A member of Dani's geek squad slept over Saturday night. I am all over fall foods. Soups, pumpkin and apple based foods, all of it. So I made this really hearty dinner before they went to the movies, and Dani's geek was shocked. "My mom just makes kid food. Like pizza or McDonald's or chicken nuggets or mac & cheese. Why do you cook like this? You don't have parents - you could eat good foods every night!"
I just told her we like eating like this. Pizza's great and everything, but if I eat crap too much it starts feeling like scurvy will come kill us. The geek shook her head. "But aren't you scared to cook? There are so many ways to do it wrong and screw up." Isn't that how you learn? By figuring out what went wrong and trying again differently next time? Sure if you screwed up so badly the food was inedible and it had to be thrown out that would be awful. But you just look up a few ways to make something and cobble the recipes together and it always comes out great, if not at least decently.
When Dani and her geek came back from the movies, Dani asked me if they could make pumpkin bread. Josh and I were playing cards while watching tv, and listened to the geek asking Danielle at every step in the recipe if it was right, if she was sure of what she was doing. After a while Josh kicked me, because we could hear Danielle getting annoyed. It's not rocket science to bake bread. Of course it came out good. This morning, I cut the leftover bread in half, and sent the geek home with some. She was outrageously excited to take home something she'd made and show it off.
I just told her we like eating like this. Pizza's great and everything, but if I eat crap too much it starts feeling like scurvy will come kill us. The geek shook her head. "But aren't you scared to cook? There are so many ways to do it wrong and screw up." Isn't that how you learn? By figuring out what went wrong and trying again differently next time? Sure if you screwed up so badly the food was inedible and it had to be thrown out that would be awful. But you just look up a few ways to make something and cobble the recipes together and it always comes out great, if not at least decently.
When Dani and her geek came back from the movies, Dani asked me if they could make pumpkin bread. Josh and I were playing cards while watching tv, and listened to the geek asking Danielle at every step in the recipe if it was right, if she was sure of what she was doing. After a while Josh kicked me, because we could hear Danielle getting annoyed. It's not rocket science to bake bread. Of course it came out good. This morning, I cut the leftover bread in half, and sent the geek home with some. She was outrageously excited to take home something she'd made and show it off.
2 comments:
I've been reading for a while, but not commenting- but this, Sam, I really think is one of the best gifts your mom gave you guys. Not only knowing how to cook, but getting over being afraid of it, and WANTING to put healthy food into your bodies. And now you're sharing it! It feels good to read it.
Good for you! Maybe you just changed her life. So sad, that that's how she thinks about food and cooking and kitchens...
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