The Next Food Network Star

Anne has decided that she loves watching "cooking". We watch a ton of Food Network AND Cooking Channel (and Anne can tell the difference).

It all started one day when she asked, "Can we watch the pretty girl who cooks?" It took me a while to figure out who she was talking about, but we figured out it was Giada deLaurentiis from "Everyday Italian" and "Giada at Home"

Now that she has been watching Giada (and Paula and Ina and Kelsey and "The Pioneer Woman") she has quite the vocabulary of cooking terms. Here are a few of my favorite things she has said:

Mom, whisk your chicken broth!

Is this fresh basil?

I will get my baking sheet.

My lemonade has to rest in the fridge for 35 minutes.

There are many more things she has said, which I (of course) can't remember. Watching cooking also made Anne aware of what we buy at the grocery store. On our last trip she recognized chicken broth, pasta (not "noodles"), and read the word "Sargento" on the cheese. She's so casual about it, too. She looked at me and said, "We know that. It's Sargento." Like 3-year-olds everywhere know that stuff! She's such a funny girl.

Here she is, whipping up a little somethin' on the deck.