My "Sous Chef" in Training

This past Monday afternoon, as I was putting the ingredients into a large bowl to make some homemade pumpkin muffins, Dominic came over and spontaneously said, "what's next in the mixer?" He helped me finish making the muffins and they were especially delicious :) He and I love to make our favorite waffle recipe out of this cookbook:
 

He LOVES to read me the recipe and pour the ingredients into the bowl:

It has been awesome to watch him blossom and become so confident in both his reading and his cooking and baking skills.  He also thinks it's funny to pretend to eat a tomato:

 

And then toss it up into the air (well, he does need to practice for baseball season).  He did catch it when it came back down, thank goodness!!
 

I want him to know that it's okay to have fun in the kitchen, it doesn't have to be serious!  There is one very important thing I am teaching Dominic. It's okay to make mistakes!  He is my "sous chef" in training and currently "enrolled" in my class "Breaking an Egg Correctly into a Bowl 101."

I think he might be in that class for a while!  I reassured him that it was fine and that we had plenty of eggs :)  There are so many things that you can teach your kids when they help you cook.  How to follow directions, waiting your turn, reading, and math skills, just to name a few. Another favorite recipe is sugar cookies with "sprinkles."

He helped make the dough and press them down:

I think we know what Dominic thought of the finished product!

For years, I have talked about writing a cookbook. Even my husband would ask me, "so how is the cookbook coming along?"  He stopped asking me a while back. I would get started and then something would come up and my cookbook project would get "shelved." When I was at the library yesterday, I headed over to the cookbook section.  While there are cookbooks that teach kids how to cook and bake, I didn't see one that teaches special needs kids how to cook and bake. Many kids with special needs (especially non-verbal ones) are very visual.   A special needs cookbook would have to have a lot of pictures and the tasks broken down for each recipe. It could also be in Braille. I think there is a real need for that kind of cookbook don't you think? I wouldn't have to worry about hiring a kid to model and help make the recipes - I already have Dominic! He likes to be "paid" in kisses and hugs, though you wouldn't think so from his expression :)