The Joy of Stirring

“Luke, don’t crack the egg yet!”

 

“Charlotte, keep the flour in the bowl!”

 

“Luke, take your hand out of the batter!”

 

“Charlotte, don’t dump that in yet!”

 

“Luke, don’t lick that!”

 

Cooking with toddlers can be described in various ways: brave… reckless… adventuresome… bad parenting… insane… chaotic…  But no matter how else you choose to describe it, it’s always messy and it’s always fun (once you accept the messy part.)

 

Charlotte and Luke love baking.  It’s one of their favorite activities.  Decked out in their aprons and chef hats, holding their spoons, and covered in batter, flour, and/or eggs, they couldn’t be happier.

 

We make a variety of things: muffins (usually pumpkin), banana bread, brownies, pancakes, waffles, pizza… 

 

They both love to taste test the product throughout the cooking process.  Regardless of how it actually tastes at a particular stage, they always act as if it’s delicious, “Yuuuummmmm….”  They love to ‘clean up’ after we’re done mixing (especially when we make whipped cream), licking any available spoons and bowls.

 

Luke loves to crack eggs (though not always in the bowl.)  They both love to dump ingredients (again, not always in the bowl.)

 

They each have their own mini-roller when we make pizza.  They help to roll out the dough, spread the sauce and add the additional toppings (although half of the topping supply usually doesn’t make it onto the pizza, and the larger toppings are occasionally missing a bite.)  Often, when we’re out of toppings, Luke will try to start taking them off the pizza.

 

It’s always fun to see someone else’s reaction when they first witness the kids cooking.  Over the weekend, Aunt Jen was visiting and was excited to bake with her niece and nephew.  But I don’t think she was quite ready for it.  She kept jumping forward to prevent an inevitable mess.  Her face was aghast when Charlotte almost took a bite out of something before adding it to the mix. 

 

As they were vigorously stirring the flour, getting a fair amount airborne, Aunt Jen questioned the need to stir it since the flour was the only ingredient in the bowl.  I explained that it wasn’t about a need for stirring, it was about the joy of stirring.

 

I suppose there’s no better way to describe cooking with the kids: the joy of stirring.

 

I have to admit, I was a little late to the table on realizing the joy of stirring.  Were it not for Karen’s patience in the face of spilt milk, broken eggs on the floor (and on the kids), and arguments over who gets to stir, I would have never braved the inevitable chaos, mess, and cleanup of baking with the kids on my own.  While I would have avoided much aggravation, I would have missed out on the immense pleasure of the experience, culminating with the joyful looks on their faces as we bite into the finished product and ask, “Who made this?”  They each gleefully throw a hand in the air and yell, “MEEEEEEEEE!”

 

I hope you enjoyed today’s serving of ‘mac & cheese.’