A Cook in the Works!

When I was growing up, cooking was a way a life. I came from phenomenal cooks! I spent many, many days at my Grandmother Davis' house cooking with her. Making a spread EVERY day for EVERY meal was a bit of an understatement. My mom fell none-short of her own mother - everything is great (Well, except for that oniony-spaghetti you tried to feed me and Scott!)! Growing up, my mom even made cakes for a side job. My Grandmother Stryker was also a great cook too! My Dad learned a lot from her and I can remember growing up and having a spread pancakes or biscuits and omelets and fruit and fresh squeezed juice on Saturday mornings! Many men can't cook, but my Dad was great too!

So, keeping in the tradition, every time I cook I try and include Haley in some fashion. Even though I'm not able to do all of what they did, every bit of exposure she gets I hope will encourage her to love it as much as we do! I had her an apron monogrammed for Christmas and she got a chef's hat from Publix!

Here's a picture of her learning to use a ....KNIFE!!! AHHH!!

Rules of Not Losing a Thumb:

(1) Hold it in the opposite direction that you cut.

(2) Don't hack at it.

(3)Don't ever use a knife unless you are cooking.

(4) No, you cannot use my sharp knife.

I also try to use cooking as a "reward system" for Haley when she goes out of her way to do something good. So, in honor of her doing so this past week, I made Puppy Chow with her! Get the recipe HERE! It was too funny, both her and Scott had never heard of it. They kept calling it "Dog Food".

Haley did pretty good until the chocolate chips and the peanut butter came out, then I lost her attention! She transformed from a chef into a taste tester!

Looking forward to teaching her more over the years!