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Cooking With Toddlers


Here’s my pitch to the Food Network. Instead of airing another cake-themed competition show, how about a half-hour cooking show where a father tries to make a recipe with the “help” of his two-year old daughter.

Hijinks always ensue when my toddler tries to help cook. Standing on her little stool, she sidles up to the counter and watches and helps. She even offers advice like she’s a toddler Tom Colicchio and I’m a “chef-testant” on Top Chef.

Her help is best kept to minor and menial kitchen tasks; adding cheese to a lasagna, stirring cupcake batter, retrieving items from the fridge. Never knife work. Her tiny little hands can’t hold our large chef’s knife.

That’s actually one of the rules. In the kitchen, there are rules for toddler participation. Don’t touch the knives. Stay away from the oven and stove. And never place inedible garnishes on a plate.

She’s such a great little helper in the kitchen. If I ever make it on Iron Chef, I’d take her as my sous chef.

There have been a few Kitchen Nightmares when she helps. Spilt milk. Egg shells in the batter. A whole container of baking soda dropped into the mix. Luckily for her, I’m no Gordon Ramsay. Cooking with a toddler means anticipating and recovering from disasters. There’s no need for me to yell at my tiny line cook.

She generally follows the rules of the kitchen. She especially follows the ‘taste as you go’ rule. She samples all ingredients. For most recipes, a toddler system of measurement applies. Add twenty-five percent more for toddler consumption. She eats handfuls of raisins. Grabs mouthfuls of shredded cheese. And even puts her fingers in the butter to get a taste.

When we’re baking, this ingredient sampling has a special name – The Lick Out.

The Lick Out is that special moment you get with the leftover batter after the baked goods have been placed in the oven. You get to lick the delicious batter off the spoon or out of the bowl. Everyone knows that cookie dough batter is tastier than cookies. That’s why Ben and Jerry put it in ice cream. Cookie dough rules. My daughter has learned this lesson well.

Most times she jumps the gun and starts the Lick Out before the cookies are baking. If we don’t step in, she’d gorge herself on dough, which is yes, full of raw eggs. Though, if the Rocky movies have taught us anything, it’s that a few raw eggs are actually good for you.

When the cooking is finished and we get to sample the fruits of our labour I always ask my daughter who made the dish. She always enthusiastically replies, “me!”

Turns out Daddy just helped.

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