I wear an apron nearly every day. It’s my uniform. I suppose you could say it’s my signature look. When my sister visits with her family, my nieces and nephew run in with arms open wide for big overdue hugs. But if Aunt Linda isn’t wearing her apron, one of them is sure to stop in their tracks and ask “Where is your apron?!”
These nieces of mine take their apron-wearing very seriously, just like their Aunt Linda, and a stay at Aunt Linda’s house always becomes a home economics lesson. We tie on our aprons, roll up our sleeves, and do some chopping or baking or simmering. Or maybe it’s pizza night and we work side by side kneading the pizza dough and then pile on the toppings.
I love these impromptu home ec classes. This is when they learn best. These lessons they’ll keep with them forever. The girls watch me, mimic what I do, ask questions about how and why. And we laugh. We laugh at noses powdered with flour and at fingers glued together with sticky dough. Then there’s the tasting. They can’t resist trying a pinch of this and a taste-test now and then.
When those pizzas are in the oven or the stew is simmering on the stove, the inviting aromas bring them back to the kitchen “is it ready yet!?” When it comes time to serve I see beaming faces with smiles spread wide as if to say (yes, sometimes the do actually say) “I made that!” and we all sit down to enjoy together the fruits of their labor.
As a homeschooling mom, I sometimes get the question “What do you use to teach home ec?” and as a mom with grown up daughters I am asked “How did you teach your daughters to cook?” The answer to both these questions is: Let them work along side you. Be together in the kitchen. Hands-on trial and error is the very best teacher of all. And wearing an apron now and then helps the process along a bit!
And now how about a recipe for the next time you want to plan a pizza night for your family? I’m sharing my sauce and dough recipes with you. They are a part of my monthly cooking routine, and included in the ABC’s of Freezer Cooking ebook by KM Logan. (that’s my affiliate link, but believe me, totally worth the $5.99!)
Linda’s Pizza Sauce
1 #10 can tomato sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
5 cloves garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp black pepper
Combine all ingredients in a large pan, heat til bubbly, simmer.
Linda’s Pizza Dough
Combine 1 and 1/2 cups warm water, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp instant yeast, 1 1/2 cups flour. Cover, let sponge 12 minutes. Then add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 and 1/2 cups
more flour and mix and knead until dough is springy to touch, adding more flour as necessary. I have a Bosch mixer, and this process takes about 6 minutes. You can mix and knead by hand, but will take a bit longer. Yields 2 large pizza crusts.
Do you have your children working along side you in the kitchen? What tasty dishes have you created? Do you have a favorite you or another family member where when they are hard at work in the kitchen? Please share!
This is the sixth post in my Aprons – a 31 Day Series. You’ll find them all listed by clicking on the image below.
{sharing this post at some of these wonderful places}
Having my children and grandchildren work beside me in the kitchen is one of life’s great pleasures in my book. They love it because let them make a big mess. And if it’s the grandkids, I don’t even care if they clean up the mess. But my sons…..they will clean! Lol
Good for you, making those sons clean up! But what a wonderful atmosphere you set, making the kitchen a joyful place 🙂 Keep that apron handy, my friend!
I love aprons and wear mine whenever I am working in the kitchen or getting ready for a big family meal. My children are both in their late teens and they have learned to cook with me over the years. My daughter regularly prepares dinner for the whole family and I find that very helpful. My son doesn’t cook many dinners but is happy to make breakfasts, and both my children are always helpful with cleanup. 🙂
It’s wonderful that the whole family gets involved in the kitchen, April 🙂 What a blessing it must be to have a daughter who enjoys serving the family by preparing meals for them. And your son! breakfast is a favorite for our sons to fix as well. Our 2 oldest are now on their own, and they both made better omelets and pancakes than their mother before they left home. It’s so much fun to be able to ‘pass the torch’. So glad you stopped by today to share your apron story with us!
I really enjoyed reading this…I found it inspiring. This is something that I do very little of, I make treats with my girls around the holidays, and they enjoy it so much. They love wearing aprons and cooking. Everyday though, I struggle. I generally feel too rushed or tired to take time to let them help. It is a great time to be together…I am going to start with your pizza this weekend…I will let them help!
I understand, Beth. I often find myself trying to hurry things along, just wanting to get it done. I find I am challenging myself all month long with my aprons posts, to slow down and enjoy the ride. We miss so many opportunities to teach and learn a grow when we get in a rush. I’ll be thinking of you tonight when we work in our kitchen, making pizza 🙂
I had my kids in the kitchen helping me when they were younger, but I have to admit that I did not enjoy it as much as you do! But then I don’t enjoy cooking or baking at all really. I do think that I need to start wearing an apron like yours though! I’m always ruining my clothes with spills and splatters! thanks for sharing at Friendship Friday!
Confession time, Sylvia – I do not always enjoy having my children work with me in the kitchen! I did much better when I had 2 little ones, it seemed more manageable. As our family grew, I just wanted to get it done and over with, and there were now older siblings to entertain the littles while I worked 😉 I have to make a conscious effort, too.
I highly recommend aprons – they are so helpful on the clothing budget, and save on laundry too!
We do lots of hands-on homeschool home-ec too, as well! Thanks for linking up with “Try a New Recipe Tuesday.” Hope you can join us again this week. http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2014/10/try-new-recipe-tuesday-october-14.html
Ok, I love your blog 🙂 I like aprons, too, but often forget to tie one on. I’d love for that to be seen as my “uniform”, though! Maybe I need to reorganize my kitchen so I can keep them in there 🙂 Our first child is due any day (in fact I’ll be 40 weeks tomorrow) & I can’t wait to have him cook alongside me! I have photos of 2 yr old me making cookies with my grandma & it is so special! Can’t wait to make kitchen memories with my son!
how exciting, Heather! You’ll be holding baby in your arms any time now! I am pretty sure the apron became a regular part of my uniform when my own swollen pregnant belly kept rubbing up against the messy counter when I was expecting my first. I ruined so many blouses before I figured out how to protect them.
That photo of your 2 year old self and your grandma is precious – I’m so glad you’ll have it to share with your son as you make memories together. I’m thrilled you enjoy it here at Apron Strings. Come visit often! Praying for you and baby and delivery day approaches 😀