Kyle & Owen Cook

Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars, just out of the oven

K & O love to cook and bake. They are good little 'cookers' and 'chefers' (as they call themselves)! As long as they are behaving, I actually really enjoy cooking with them. The clean-up is always extraordinary after they've been in the kitchen, and I've got to keep a very tight reign on them, but it is worth it (at least, most of the time). However, my preference, always, is to cook with them individually. Now that is really enjoyable. Owen is actually a very good helper in the kitchen (when --and really only when-- he's by himself, and Kyle is not around). He has an incredible attention span for doing menial tasks that I hate to do (like, de-seeding pomegranates or peeling shrimp). And he (Owen) really, really likes to cook... especially if it is something that allows him to be very hands-on (literally, hands in-on-in-in-in whatever it is, mixing things with his hands, squishing things, etc., etc., etc.; i.e., MESSY). Kyle does not have the same attention span in the kitchen, but he has a few traits that his brother definitely does not have... mainly attention to detail, desire to follow a recipe precisely, an incredible memory for flavors and smells, and a very strong tendency toward neatness and cleanliness. These traits make Kyle a wonderful helper in the kitchen in his own way. He's always bending down to clean up the floor with a kitchen towel, or reminding me to add the honey, or fretting over the tiniest bit of egg shell that slipped into the batter (and Kyle is always the one running to get the aprons and reminding everyone to wash their hands). One of my crazy dreams for my boys is that someday they'll own a restaurant together and Owen will be the Head Chef/Kitchen Manager and Kyle will be the Wine Sommelier/Floor Manager (this is, of course, after they've graduated from Howard and Harvard and spent at least a year living and training in the cafes and bistros of France... I dream big people, I dream big!)... so, from the time they were about 12 months old I have been joking about this dream of mine (how I'll eat in their restaurant regularly, how I'll financially invest in their restaurant venture, etc., etc., etc.)... and yes, we laugh and laugh about it... but, of course, I would be thrilled if this little dream of mine came to fruition. (wink, wink!) And if it ever does, and they're being interviewed for Food & Wine Magazine someday, well, it is my hope that they'll say, "it all started in our mother's kitchen..."

Owen peels fresh poached tomatoes, preparing them for Tomato Soup
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Owen puts the finishing touch (fresh cracked pepper) on one of our family's favorite pasta dishes --Penne, Turkey Sausage, and Broccoli Rabe
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K & O make "Special Frech Toast" (i.e., made with whole grain cinamon swirl bread) in their pajamas
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Owen dredges fish
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Kyle peels carrots
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Owen & Kyle sautee fresh baby spinach (in garlic and olive oil)
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Owen peels shrimp
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Owen shreds zuchini for Zuchini Bread
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Kyle & Owen make Yogurt Smoothies early on a Saturday morning
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Owen stirs up one of the boys' favorites: Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Pesto

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