A meal on their own

The weekend before last, good friends came to church and then lunch with us, and the boys helped out brilliantly, each one cooking or baking part of the meal. They weren't too keen at first, having other things to do, but we chatted about how you can cook for two reasons, the first being because you feel like it, and the second being because someone needs to eat! Both are good reasons...They took that on board, and got a lot of satisfaction from serving their food and having it appreciated. Having done that, they decided they should go on to the next step, and cook a meal together on their own. Help! They closeted themselves in their room on Friday night with the Round the World cookbook, which they then took to the supermarket on Saturday, coming home with a few items in carrier bags and (thankfully) quite a lot of change. I don't have any photos of what happened in the kitchen, because, remember, I wasn't there...

Son 1, who is 12, was determined to do the whole thing on his own, and he succeeded. He produced Janssen's Temptation, a Swedish dish of layered potatoes, onions and anchovies. He waved at me cheefully from the kitchen window as I went past with a wheelbarrow load of compost - things were looking good! He later appeared out of doors both grinning and weeping, complaining cheerfully about the onions before dashing back into the kitchen to finish chopping them. He returned for a quick consultation about frying with butter, which was a wise thing to check on, and completed the rest on his own. The final result was delicious!

Son 2 felt he really should have me around as he made his Lamingtons (from Australia, as seen by me on Beck's authentic Australian blog!) I sat outside the kitchen feeling a bit edgy and reading a book, as he got on with it and just called out the occasional question. The mixture frankly looked disastrous until he added the flour, but it all came out perfectly, and I learned where the gaps in his knowledge are, by leaving him to it. I think I've tended to line baking trays for them in the past, because it's more fun for them to do the weighing. However, it's pretty clear that they can do it all themselves.

He did half without coconut, because neither he nor his brother like it - can you believe that? But what a successful meal. We are really impressed with the boys.

I know I'm meant to be tag and award free, (see my resolutions), but Bad Penny, who has two lovely blogs (The Linen Shelf, which is the arty one, and The Hen House, which is the chatty one), has made an award and given it to me among ten others. I am really delighted and grateful, Penny. Thanks!