Children and cooking

You know that you must have done something right when your children discover the TV show, America's Worst Cooks, and spend all of dinner rehashing with great incredulity the ineptness of the cooks. They were just amazed that adults... and old adults, 44 years old!... could not know how to cook.

It makes me realize that my children's kitchen abilities are not something to take for granted. And pretty much, they are all good cooks who know their way around a kitchen. I cannot tell you how many times I have come home from being out at a doctor's appointment to discover that a boy has made cookies or a cake. (It does kind of play havoc with my sugar supply, though.)

Baking is a favorite activity, but they can also cook meals as well. For instance, D. helped make the dinner tonight, while G. and L. wielded knives and chopped all the vegetables. It only causes me to say about 1000 times, "Remember to keep your fingers tucked in." G. is also a lefty, and I've discovered with both she and TM that lefties are far more ambidextrous than us righties. Still it makes me a little nervous when, as she is chopping tomatoes to hear her say, "And now I'll switch to cutting with my other hand."

Some children prefer to make breakfast foods. H. would fall into the this category as her favorite food in all the world is eggs and she has quite a morning egg repertoire. She will happily cook eggs for anyone who wants one... scrambled, omelet, overy-easy, sunny-side up (or "eye ball eggs" as they are referred to around here.) She is handy with a knife and as I write this, I think it is probably time, given her current level of skill, to broaden her cooking horizons a bit.

Tomorrow morning, it is looking as though D. is going to try his hand at poached eggs. The complete and utter failure of the contestants to make pancakes, bacon, and four different types of eggs, particularly bothered him, as these are things D. has been doing for several years. Poached eggs are the only things he hadn't tried, and my competitive streak runs strong in my children. He needs to prove to himself that he can poach eggs as well.

Plus, then, in the morning, we will all have a chance to sing Frances' little egg song*, "Poached eggs on toast, why do you quiver, with such a funny little shiver?"


*From Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban. A book every parent should read to every child, in my opinion.

Comments

Kathyb1960 said…
I saw those shows yesterday. I love Barry Williams, and I thought he would go out earlier than he did, but he did pretty good. But at some points I was laughing so hard I almost couldn't breathe! LOL

I couldn't figure out why they would have them cook their fav meal in the first show when they weren't cooks in the first place, and most of them probably didn't know how to turn on their own oven! LOL I would have been worried about food poisoning! Funny funny show!
Kristin Mueller said…
Glen and I love to watch that show! There's an episode in one of the seasons where a contestant is trying to "get a nice sear on her cheese." She has no idea that you grill cheese inside bread, not just by putting a piece of cheese in the pan to grill. Too funny! Plus, as you watch they tend to give you real-life helpful cooking tips. I now know how to properly chop an onion, and it's a great method! That show has definitely played a role in our letting our little guy help in the kitchen whenever he can. I'm so glad to hear that older children still think cooking is fun, too!

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