spend time with them, but goodness gracious they drive me crazy. Any hints?
Tonight I made this delicious baked gnocchi, and when I put it in the oven I realized that I had forgotten two important ingredients (one being salt) because I had been so busy putting out fires (figuratively people, no real fires, although with Rafe's obsession with the microwave, I'm sure there will come the day. Maybe I should check to make sure our fire extinguisher is in working order).
So yeah. I'm still alive. So are my children. We might order pizza tomorrow.
10 comments:
Haha! You sound like an awesome mom.
No, wait. You are an awesome mom. This is just extra proof. :)
Thanks for the post. You are a good mom to let them help. No hints--just hang in there, they do grow up and cook great meals--as you already know.
I only cook with children on occasion, so my advice probably doesn't count for everyday mom life. But when I do it, I do a few minutes of prep beforehand: get out ingredients and tools, pre-measure things I will let them dump in (prep bowls are great), chop up most of the stuff. Lydia is at a great age for cooking, but Rafe really isn't. So that makes it tough.
What is painful now will probably pay off big time later.
omg I just read through that gnocchi recipe and you are a saint
Amen, Sister! Story of my life. If you find anything that works well to keep the chaos down, please post.
I hate cooking with kids. Hate it! It baffles me when people do it on a regular basis. Good for them.
Haha! I have no advice. This just sounds so ridiculously familiar!
yep. that's how it is for me too.
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