Cooking Lessons

One of the blessings that comes from having a "second set" of kids is that you get the opportunity to learn from the mistakes you made with the "first set" and apply those lessons to the "second set".  When our older kids were little, I was obviously much younger, was working my tail off with ridiculously long hours at work in the Navy, and my patience was thin to say the least.  I used to do my best to put a hot meal on the table at least five nights a week, no matter how late I worked.  The other two nights we would normally eat out or just make do with leftovers.  I cruised through life thinking I was doing all right with this routine, and then the older kids grew up.  Two have left the nest and are on their own, and one even has a child of her own.  And guess what?  None of the three of them can cook.  That is absolutely shameful considering how much time I spent in the kitchen when they were kids.  I look back at my childhood and how early in life I learned to cook, but I also remember wanting to learn and enjoying it.  I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my Mom, and I loved Home Economics at school.  I couldn't wait to come home and recreate those gross Barbeque Cups I learned to make at school.  And my Mom was great about choking down the Barbeque Cups with a smile on her face every time.   None of my children have ever showed a drop of interest in what I was doing in the kitchen, and the frequently asked question "Who wants to help me cook dinner?" would always be answered by the sound of crickets.  I never pushed them, and I never forced them. Who wants a funky kid in the kitchen?  Not me!!!  But I certainly didn't do them any favors, because now none of them can cook.  I have no idea what sustains Jamaal everyday, but considering he weighs north of 300 pounds I'm pretty sure he's eating something.  Clearly if he can't cook, he's eating processed and unhealthy fast food daily, which gives me nightmares.  He's extremely overweight and I worry sick about his health.  Joneya has a baby to feed, I worry about what food she's feeding him everyday, as well as what she's feeding herself since she needs to be healthy to raise her son.  Shandi still lives at home, so I know what she eats, and it's not pretty.  Taco Bell and ramen.  Ugh.  And this is one of those child rearing lessons that I messed up with the "first set" but get to fix with the "second set".

Justice and Jackson will learn to cook.  They don't have to be happy about it, but they will learn.  And I'm not talking about learning how to make box mac and cheese and hamburger helper, I'm talking about the mechanics of real cooking.  And they will learn young.  I do not want to have Mom nightmares about what her Mormon Missionary is eating after he has clocked 100 miles on his bike on any given day, and if either of them meet and marry a woman that can't cook or if they choose not to marry at all, then at least they will know how to feed  their family and themselves properly.  

Luckily for me, Jackson has already showed an interest in helping me cook, and I let him help everyday.  He hops up on the counter and I grit my teeth and let him measure all the ingredients and stir whatever is in the bowl or pot.  I try and act like it's the coolest thing ever, and then when we eat it I make sure I tell everyone that he made it.  So far, so good.  Justice does not share his enthusiasm.  He is smart enough though to have a rational conversation with, so when I said "you have to learn how to cook" and explained the reasons why, he  accepted the challenge.  Not happily, but he accepted it.  So on Sunday, when I said "Let's go cook dinner", he half-heartedly trudged into the kitchen like the good son he is and we set to work.  

I decided that we would start by cooking Sunday dinner together, and I would let him choose the meal.  I figured if he was cooking food he liked, he might enjoy it more.  For his first meal he chose Barbeque Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Broccoli.  

First, he got to clean and skin the chicken.  He had no idea that most of the fat from the chicken comes from the skin.  Good lesson, something I would have taken for granted he would have known.

Look at his face!

He chose easy side dishes, so dinner was actually really easy to prepare.  He wanted slices of sweet potatoes with brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans, and broccoli for the mandated vegetable.  Cooking a veggie is easy in our house, it's always a naked fresh veggie, steamed for a quick minute in the microwave with no seasoning or fat.  Gross, you say?  Yes, I know.  No salt shakers on the table either.  I have had high blood pressure in the past, and fortunately I don't suffer from it anymore.  In a continued effort to keep myself off of the high blood pressure meds, everyone gets to suffer with me.  

I ended up putting this dish in the oven, he's not quite tall enough to reach the top oven.  That's fine with me, I'm sure nothing would make him hate cooking more than burning all the skin off his forearms on his first go-round.

You may be wondering how Jack managed to stay out of all these pictures?  Normally he is directly underfoot or sitting on the counter while I'm in the kitchen, but he also has his own nightly chore.  He is responsible for setting the table for meals.  I put a stack of plates, utensils and napkins in the middle of the table and he sets everybody's place for them.  Sort of.  He's getting better.  

Ta-da!!!!!  He does look pretty pleased with himself, which means he will be more receptive to doing it again... I hope!

And I don't think I need to mention that he thought it tasted great...Pictures speak louder than words.

We will work on table manners next...

And, because no cooking lesson is complete without cleaning up, he got to do all the dishes and clean up the kitchen.  He didn't complain nearly as much as I thought he would.

I would definitely say our first lesson was a success.  I know they won't always be that way, but I'm going to hang in there with it, and so is he whether he likes it or not.  If you are reading this and you have small kids, learn from my mistakes and teach your kids to cook!  They will be healthier later in life and will be glad you did it.  Eventually... :)