Short story by: Daniel Marrero
Hi Folks,
This story is fiction and a combination of family cooking fun, and learning how to cook/bake.
It was a busy evening, and I had a lot of work to do in the kitchen. I was preparing for a dinner party, and the guests were arriving soon. As I was cutting vegetables, I noticed my little daughter looking at me with curious eyes.
"Can I help you, Daddy?" she asked shyly.
I smiled at her and said, "Of course, you can help me. Do you know how to chop vegetables?"
She nodded her head, and I handed her a child-safe knife and a cutting board. I showed her how to cut the vegetables into small pieces. She was so excited to help that she started enthusiastically chopping the vegetables.
I started preparing the main course while she was busy with the vegetables. I was making chicken curry, and it needed a lot of spices. I asked my little helper to bring me the spices from the pantry. She ran to the pantry and came back with a big smile on her face, holding a small jar of spice.
I took the jar from her and opened it. As soon as I opened it, I realized that it was not the right spice. It was paprika, and I needed cumin. I told my little helper that we need cumin, not paprika.
"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said, looking sad.
"It's okay," I said, trying to make her feel better. "Let's find the cumin together."
We went to the pantry and started looking for cumin. After a few minutes, we found it. My little helper was so happy that we found it. She took the jar of cumin and proudly carried it into the kitchen for me.
"Thank you so much," I said, taking the jar from her.
She smiled at me and said, "I'm happy to help you, Daddy."
We continued to work together, and my little helper proved to be a great assistant. She helped me with the cooking, and we had a lot of fun together. When the guests arrived, they were amazed by the delicious food that we had prepared. They asked me how I managed to make such a great meal, and I told them the secret.
"I had a little cooking helper," I said with a smile.
My little helper has become a reliable assistant since then on. She enjoys completing small tasks such as washing vegetables, stirring the food, and setting the table. She has even learned to make scrambled eggs and toast. I am proud of her for being such a great help, and I always give her a special treat or praise when she assists me. It's wonderful to have her in the kitchen, and I hope she continues to enjoy cooking with me.
Well, my question has been answered. It has been Two weeks and my little helper is always there to lend a hand. She continues to be a great assistant in the kitchen, with her childproof knife, and her little pink apron. I am so excited she took so much interest. Now she wants to learn how to bake cookies.
As I leaned on the counter waiting for the water to boil for spaghetti, I asked her “And what kind of cookies would you like to bake?” She spouted out a list almost as if she was preparing for this question. “Let me see Daddy, I want to make chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodles, oatmeal with raisins, and gingerbread cookies.” Oh my, all that huh? Well, how about if we start with sugar cookies?
Ok Daddy she exclaimed. My little helper continued to stir the meat sauce as I worked on the salad. As that was being done, we started making our plan for baking day. My little helper looked quite quizzical. I asked what was wrong, and she replied, “But Daddy I thought we were baking today?” I giggled a bit and said, “No sweetie, that’s a tad bit of work to try to get done tonight.” “But Daddy, yummy cookies.” With a smile I told her tomorrow we’ll wake up early and start the cookies.
The next morning, I woke up, and guess who was already in the kitchen waiting, apron and all. She said, “Daddy it’s about time I’ve been waiting all morning for you to get up.” “Sweetie it’s only 7 am.” “I know Daddy like I said all morning.” I couldn’t help but giggle as I had my morning coffee.
My little helper was so eager to begin. As I sipped my coffee, I started explaining the baking process. “Baking in the oven is a great way to cook and bake many different foods. Whether you're baking cookies, cakes, or bread, it's important to know how to use your oven properly so that you can get great results every time.” She nodded her head, “Ok Daddy.”
“Remember to Preheat, always preheat your oven before baking anything. If you don't preheat the oven, it will take longer for the temperature to reach its desired setting. This can affect the texture and color of whatever you're baking. It's best to preheat an oven on high for 10-15 minutes and then reduce the heat until it reaches its desired temperature.” Once again, I got a nod, and an “Ok Daddy.” I went on to explain the different placement of the baking sheet for cookies and pastries.
“When making cookies, the baking sheet should be placed in the center of the rack. That helps with heating evenly and browning of our cookies. If we are making pastries, we’ll place them near the top edge of our rack, so they don't burn as easily.” I can tell my little helper was getting a tad bit anxious and wanted to dive into the fun part of baking.
Seeing the excitement in her eyes I began preparing what my little helper would need to make the cookies. I got her a rolling pin, cookie cutters (including animal shapes of course), and a baking sheet. Now for the ingredients, “Ok my little helper.” “We will need flour, butter, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and an egg.
As my little helper went for the ingredients, I decided to make this a little easier and pull out the mixer. My little helper turned around and let out a gasp! “Oh, no Daddy we’re doing this grandma’s way.” I knew deep down she just wanted to get her hands dirty. I smiled and said, “As you wish you’re the baker.”
To my surprise, she began measuring ingredients, sifting flour, and cracking eggs for the cookies. I must’ve had some look on my face because she looked at me and said, “What’s wrong Daddy.” Umm, where did you learn to do all this young lady.” With the cutest chuckle, she looks at me and says, “Grandma taught me.” “Hold on young lady, you told me you wanted to learn how to make cookies.”
“I do Daddy, but when you asked me yesterday, I never said sugar cookies.” “Oh, you little smartie-pants. So, when did Grandma teach you how to make sugar cookies?” “Over Christmas when I spent the weekend with them.” “That’s Grandma for you, did you know grandma taught me how to make cookies as well.”
“Grandma told me all about it Daddy, and someone was not a very good little helper. Grandma told me you didn’t pay too much attention, Daddy.” “I did.” “Daddy?” “Ok, you’re right, no I didn’t pay much attention at first, but then Grandma told me a little secret.” “What’s the secret Daddy?” “Well, I can’t tell you because then it won’t be a secret anymore.” “Oh, come on Dad.” With a laugh, I looked her dead in the eye and said, “Cooking is just a new world of imagination.” My little helper just looked at me with a confused face. “What does that mean Daddy?” As I explained to her, cooking is an art form of your imagination with ingredients being the key to good cooking. “But that is not the secret.” “The secret Grandma told me, was most of her best meals were failed attempts at a different meal.”
“I still don’t get it, Daddy.” “Well sweetie let’s put it this way if Grandma was trying to make chicken parm, she would end up with saucy chicken nuggets.” As my little helper looked up, I could tell she knew what I meant. “You see sweetheart Grandma had a way of teaching me things in a way that caught my interest. She knew I didn’t like to fail, so making a cooking mistake on one dish, and turning it into a different dish, just means you can’t fail.”
“Grandma is so smart,” exclaimed my little helper. “Ok Dad, the first batch is ready to go in.” As she carefully put the tray in the oven. I told her, “You look like an expert doing this.” “I learned from the best, Dad.” “Yes, you did, and so did I.”
Thank you all for reading my story. and remember, let's encourage our kids to enjoy the world of cooking. The world can use more chefs.
As they say in the cooking world if you burn it, you turn it.
Amazon shopping for your kitchen needs.
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