Food education? Intellectual training? If you turn your kitchen into a laboratory, you might be able to handle housework and childcare at the same time

These are some pretty well-worn mooks (magazine books). The thumbnail photo shows the two copies I've relied on for years. The covers are torn, the pages are wavy from repeated water damage, and the corners are folded over in many places.

At our house, we kept these two in a magnetic pocket on the refrigerator door, right where we could grab them at any time. I suppose that would be right at the children's eye level... around the freezer compartment where we keep the ice trays and ice cream...

The rack I used is this one below. It was super convenient because it could be used both vertically and horizontally.

Now then. Summer vacation has begun. We have children in elementary school, high school, and college. They are all pretty big now, so there are fewer things for me as a parent to do for them. Even so, when summer vacation comes around, I'm reminded of the lunch problem and independent research projects.

While I'm feeling nostalgic, I thought I'd take a look back.

Rather than thinking of it as helping out or discipline, we stood in the kitchen together as a form of play. When they were babies and wanted to pull everything out, I intentionally made the bottom drawer a place for storage containers so it was okay for them to rummage through it (I could make dinner while they were occupied!). By the time they were old enough to stand on a step stool and do things, I had them wash vegetables (they seemed to enjoy it like playing with water) or appointed them as the bowl-mixing crew. I think they started doing the measuring around elementary school?

It was during that time that I found these mooks at a bookstore and bought them on the spot.

I wonder if they are out of print now. It's been quite a while, after all... The book titles mention "experiments," but they also contained plenty of

recipes for normal food you can eat. I think the one we made the most was potato chips.

I used the title "If you turn your kitchen into a laboratory, you might be able to handle housework and childcare at the same time" for today's article. Does that mean doing things simultaneously? Is that really the case? I titled it that way with the feeling that working on something together in the kitchen is both cooking and a time to enjoy with the children, "doesn't one period of time have double the meaning?"

For some reason, children go into "Hey Mom, listen," or "Mom! Look, look, look!" mode during that incredibly busy time in the evening or at night. Don't they? They do. Seriously. I mean, I'm sorry, but I'm busy rushing to make your dinner!

The knee-jerk response of "later" is a bad move, as I have learned from many failures. In those times, it's better to get fully involved than to try to push them away. They'll be satisfied and leave soon enough. (The way I put that...)

When I'm making dinner and they ask, "I'm hungry! Do we have any snacks?" it makes me annoyed. I'm sorry for making you wait, but if you eat snacks, you won't be able to eat dinner. But when these mooks are in the refrigerator door pocket (where they can see them), they'll say, "I'm hungry! Oh, can I use a potato? I'll make potato chips in the microwave!" and it's a mystery. It's a magic world where I can be tolerant, thinking, "Well, that's fine."

And there is one more good thing.

We stand in the kitchen together, but I'm making dinner and the child is making an experimental snack, so even though we are doing separate things, for some reason it feels like we are doing it together. It's amazing to be there at the same time, facing the same direction. It's interesting because conversations get more lively than usual at those times. While moving our hands, we talk and talk and talk—we talk about all sorts of things.

Things that reminded me of something from a recipe, things that happened at school recently, things they are worried about, current events in the news or on TV. Even though the conversation jumps all over the place, I feel happy to be able to feel the "now" of my children.

Today's article was written for a post submission prompt. ...And yet! The deadline was yesterday!!! What am I doing!!!!!

The Japan Cookery Recipe Book Awards. Just looking at this lineup is fun. Even though I do writing work related to cooking, I'm a bit unfamiliar with this genre. I haven't followed the Japan Cookery Recipe Book Awards before, but it's exciting to think that the next hit works will be born from here.

I've made various things with my children using experimental recipes. Usually, it felt like an experiment that doubled as a snack, but there were times we tackled it as a full-blown independent research project.

In the midst of that, I was hoping there would be books that had experimental elements but were more geared toward edible recipes. When I saw this submission tag, I searched to see if there was anything, and I hit on something interesting!

These two books above seem to have been published this year. They look interesting!!!

So cute. The word 'experimental sweets' is just unfair. It's cute.

That's when I thought of it. About this year's summer vacation independent research! Usually, cooking is explained as a process of tasks, but wouldn't it be interesting if we explained it scientifically?! I'm the type of (annoying) parent who gets excited on their own about ideas, even though I'm not the one doing the work.

Daughter: 'Whoa. That sounds interesting! Can I use that idea?'
Me: 'Right! Of course you can!'
Daughter: 'How do you even come up with stuff like that?'
Me: 'Well, you know.'
Daughter: 'Looks like an adult, brain of a child, that's you, Mom.'
Me: 'Stop with the reverse Conan lololol'

Whether she submits it to school or not is another matter, but we got all excited saying 'Let's do it!' Once it's finished, I'll report back around the second half of summer vacation♡