Cooks in the kitchen

I am giving myself this button "Mama Wins!" from my friend Melanie. She has an award she started passing out each Monday for special things moms do that go above and beyond the call of duty. You can see her description at www.myattkids.blogspot.com.

Today's award is for moms who cook with their kids... and I definitely win. Since Nathan was 9 months old, he wanted to stand on a tippy step stool next to me and actually crack the raw eggs, mix the batter, and mold the meatballs. And now at a year, Beatrice is showing the same eagerness to dive her hands into the soapy dishwater, peel potatoes and toss salad (sometimes very literally). To be honest, having my kids cook with me was actually what felt easiest and involved the least amount of crying all around. My children are persistent and skilled climbers... and they showed me that they will find a way to the cooking space whether they were invited or not. Sometimes I can cook while they nap... but not always and... no, they won't even sit quietly in front of the TV while I cook. They want in on the action.

I have developed some key skills that I want to highlight:

• Potato peeling and any veggie prep that will still get rinsed and cooked later can be done on the floor. For a time, the kitchen is a mess of potato peels and trimmings, but it is easier to make a big mess down low with lots of things for kids to touch, pile, eat, and throw, knowing it can all be cleaned up after the task at hand is done. (note: this was significantly harder when our dog Chip was with us because flying potato peels got him very excited but he didn't actually eat enough to be a good cleaner-upper).
• When mixing ingredients in a bowl, its best to keep all the ingredients in one 'out of reach' spot and take them to the cooking spot one at a time. I learned this at the beginning of my adventures when Nathan started pouring pitchers of water and scooping cups of flour into the bowl and onto the cookbook to add his special flair to the recipe (turns out, extra water doesn't ruin pancakes... you just add more flour... but extra salt really does do damage to meatballs).
• If you stand behind a child perched on a step stool, you can cook over them; you are the human safety net and the guiding cook. It just requires some stretching of the arms and shoulders and back after dinner.
• Egg shells are good roughage.
• Dough can be kneaded in many different ways. Bea likes to pick it into tiny pieces and throw it into the big bowl to rise, Nathan likes to make "snowmen" and usually won't part with one of his snowmen... but the others go in the bowl and the big blobby shape still rises.
• Scooping rice, beans or veggies of any kind into another bowl with a big spoon is a very time consuming part of most recipes that is often not listed in the recipe books.