Making Dessert

Both Gina and Andrew love to make dessert, almost as much as they like to eat it. On Friday, Gina really wanted to make dessert on her own. She told me she was going to mix flour, sugar, orange juice, eggs and vanilla to make dessert for me and Vic. As much as I'd like to encourage her creativity, I'm not quite ready to let her have free rein in the kitchen. I remember mixing various concoctions in the kitchen when I was 7 or 8; most were inedible but it was fun.

Instead, I convinced Gina to make orange sherbert with my help. It has sugar and orange juice and it is fairly easy to make. She did most of the work with just a little direction from me. She loved juicing all the oranges and then was fascinated by the ice cream machine at the end.

One problem with making anything with Gina is that Andrew wants to help too. Fortunately, we found a box of orange jello in the cabinet so Andrew was quite happy to wait while Gina made her dessert so that he could then make jello. He thoroughly enjoyed stirring the water and ice into the jello. Another chef in the making.

It is always difficult to get the kids to pick up after themselves. However, cleaning is another matter. Gina loves to clean, whether it is washing dishes, wiping counters, or vacuuming. We certainly need to harness this enthusiasm more often.

And here is a cute picture of Gina and Dylan (who didn't get to make dessert).