3 Ginger Snaps

I cooked a lot with my mom when I was growing up. From the very early days of my memory I recall sitting on the kitchen floor with pots and pans full of water and flour playing along while something real was being prepared on the stove and countertops above me. Anyway, I believe that, for lots of reasons, it is important to cook with kids. The passing of Oral history. Skill development. Literacy and numeracy development. Estimation and planning skills. Healthy attitudes towards eating. I could go on. Bottom line, i suppose it's more fun for everyone if the kids are involved.

Of course, more fun, translates into more work pretty quickly. I was making an Irish potato and spinach soup for dinner. I substituted kale for spinach. It was from the garden. And Ive had it in the freezer all winter. And with out the backdoor I figured I should use it. But that's besides the point. I also substituted chicken bacon for real bacon. Whatever. I am having a hard time eating mammals these days. Birds not so much. The soup ended up tasting pretty green – probably too much kale – I've always had an issue with quantity. And it also took me twice as long to make as the recipe said it would thanks to my “Little helper” being fully/remotely/not at all/up to mischief in some other part of the house involved.

I can't really say that I mind the extra investment of time or effort though. Ruby drifted in and out of the experience willingly. Bringing in a collection of dolls to see what was going on, stopping to pee on the potty, cruising for a snack, peering into the soup pot while getting dangerously close to the element, asking if we were going to be having macaroni, inspecting the potatoes, picking up spoons, more peeing, wanting to use the knife, telling me that she wants to have macaroni, and informing me that she did not approve of my music selection while cooking. (Raffi just doesn't do it for me in the kitchen). The best part of the experience though was sitting down to dinner with her tonight and reminding her that she had been there making the soup with me and watching her eat like a champion. A full bowl of the stuff. Hunks of bread sopping with soup, crumbled bacon on top, she really enjoyed the food, ate heartily, and was a joy to have dinner with. Totally worth it.