Kids in My Kitchen

I love to be in the kitchen. I love creating delicious meals and any variety of sweet treats. I don’t even mind the dishes. I developed this culinary love at a very young age.

My Abuelita and my mom are both culinary geniuses, although both would vehemently deny it. They can whip up a meal with whatever is in the fridge, some spices, and water without breaking a sweat. And it ALWAYS tastes delicious.

I used to watch them when they’d cook and still enjoy it now as an adult. They add a little of this, some of that, a bunch of this, and a pinch of that, and viola—a meal sits before their family. While watching them, I picked up the same knack for cooking.

I don’t usually measure things out. Once I get to know a recipe, I just eye everything. I’m not as creative as them in the kitchen, but I can still whip some goodies without looking. This love came from one key factor: they let me in the kitchen and let me be an active part of the process.

When they’d make cookies, they’d include me in it. They’d let me measure this or that, add the chocolate chips, stir the batter, and ALWAYS plop them on the cookie sheet. As I got older, they gave me more responsibility in the kitchen. By the time I was fifteen, I was making most of our Thanksgiving meal. And so I learned that the kitchen is a place for anyone who wants to be there.

Even kids.

When my niece was three or so, I had her help me make cookies. She made a mess, but she also helped clean it up. When she got a little older, I bought her a science kit to make soda. That made a mess too, but the fun she had was irreplaceable. One year, she got an ice cream maker for Christmas. Guess who she asked to help her make ice cream? We had a blast doing it and it is still one of my favorite memories with her.

So now that I have two little ones, I want them to enjoy the kitchen as much as me. The baby sits in her chairs on the counter while I cook and I talk to her about what I'm doing. I let my three year old help make pancakes on Saturday mornings, cookies and cupcakes when the mood strikes, and, most recently all of dinner!

I know it sounds terrifying but I actually have her help me make our dinner. She helps me cut the veggies, pour this or that into a bowl, and always add a pinch of salt and pepper. She loves it. She thinks she is the most important person in the house because she helps!

Our original reason for letting her do this was in hopes that she'd buy in to the meal and actually try some. It didn't work that way at first, but as we've continued to have her help--because my husband has even gotten in on this and I've found him cooking with her too--she'd begun to try the foods she's involved in making.

She may always be a picky eater, but maybe giving her the opportunity to be in the kitchen, to find the joy of cooking, will broaden her horizons. She loves spending the one on one time with us while we're cooking, and it helps that we're doing something that we would normally have to do without her. Does it take a little longer to prepare everything? Sure.

But the memories we're making for her will be irreplaceable. Just like the ones I have being in the kitchen as a child. I can only hope she someday looks back on this time as fondly as I do now.