I love to cook. And...I love to teach. But, somehow when you put the two together....I lose the love part. For me cooking is really fun and it's a great stress reducer. I get in my Zen space. If I have the kids helping me all of that changes. That doesn't sound very nice does it? I know I need to include them more and I do want them to learn how to cook. After all, the reason I can cook is because my mom showed me how from a very early age. By third grade I could cook a whole dinner by myself.
I have lots of willing kitchen helpers so on Thanksgiving I thought it was the perfect time to get some help.
For starters Baby George shopped for our turkey with me. I let him pick it out. He did a great job! Then as we were wheeling through the grocery store to get the rest of our yummy dinner things he began asking me questions about the turkey.
"Who killed it. Where's it 's head?". This was followed by, "I want its head! I want to eat its head and his eyes. Why don't they give you the head?". I laughed...and gagged and thought about becoming a vegetarian.
When it came time to cook our turkey friend BG was VERY interested in helping me. He wanted to see its legs, and butt...and where the head used to be. He was completely thrilled that there was a hole and that you could see the ribs! All the kids came running to look up Mr. Turkey's hiney. Best of all was the discovery of the heart, liver and neck. Mr. P declared the heart was his. Ummmm....I've never cooked the heart before but I cooked it up for my boy.
BG had a great time rubbing the turkey with olive oil. He was a great helper!
Of course Busy Guy wanted to help too. I really like having one helper at a time. Less frazzled Mama means more times I'll invite you back. ;) Busy Guy chopped veggies for the turkey pan. He is a great helper too!
Sis didn't want to help with the food but she was a great help with the napkins.
Tuba loves to stir. And...at school he cooks eggs every morning. I need to let him help me with this at home. Mr. P? He likes to help eat the food. In the photo check out the turkey heart. Yep, he ate it and loved it.
When I'm in the kitchen and start feeling cramped by the five bodies running through/under/around me I'm going to start asking them to help me. I've got a few who fight over who gets to set the table and others who like to chop and prep. I'm committed to inviting the kids in and teaching them to cook.
I have lots of willing kitchen helpers so on Thanksgiving I thought it was the perfect time to get some help.
For starters Baby George shopped for our turkey with me. I let him pick it out. He did a great job! Then as we were wheeling through the grocery store to get the rest of our yummy dinner things he began asking me questions about the turkey.
When it came time to cook our turkey friend BG was VERY interested in helping me. He wanted to see its legs, and butt...and where the head used to be. He was completely thrilled that there was a hole and that you could see the ribs! All the kids came running to look up Mr. Turkey's hiney. Best of all was the discovery of the heart, liver and neck. Mr. P declared the heart was his. Ummmm....I've never cooked the heart before but I cooked it up for my boy.
BG had a great time rubbing the turkey with olive oil. He was a great helper!
Tuba loves to stir. And...at school he cooks eggs every morning. I need to let him help me with this at home. Mr. P? He likes to help eat the food. In the photo check out the turkey heart. Yep, he ate it and loved it.
I noticed that Mr. P has a bunch of green olives on his plate!! Yes! That boy knowas good eatin'. Glad to see busy guy is the one with a knife...biggest one in the kitchen. But my main message is this - fun times at your place for T-Day. Thankful to have Cam, you and your family around. On a personal note - I loathed (!) cooking with family. Always had teeny-tiny kitchens and no dishwasher and stuff spilled on the floor! Bad Mommy, me but there you have it.
ReplyDelete