Shrimp and veggie fried Rice. I own and use a wok.

I really enjoy cooking.  It’s perhaps my favorite of all domestic  duties.  I enjoy the creatve side of it and I love the response that can be illicited from serving a tasty homecooked meal.   For the most part I think I am a good cook, sometimes I am my toughest critic and I ofen require a second set  of tastebuds to verify that my latest masterpiece is indeed a viable option for satisfying a robust appetite.  Everything isn’t always perfect but I am confident that I can prepare one or two or ten  decent meals.

Greens. Pretty good for a girl from Jamaica.

As hard as I am on myself,  my sons  who will be 8 and 6 on December 29 and December 30, respectively are the WORST.  They are giving me  cooking  low self esteem.  Our conversations at dinner and or lunch sound like “Just try it.”    “No, I don’t want it.”      “Just give it a chance, if you don’t like it you don’t have to eat it.”  “I already tried it, I don’t want it. Can I have some cereal?”   Or  “What’s this green stuff?”    “It’s seasoning.”   “Can you take it off my plate mommy?”  Exasperated I say “No, move it to the side of your plate” and depending on the day I may oblige and make a grilled cheese sandwich but only for the soon-to-be six year old because the soon-to-be eight year old hates bread and will only eat cheese on pizza or if it’s hidden in scrambled eggs or an omelet.  

Chicken Lasagna. Thanks cousin Mich for the recipe.

I’ve consulted with friends who reassure me, “They are young, they don’t  know anything.”    But  to his credit the almost eight year old is a better eater than his younger sibling so when he says “Mommy your food is good”, I believe him and when both of them agree that I’ve done particularly welll in the kitchen despite  preparing a meal sans macaroni and cheese  or rice and green peas I feel accomplished.  Then, I get motivated to try again.  But in the meantime I cant cook for them , I cook for me and hopefully somewhere in that process I will expand their little tastebuds.