Cooking Connoisseurs

I developed an interest in cooking at an early age. Truth be told, I didn't have much of a choice the older I got. When Dad had his accident, Mom had to go back to work. That left me being the oldest and most experienced cook in the house. Dad could cook hot dogs and the random thing, but when mom worked late, it was me who had to make sure dinner was served and everyone was fed. I didn't mind. I took to the role naturally. Mom still feels like she ruined my childhood by relying on me so much, but I don't think that at all. It made me a very capable adult very quickly.

So, in short, there are skills that I want to make sure my kids grow up with and cooking is one of them. I started out doing baking (cookies, cakes, pies, etc.) for 4-H and that expanded pretty fast. But it's a skill that I believe all people need. Boiling and egg may seem simple, but you'd be surprised how many people have to google it. Imagine my happiness when Abby checked out a cookbook from the library and started bookmarking all the recipes she wants to try to make on her own. She said she wanted to learn how to cook. She made her first thing (with oven help from me, of course) last week and wanted to go with something called Caramel Shortbread. It called for sweetened condensed milk and that isn't safe for Alex so we had to improvise with making a substitute out of coconut. It probably didn't taste much like what the recipe was, but it was delicious! And she was so proud of herself! Bonus, you know?

So as we were about to take a bite of the dessert, I couldn't find Alex. He was hiding in his room moping. After a little mom-digging, I found out that he was sad that he didn't get to cook too. I told him the next dessert was all his. Next day (too soon for more sweets, but still), he chose to make Lemon Bars (his favorite) and he did it all on his own (minus the oven of course). He was so proud as well! It was great to see them get their hands "dirty" with flour and egg. Was it messy? Oh yes. Oh, very much yes. In fact, we had to dig out eggshell several time from batter. Was there flour in their hair? Yep. But you can't replace that feeling of doing something yourself. They already make their own breakfasts and lunches, so this is just a natural next step. The only problem? They want to bake every day. This does not help my weight loss goals. I suppose if my sacrifice is to gain a couple of pounds so they can learn, then it's worth it. Why don't I just not eat it? Um, not a chance. If I declined their offered desserts, they'd be devastated. Not worth it. Good job, my little cooks! I'm so proud and can't wait to see what they will whip up next!