Dinner in the Savage North

With Zachary on a Gluten-free diet, life continues to be interesting at the dinner table.  So I suggested one night that if he liked complaining about what I cook so much, maybe he should start making dinner once a week.  Colin didn't miss a beat and said, "I will make dinner once a week." That was three weeks ago and he has stuck to his word.

Week one he made tacos for the family.  His adventure was not without a bit of drama.  He went to brown the meat and dropped the entire fry pan on the floor.  After some tears of frustration and a learning moment for mom (my "now what" comment should have been kept to myself because he didn't understand I was thinking about meat substitutes instead of being angry at him), we started again.  I taught him the basics of browning meat and making a reduction with the seasoning.  It wasn't brain surgery, but he learned something.  He learned more than one something that night. The most important something might be that a good cook never gives up (and never tells when they have to pick the meat off the floor and use it anyway).

Week two he made pancakes, from scratch.  This adventure had no ingredients that landed on the floor, but it did have drama.  He had to learn that sometimes you have to stop playing with your friends and stop watching TV in order to get food on the table.  That lesson also produced a few tears of frustration and a dinner that was not served until close to 7 PM. He also learned how to double a recipe, beat eggs, measure flour correctly, and how to cook a perfect pancake.  In addition to pancakes, he served bacon and applesauce because he gets to pick the entire menu for his night himself.  And when Zach started complaining about his applesauce, Colin reminded him how hard he worked on the meal.

The next morning, Molly and Colin had leftover pancakes for breakfast.  It was actually Molly's second breakfast, so she didn't finish her pancakes.  Colin began "Do you know how hard I worked on making those pancakes?  You should not waste them..."  He continued on and all I could think was, he has learned a lot more from his time with me in the kitchen then I realized!

Week three will be french dip sandwiches.  I can't wait to see what we both learn this week.