Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Cooking

I'm sitting here trying hard to stay out of my kitchen.  MN is cooking supper.  She is a wonderful baker, but really isn't excited about meal cooking.   Today was her day.  She missed doing chores at the barn to cook.   She is frying egg plant and baking chicken strips.   Not store bought heat and eat chicken strips, but instead she is making a coating to go on chicken breast she is slicing into strips.   Her organizational skills might not be fully developed, but she is getting it done.   Not in the order I would have done it but oh well.

When we came in from chores D12 offered to take over cooking eggplant.  He used the excuse that he saw she was still working on the chicken and needed help.  She did need help, but he wanted to sample the eggplant as he cooked it!   D10 is helping by being the go for and washing dishes.  

We were talking as they cooked about how much they have changed.   D12 couldn't boil water when we go him.  He didn't know anything about cooking.  Now he is a good cook.  He also said he would have never offered to help when he came and wouldn't have helped if ask to.   These are such positive changes.   I'm not sure the foot of growth he has done is positive.  That kid is going to be TALL!!!  

D10 while he is learning to cook isn't allowed to do meals yet.  He can cook his own eggs.  He can do some task on getting things ready to cook.  He is getting there.   I see a lot of growth in the last few weeks in measuring and just a willing heart to cook.  

Last night was T's night to cook she decided on Lasagna.  My recipe isn't hard.  You cheat and use can spaghetti sauce.   Still it requires lots of measuring and in some cases substitutions.   Last night we had home made cream cheese but no cottage or ricotta cheese so she used it!   D10 was her helper.   He did a lot of the measuring.   They only doubled the recipe, some times we cook extra to freeze and do 4 times.  How many 11 yo's would make Lasagna?  Two pan fulls and it is all gone!  I would say it was good!  

I think of the life skills that assigning each child a night to not only prepare the meal, but plan it and make sure that we have everything to cook it teaches.   They are not cooking out of boxes, but from scratch most of the time.   All of them are great cooks.  They will make someone a great spouse!   Each of them has an area they are best at.  MJ is probably my best bread maker.  Probably because he measures the most careful.   MN is a wonderful baker.  T is my best throw it on the table and feed a crowd cooker.  D12 is a good meal cook and does good bread too.   D10 will get there! 

Remember that at our house making bread starts with grinding the wheat for the flour.  :) 

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