Hannah Dong En Shorts Vol. 2: Chez Hannah?

Rebecca mentioned Dong En is skilled with silverware. She uses a spoon, fork, knife and chopsticks, all as good or better than a certain 5 year old we know. (Oops … maybe we should have spent a little less time on Mandarin with the boy and taught him to eat. Of course, having inherited our coordination skills, perhaps it's just his lot.)

Now, don't repeat that to either of them — so far we've kept rivalry to a minimum. Anyway, not only does she use utensils very well, it appears to be a hobby of hers. At most meals, after she's eaten most of her food (at thrice her brother's eating pace), she starts to "cook." She stirs her kanji (congee) or broth, then begins to add a little of her water or juice, then she mixes some more. She might cut up a little left over egg on her plate and add this to the concoction, maybe even some chopped-up placemat. Then she wants to pour into another bowl or cup. And on and on like that. We wonder if maybe she "helped" her foster parents a lot while they cooked. Her culinary experiments can get pretty messy, but we've carefully allowed — even encouraged — her, because it keeps her occupied while the rest of us eat. We earlier alluded to the fact that the first few meals she ate with us, she ate so fast and so much that she didn't keep it all down. (Although the cause might have been acidic juice, or something else she had that she wasn't used to.) We certainly encourage her to eat a good meal, but her cooking helps avoid her asking for our food and over-doing it.

As Rebecca said, we think we foresee a play kitchen set in her future. Her attention, persistence and skill with the utensils (for a three-year old) are quite a thing to watch! Perhaps we have the next "Iron Chef" on our hands. (Sorry, Steve but) Bobby Flay, look out!