My youngest child Georgina does not like to cook. She thinks it's a waste of time. She thinks she has more important things to do with her time. If she needs food, she'd rather blitz something in the blender and chug it down. We have enough chia seeds, maca, acai berries, Udo oil and stuff like that in our kitchen to open a health food store. Optimum nutrition, she calls it.
Me, I come from the school of old-fashioned parenting. My Ma who asked very little of me, insisted that I spend time in the kitchen when I was growing up. That, rather than studying for exams. "I don't care, Jac, even if you become the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, you are still a woman, a wife and a mother first and foremost."
I rebelled (of course) but took on board her indoctrination. In time, I began to love cooking. "You can't teach someone how to cook, you've got to teach people how to love domesticity and to have the desire to nurture others and build a home," my Ma said when I told her I wanted to run a cooking course years ago. "It's not just about putting ingredients together."
A couple of days ago, I made this flourless, sugar-free pancakes which went down a treat with my family:
Last night, my undomesticated child asked, "Mum, can you make me more of those pancakes, please?"
I told her that the batter was in the refrigerator. She could easily make some for herself. This was her result:
The first pancake was burnt because she put the pancake pan on too high a heat (typical of her, rush rush rush). She tried again. Her logic: cook for a shorter time. The result: the second pancake was not burnt, it actually looked nice on the outside, but it was sticky and uncooked on the inside. it never occurred to her to turn the heat down, because turning heat down would imply more time to cook, more time in the kitchen, more time doing something she does not enjoy.
Her pancakes made me think: this is just like parenting! As parents, we are given raw batter when we have children. Notwithstanding fatal diseases and accidents, we end up with a pancake after 18 years when the child grows into an adult. What sort of pancake you get depends on what you do in the 18 years. Thus, I strongly believe that slow-parenting with a deep love for the path produces the best result.
This is Georgina's latest attempt, once she realises that you can't hurry life if you want to bring out its full flavour :-)
You can browse my cookbook, inspired by my mother-in-law, here.