(Mostly) Wordless Wednesday: Smashing Chocolate

 

My Famous Little Chef

Yesterday, we took Nick to the Chocolate Festival in Naperville, and he had an awesome time. Honestly, we all had a fantastic time. Think about it: a man who loves chocolate, his pregnant wife who's been craving chocolate, and a two-year-old who can't get enough chocolate, all at a festival dedicated to chocolate. It was a dream come true.

One of the reasons I wanted to go was the Kids in the Kitchen classes, where kids get to do some food preparation of their own, all on a chocolate theme, of course. This festival was held in the home economics room of the Neuqua High School Freshman Center. We rushed to get seats, and Nick immediately discovered that the kitchen cabinets in this place are not child locked. He started pulling out all kinds of cool gadgets.

We sat down and got to work. Nick got to make a "Death By Chocolate" dessert. I asked the organizer if it was okay if he made one, and she said, "Sure, if an adult helps him." I laughed and said, "Of course!" This dessert was a delicious layered concoction of chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, cool whip, and toffee chips. I think Nick is going to inherit his daddy's love of cooking, because he really got into this project. He really tried to follow the steps, and one of the ladies running the event said that he did a great job for such a little guy. I think so, too.

Nick made his dessert mostly by himself, although he made quite a mess. Notice the chocolate all over my arm in the picture below. He needed a total outfit change later that day, due to all of the chocolate.

At the end of the session, the kids got to eat their creations, and everyone clapped. Nick clapped the loudest and shouted, "Yay!" A photographer from the Naperville Sun snapped his picture and asked me if it was okay to put it in the paper. I agreed, and Nick was actually in one of the photo galleries on their website today. He's famous! Here's the link. I think he's the second photo in the gallery. You know, the kid munching happily on his "Death by Chocolate."


That's my famous little chef.  :)  All he needs is one of those tall white hats.

My husband is awesome.

Man, can he cook! Can you tell that Nick thinks so, too? Look at what he cooked us for dinner last night from his Williams-Sonoma Cookbook. It was absolutely delicious. My mouth is still recovering from the taste sensations. Plus, I got to have leftovers for lunch today, and the rest of the guacomole when I got home from work. I love when he decides to cook.

Above you can see our dinner (his manly portion--mine was smaller). We had carne asada (from rib eye steak) and grilled mushrooms, orange pepper, and green onions, grilled on a charcoal grill. He made homemade guacamole from scratch, brown rice with black beans, and refried beans, too. (You can never have too many beans.)

Greg and I have totally different ways of cooking, though. We can't even be in the kitchen at the same time. Greg is very meticulous, and he measures with exacting throughness. He has mastered making brown rice and it comes out perfectly every time. He uses recipe books and does not substitute. Dicing and measuring all of the ingredients neatly in little clear bowls, Greg cleans as he goes. Often, it looks as if he were on one of those cooking shows, with everything laid out neatly, in the order that it will be used. Greg cannot handle if I come into the kitchen for a glass of milk while he's making dinner. He prepares dishes for one meal, sometimes two, without regard for how many leftovers there will be. In fact, before we started living together, he used to shop for groceries on a daily basis, filling one grocery bag with the ingredients for one recipe, cook dinner, and then dispose of the leftovers. Thank goodness he'll eat leftovers now.

My cooking, on the other hand, is far more haphazard. I am a multitasker, and often cook dinner, talk on the phone, make bread, watch Nick, and listen to NPR all at the same time. This has resulted in some interesting mistakes. . . I still can't make brown rice without screwing it up. While I sometimes start with a recipe, I change proportions, double a recipe, and substitute ingredients. I also love to throw extra stuff into everything. For example, I'll toss spinach into any dish. I also definitely do not clean as I go; the kitchen is often trashed after I have made our evening meal. Eyeballing instead of measuring, I've been known to either totally screw up a dish or come upon something marvelous by accident. I've had spaghetti stuck to the wall and I somehow got banana puree on the ceiling. I also cook for an army--I enjoy leftovers and I feel that if I have to go to the effort to cook and mess up the kitchen (and I do mess up the kitchen), I should get a few meals out of it.

I suppose, though, that it is a lucky thing that we both cook. Greg and I enjoy healthy recipes, but also international foods and experimentation. We just can't both be in the kitchen at the same time. I wonder who Nick will take after in the kitchen?

