Boy in the Kitchen

David woke up while I was in the midst of my morning quiet time a couple of days ago.  Rob and I had already eaten breakfast together earlier that morning (quiche and a nonfat latte for me, cinnamon roll and mocha for the hubs from 929 Coffee Bar --the best coffee shop in town!), so I thought that it would be good for David to prepare something for himself and Aidan to eat. This would allow me to finish reading my Bible. :)

David was not interested in the options of oatmeal or scrambled eggs and toast (two things he knows how to make and prepares semi-regularly).  His lack of interest in making scrambled eggs could have resulted in the fact that he nearly caught my oven mitt on fire the day before when he forgot to turn off the gas burner before dumping the eggs onto his and Aidan's plates...that's only a guess though.  ;) His disdain for oatmeal probably stems from the fact that he tells me (all. the. time.) that he likes my oatmeal much better than his own. He really wanted apple puff pancake, but hasn't learned how to thinly slice apples yet.  Plus, the cast iron skillet we use for apple puff pancakes is full of canola oil from our homeschool cooking lesson the night before--Indian Fry Bread. After much pondering on his part, I saw him grab Hasty Pudding, Johnnycakes, and Other Good Stuff: Cooking in Colonial America.

 He told me that he was planning to make johnnycakes using the recipe from this book.  Then he proceeded to get out all of the ingredients and got to work.  My instruction was to use the griddle instead of my tortilla pan since I figured the surface would be easier to work on for my budding chef. David put everything together and only needed assistance pouring the batter for the first johnnycake.

David - waiting patiently for his johnnycakes to be ready to flip.

 He was so pleased with how they turned out, and with the fact that he read the recipe and made them all by himself. I love seeing him so happy with his accomplishment.  He had an idea, set out and followed through until he completed it.  True, his johnnycakes may not look as nice as if I had made them, but they still were good to eat.  My kitchen may have looked like a bomb blew up in it.  However, by allowing him to try, I was able to see the most awesome smile light up my 11-year-old's face. This mama is realizing that she needs to let go more often in the kitchen.  She needs to relax, let go of control and let them go and learn and grow.  Yes, the kitchen will be a disaster zone.  Yes, there will be many questions asked, and not every attempt will end up as a glowing success. But in the end, as the mama, I need to let them try.

Aidan kept Quincy occupied so David could cook in peace.

Now, to begin teaching and implementing kitchen clean-up skills! ;)