Tiny Chef / Big Tummy.

By urbanbrat | March 29th, 2009 at 2:36 pm

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Thanks to a slight sinus infection and overall funk for
GiGi, I now have a child who will eat more than tomato soup, applesauce and
goldfish crackers.  Is it inappropriate to
thank a sinus infection for an increase in appetite?  Oh, who am I kidding, THANK YOU SINUS
INFECTION FOR BEING CLEARED UP IN THREE DAYS AND LEAVING BEHIND ONLY AN
APPETITE!

Up until the Whinefest ’09 that happened to be two weeks ago(and
lasted about the same before an actual doctor warranted illness came about), I couldn’t
get GiGi to try anything really unless I was prepared for a session of crying,
flying food, and a good old fashioned sippy cup toss.  Sometimes eggs got a little breakfast play,
and toast was a total winner (still is) but anything else was the worlds most
idiotic idea ever posed to a tot, according to my child.  I can’t count the number of times that I tried to give her a piece of banana and was met with a complete meltdown.  The silent cry, you know the one, with flowing tears and that upside down smile that amazes you because its so heartbroken and so forlorn and all you wanted was to give your child a bite of banana flavored potassium.

Three days of prescription and my child is a full fledged
eat-a-saurus.  It’s wildly fascinating to
watch her love of food grow with every meal. 
I have been going a little overboard in my quest for a smaller ass, and
the recipes can get a little odd, but GiGi likes them. Yes, the child who melted at mere touch of a banana is now eating garlic-soy chicken pitas. 

She’s also started to walk into the kitchen when I’m cooking and basically cling to my leg.  I try let her sit in her highchair while I prepare our meals and let her stir things on her tray or feel things that I chop, etc.  

It’s interesting to dissect the cooking process and share it
with a child, period.  Sharing the
process with GiGi lends itself to a learning experience for me also.  Everything begins with how different and
equally cool each utensil is.  The
temperature of each spoon, whisk and spatula and the texture.  Having her help with multigrain pancakes on
Thursday was a great learning time, but totally messy.  She stirred
them very well and when I turned to grab a towel, she licked the spoon.  I screamed, she smiled. 
(I’m one of those people that use a million napkins, towel, wash cloths, because I hate hate hate dirty things so cooking with a tot is a total challenge).  Then there is the magnificent and I would imagine, mind-boggling, event
of turning something like big strawberries into a smaller and more wet version
of itself when slicing, to the end result which is of course a
Strawberry/Blackberry sauce for pancakes.  
We taste the pinch of sugar and the squeeze of fresh lemon that goes
into the sauce pan and she squeals at every sample.  She licks the cooled off sauce spoon and says
“bite” with a smile.  She tastes the
yogurt butter and kicks her feet against her high chair while clapping.  I serve her a nibble of pancake and she says “mmmmmmama”
and claps again.  Cooking breakfast with
GiGi is a lengthy process and some days do not allow for me to actually stand
there and let every single thing be touched, licked, tasted, spilled, flung,
clapped over and helped with.  I feel bad
about those days where I just share a bowl of shredded mini wheat and a slice
of toast with her, but I think that at least cooking with her for 1 meal a day/
avg is better than not.

The most beloved kitchen time activity is by far the moments
when I have something simmering and I pull the lid off while holding her.  When the steam escapes and hits her nose, her
face lights up.  Cooking on the sove is
harder with her, because she doesn’t like it when I grab her hands.  I’m guessing that her  hands are her eyes and when I try to control
them, even if to help her, it pisses her off. 
Understandable.  Understandable,
but not something that will allow for me to let G help stir over the heat.  Then again, maybe she’s just a toddler exerting her independence and I’m a dipshit for trying to guide her. Or so say her?

I’m still amazed at the interest she has in cooking and now
eating.  I made a roasted veggie dish
with sweet potatoes, parsnip, red potatoes, carrots and onions and she ate it.  Do you know how shocked I was?  It doesn’t stop there either, we have also
had gyozas, gnocchi, tomatoes, olives, chicken (quite a bit), graham crackers,
pears, sausage, apples, amys pot pies, bell peppers, quesadillas and a few other
things.  I don’t make her a separate dinner
anymore unless she really didn’t eat her lunch.   It’s…nice.

Maybe if she gets the flu she’ll start eating Pad Thai or be
able to cook me breakfast?

(strawberry/blackberry sauce over multigrain waffles, or as I call it “Drool inducing cakes”)

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