There's a gadget for that

When I was a little girl I wanted an easy bake oven so bad. Mom said it would be messy, and she didn't want to have the stress of it. Thinking back, we rarely ever ate at home. Momma worked long hours as did Dad. So most of our meals were take out, or we would hit the local big boy. Once I had a car and a job I followed suit and ate many a meal out with my friends.

I was never handed down the family spatula, or any tried and true family favorite recipe. I knew every In & Out in Southern California though. A house comes with a kitchen, and I really only need it for coffee in the morning and a glass of wine in the evening, right?

My sweet older daughter made our dinner tonight. She had minimal direction and tips from her Dad and I, and it was awesome. I thought to myself that her husband will be so thankful some day that we are giving her the tools she needs to be a successful wife and mother. And then I looked at my poor husband... How did I win him over? It certainly was not with my domestic skills.

We moved into our first place after having lived with my parents while he was on base at Camp Pendleton, followed by living with his parents when we relocated to Chicago and got on our feet. I found myself frozen in the kitchen. How would I feed our now family of 4? How did I get here? How is that I am 24 and I have never really had to cook?

A few months after these gripping questions my first daughter turned one, and I made sure she got an easy bake oven. While she napped I busted that bad boy... er... girl(?) out of the box and studied the instructions. I proudly presented my husband with a spongy thing that resembled a cake with a huge smile. He made a positive noise and he nodded his head and no doubt choked down my offering. This continued for some time.

Pregnant with our youngest son found me craving kettle corn like I would purchase from my home town street fair. hours of research had me jumping, recipe and instructions in hand. My first attempt was an utter disaster. No where in the instructions did it say to put a lid on the popcorn as it cooked in the oil and sugar!! When we moved we still found popcorn as we packed up items in that kitchen.

The Chief is a natural in the kitchen. He can look in a few cupboards and the fridge and create a culinary delight. I can do the same and present a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and be so proud. My obsession to impress my husband with a new found kitchen prowess turned into a hunt. A hunt for kitchen gadgets to help make sense of the demands of some of these recipes that looked like chemistry notes in a foreign language. Did you know that there is a kitchen gadget for everything? I have them! Some I am not sure what they are, but I am convinced that I will need them and will dance around and cheer when I find a recipe that calls for it.

Until then, I will use the gadgets I have, let the Chief be the main chef of our kitchen and pass on what little knowledge I have to my daughters and sons. Maybe they will lucky and marry someone who is a natural around the kitchen like I did. What I do know for sure... They will get lots of kitchen gadgets from me. :)