I have no idea what we were making in the images below, but Caleb seems like he was having a good time. Whenever I cook, which is less often than I’d like, I have Caleb help me out. At first, I would include him as a way to keep an eye on him or otherwise give him something to do so I could focus on not burning myself or chopping off more than the end of a carrot. I also secretly wanted him to LOVE to cook and figured that it would never be too early to expose him to the ins and outs of simple food prep.

…Enter his wicked garlic peeling skills. If I have cooked for you before, you know that I am somewhat attached to three core ingredients: fresh garlic (minced, not pressed), olive oil, and fresh ground pepper. While the oil and pepper are almost effortless afterthoughts, fresh garlic takes a bit of time to steer it from messy clove to perfectly minced yumminess. I don’t know about you, but to me, the most challenging part of the process is getting the peel off. And yes, I’ve tried a number of methods, but none seem to suit my rather persnickety fancy.

• Garlic presses (when used with clean or non de-skinned garlic) take all of the pleasure out of handling and prepping garlic, plus they are challenging to clean;
• Those little rubber tubes that you roll the clove in work amazingly well, but never seem to want to let go of the garlic skin flakes; and,
• A pressure smack through a chef’s knife, unless done perfectly, invariably crushes the clove too much for my tastes (perhaps I am too touchy about the way I like my garlic).

Caleb’s method, on the other hand, produces perfect results every time. He pulls up a chair, stands on it next to me, and makes sure he removes every last piece of the garlic skin with his tiny fingers. His method is probably the most laborious, but I don’t think I can cook with garlic anymore unless he has done the legwork.

Enough about garlic. The real point of this post was to have a reason to share the photos below, but also to make a case for cooking with your children. I wouldn’t consider myself the best cook in the world, but I think that I can muster up a few good dishes if the need arises. Making sure Caleb has some skill in making himself and others a meal is a good idea in my book.

Also, and perhaps more important than the practical aspects of knowing how to “cook,” I find the process incredibly relaxing and grounding. A monotonous or stressful day at the office seems readily remedied by a bit of cooking. I know preschool will likely be a chore at times as well, and I’m looking forward to watching Caleb come home one day and unwind by assembling with pride the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich.