Baker's Joy

One of Emma's favorite things to do is help in the kitchen. She loves to help to help us cook and clean up (unless it's her own mess, of course!), but what ends up happening a lot is that we're in too big of a hurry to let her be involved. Sometimes, I have to remind myself to slow down and let the Bee help and not insist that everything be perfect, because, after all, where is the fun in that? Emma will probably remember the fantastic messes and sensation of flour on her hands far longer than the sight of a clean kitchen and tidy meal.

  

I happened upon a yummy-looking flatbread recipe this week and decided we should make it together. When I asked the Bee if she wanted to help, she responded with an enthusiastic, "Yes!" I got out the dough that had been rising in the sun all morning and turned it out onto the table to let Emma practice kneading. After studiously working the dough with her hands, the Bee buzzed into the kitchen so she could add "dimples" to the bread. She was surprised when I told her to poke away to her heart's content. When the bread was properly dimpled, I instructed her to slowly pour on the olive oil, sprinkle the sea salt and add the fresh rosemary.

Once the oven was nice and hot, I popped the bread in and set the timer for 15 minutes. Emma turned the light on and gave me a big grin. She then proceeded to turn the light on and off another 10 times, because that's the only part of the oven she is allowed to touch :).

When the timer buzzed, we let the bread cool for another 10 minutes while we prepared dinner. The Bee was super excited and actually ate all of her dinner, for once. I find that on the nights we make dinner together, she tends to eat all of her food. Funny how that works :).