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11.12.2013

who's cookin'?

The speed at which my children are growing up has been catching me off guard lately.  One minute they are adorable little toddlers and the next they are cooking dinner for the family.



Yes.  Cooking dinner.


The first Sunday in November was a quiet afternoon in our house.  The three youngest were napping, Ian and Caleb were reading on the couch, and Kylie was lost in a book while I was putting away groceries.  What I didn't realize was that she was reading a Kids in the Kitchen cookbook instead of Junie B. Jones, the Rainbow Fairies or Cam Jansen.  As I was finishing up she walked into the kitchen and casually said, "Mommy, I like to work with you in the kitchen so I was looking at this cookbook while you were at the grocery store.  Do you think I could fix our meal one night soon?"


My heart skipped a beat or two...one with happiness that she wanted to join me in the kitchen and one in disbelief that she was old enough to be asking to cook a meal.


Of course I told her that I'd love to work beside her one night, so I suggested she go back through the book that she had left sticky notes all over and select a meal she wanted to prepare.  After careful consideration of our family likes and dislikes, she came back with the suggestion of Western Wagon Wheel pasta and we figured out together how much of each ingredient we would need because with our family, doubling the recipe was a must.


Finally her big night came and to say she was excited is quite the understatement.  She must have called Ian five times on his way commute from work to make sure he'd be home soon for dinner.


Everyone enjoyed the meal, she was quite proud of herself for her first effort, and while I wanted to melt in a puddle of self-pity that my babies are growing up so fast, I quite enjoyed the companionship in the kitchen.  Since then she and I have made a loaf of pumpkin bread together as well.  Looks like I've got a great mini-chef in training!

5 comments:

Di said...

Way to go Kylie. Looks like a fabulous dinner. I look forward to seeing many more great meals!

Unknown said...

My goodness Kylie, you look like a natural chef. Your Mom and family is so lucky to have such a talented girl. Keep up all the good meals.
I look forward to seeing & reading about more of you meals in the near future.
Barbara Lyman :-)
Marysville, WA

Grandma Shultz said...

Kylie, your wagon-wheel pasta dish was delicious. I had some of the left overs for lunch. Wish I had been there the night you prepared it. Grandma is so proud of you!

Melissa Price, hope you recognize the cute apron that Kylie is wearing. One evening three of the kids had them on and were assisting in the kitchen on my lastest visit.
Your gift of aprons just keeps on giving! You are so sweet.

Laurie said...

I love all her expressions. You can tell she's taking it very seriously! I think you have a helper for life with that one… she looks like a natural!

Lindy D. said...

Kylie is such a beautiful girl and she looks so grown up helping you in the kitchen. What a great job she did!! I love that Nathalie is right at her side.

P.S. A good time to review this safety rule - always turn pan handles so they are not hanging over from the edge of the stove.