Little Boys and Sticks

It must be a "boy" thing. Something about a nice stick just lying there on the ground inspires a young man to pick it up and swing it around wildly. Even a 1 year old knows how to start a mock sword battle with a stick.

Nick observed the little boy next door (he's maybe 8 or 9) playing Star Wars a few days ago with his friend, and he was enthralled. The light saber battle was incredibly exciting to him. Nick even tried to join in the fight with his own stick, running madly toward the battle with a shriek of sheer glee.

A few days later, Nick picked up the stick and instantly remembered what to do with it. There were no adversaries around, but that was okay for him. Nicholas fought his imaginary fencing battle across the yard.

I guess you can't argue with biology. My little man is definitely, well, a little man. He loves to push trucks around and make "vroom" sounds, and then bang them into things. Knocking down towers is loads of fun for him, and Nick thinks it's hilarious when his daddy fakes injuries. And now he likes to use sticks as weapons. Typical. My son already has a longer attention span than I do when it comes to things like basketball games.

I'm actually okay with Nick being into the "guy" sorts of things. I'm just trying to keep it balanced. I love how he also likes to steal the broom from the kitchen and pretend to sweep. I like the way he hugs his stuffed animals (when he's not whacking them with sticks) and gives them kisses. Most of all, I adore how Nick insists on sitting on the kitchen floor when Greg or I cook, stirring imaginary ingredients in a bowl.

Nick can be whatever type of guy he wants to be, but I want to make sure he's a well-rounded gentleman, just like his daddy. Greg is an excellent cook, and he cleans more than I do. We've probably each changed about the same number of diapers, because we divide up child care responsibilities. Our little family certainly doesn't follow traditional gender roles, and I'm hoping Nick doesn't grow up with strict ideas about what mommies do and daddies do. When Nick finds a stick, though, the caveman in him comes out, and he's all boy. Frankly, it's rather cute.

Munching on Apples and Daddy's Poulet Roti

Yup, somebody likes apples. My mother-in-law brought us Panera on Saturday, and I was good and got the apple instead of the potato chips. However, Nick decided that he was going to take custody of the apple for his own amusement. I guess we all figured he was just playing with it.

Nope, he was eating it, and enjoying every bite, apparently. I didn't know a 1-year-old could eat an apple the regular way. We'd always given it to him in little tiny chunks. I suppose I won't trust him with whole apples anymore. Not bad, though, for a little guy with only five teeth.

He's looking at me like, "Mom, what's the big deal? It's just an apple."

Amazing what five teeth can do. Nearly six, since he's teething. Plus Nicholas has a horrible cold, poor guy.  He's coughing pretty bad, but the doctor said it sounded like just a cold.  At least we're all eating pretty healthy. One of my really "unique" resolutions is to eat healthier food. We've been doing pretty well. I've been writing everything I eat down in a little book, and I did four elliptical trainer workouts and two pilates workouts last week. I'm trying to have reasonable expectations for myself.

Greg cooked a delicious dinner for us tonight. I got him a few fancy cookbooks for Christmas, and he used the French one to make Poulet Roti. It looked scrumptious and tasted even better. Nick was trying to grab it before it was even carved. Doesn't this chicken look awesome? I am very lucky to have a guy who can cook. Greg served the chicken on a platter with fresh rosemary, thyme, and sage. We also had fresh asparagus and baked red potatoes. My tummy is very happy, and the meal was pretty good for me, too. Nick sure loved it.

You'll notice in the background of that picture of Greg and Nick one of my neuroses. on the fridge another way I am trying to keep up with those darned resolutions. I do a list of lunches and dinners for each week, so that I don't buy too much food. It keeps us eating healthy and prevents me from stocking the fridge like a natural disaster is coming.

I hope the list helps keep me out of the grocery store. If I don't have a specific plan, I end up hitting the grocery store a couple of times a week, and every time I go in there I buy other random things. I've been pretty bad, at times, about having a fully stocked fridge. When I was in my early 20s, I went through a couple of years where I lived off Ramen and canned pork and beans. Since then, I feel like I need to keep the fridge full "just in case." The list is the only way I keep track and make sure there's enough to eat but not too much. It's a silly paranoia, I know, but I feel more comfortable knowing I could live off the food in my kitchen for weeks.