Cooking with William

Ever wonder what life is really like at our house? Have you ever tried to do something with your hands tied behind your back? Then you have some idea of what it's like to cook with William.

William opens my container drawer and makes room for himself. Perfect for Mommy to trip over on the way to get utensils.

It's a priority for us to have home cooked meals that don't start in a box or package. So, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It's one of my domains.

William likes to open my oven warming drawer, usually with great force on my toes, presumably so he can get warm.

The kids like to be where I am, so naturally, they also spend time in the kitchen. But in different ways.

William likes to open everything he can get his hands on. Everything. In the time it takes me to saute an onion, he has had the time to go through every drawer in my kitchen. He picks up my heavy cast iron cookware and transports it to new locations. Wouldn't you know it, All-Clad likes to travel in this manner too. With all the frequent toddler miles they've earned, they'll be on vacation in Hawaii by the end of December, first class.

He opens drawers, slides them out, rearranges items and then leaves them out so that when I'm carrying a large pot of pasta in boiling water to the sink, I get the added challenge of maneuvering though an obstacle course while trying not to parboil myself. It's great fun, really. I'm sure all the medieval cooks used to spice up life in the castle kitchen to see which ones deserved culinary knighthood.

What weapons can I reach in here?

Then there's the baking tool drawer and the cooking utensil drawer. They contain lead-free baby safe items like vegetable peelers, Henckels knife sets, microplanes (Did you know these were actually woodworking and metalworking tools before some brave woman stole one from her hubby to use as a zester in the kitchen?), pizza cutters, you get the picture.

None of them work as well as when Mommy does it...

Here's my kitchen floor, after William is done digging in my drawers. See that rolling pin? You would think it's pretty dangerous, like a rolling log or slippery banana peel but the item of top concern is actually the dough docker. Definitely one of the most lethal tools I own, similar to a spiked medieval morning star, awaiting its next victim when it's on the floor. The next time you come visit and stay for a meal at my house, you are welcome to challenge yourself in my kitchen. Not feeling that brave? That's okay because now when you sit down at our dining room table for a meal, you will really enjoy it knowing how many obstacles I had to overcome, how many battles I had to win, how many sharp objects I had to face, just to prepare a seemingly simple dish for you.