Taako was making bread. Sweetbread, sourdough, wholemeal muffins with added bits, brioche… it had been a while since he’d had the time to really bake and there was something about kneading that was relaxing and mediative. Ango was seemingly occupied with some of the more harmless kitchen tools, wheeling things back and forth over the countertop.
That was what he had been doing until Taako caught him playing with some of the dough he’d set apart to rise.
“Yeah, I know. This looks like your fun colourful stuff, baby.” Taako gently separated the blob from Angus’ tiny hands, scooping up his boy into his arms. “This is hard to understand, nugget, but Apa’s not playing. Apa’s working.”
“Wanna play,” insisted Angus.
“That stuff has to sit quietly for a while. It’s in time-out,” Taako explained. “It’s having a nap so it can grow big and strong.”
“No naps!”
“No, you don’t have to have a nap…” Taako thought hard. How old had he been when Aunt Ques had welcomed his presence in the kitchen? It seemed like an everyday thing. There hadn’t been a memory of Aunt Ques when he wasn’t in a kitchen with her. Well, her and of course Lup.
His earliest cooking lesson had been mashing soft fruit, and he couldn’t recall if any of that product had gone into anything Aunt Ques made that day…
Taako mage-handed over some bananas and peeled them, getting out another bowl in a long line of bowls and some tools that might be enjoyable. “You, my sweet little nugget, can help Apa smash up all these bananas.”
“Yay!” cheered Angus.
Taako gave his baby a butter knife. “Take a banana… and chop it up into this bowl.”
Angus was more wont to stab it within the bowl, but that wasn’t any skin off of Taako’s nose. It let him get on with kneading and rolling and pressing and portioning. Of course, when Angus was done with the cutting, he was allowed to graduate onto the mashing. The kid soon gave up on using the mashing wand, preferring to get gloriously sticky with his own fingers.
Ah, what the hell. They could probably do with some banana bread anyway. Or maybe banana cake. Cake would mean less stress for Angus, since there was less waiting for the dough to rise. Choco-banana muffins for sure.
Angus could sift flour into the goo, and ‘help’ stir. As far as Taako remembered, his early cooking adventures had been more about the mess than they had been about making anything to eat.
…he’d need another bath. Natch. That was no real bother. Bath time was fun and the stuff in the oven wouldn’t burn in the time it took to get one sticky little baby clean. Then it would be time to get sticky again with icing and decorating and all that fun stuff.
Lup had enjoyed making the cupcakes and muffins pretty, Taako recalled. Maybe Angus would like that too.
But that was hours - and about six more bananas away.
Challenge #01937-E113: Very Important Tools — Steemit
“Listen. There is a philosophy about the right tool for the right job. And these tools all have a different job.”
“But six different spatulas? Why?”
“This one’s best for scrambling. This one’s best for tossing. This one can flip a pancake with ease. This one is good for chasing things around on a griddle,” the chef laid them out as he spoke. “This one’s excellent for getting into those tight little corners on those square pans, and this lovely little darling is best for serving.”