Teen can have her cake, and make it too

It’s a good thing I’m on the ever-popular see-food diet since my teen has been cooking up a storm these past two weeks.

Not in my kitchen, of course. Any mom who is a cook and worth her salt knows that the kitchen is the only place where she reigns supreme. Never mind that she, and hubby, work night and day to pay the mortgage and all the assorted bills that keep the home and three kids running on all burners.

But teen being typical teen is always on the quest to usurp my rightful place in the kitchen. She wants to show off her culinary skills while I want her to show off her dish-washing skills.

Still, when teen announced she wanted to take culinary classes at the district’s expense for two weeks, I figured she was one smart cookie. It was her ploy to worm her way into my territory, but, at least, I didn’t have to pay for the class.

The first day at school, teen got her hands rolling in dough and brought home a tray of cinnamon rolls. Just the sight of those sweet streets had mom and the younger two kids salivating. The next day, she came home with even more goodies. Chocolate chip muffins and chocolate chip cookies. As I savored the soft and chewy cookies, I wondered out loud why mine were always dry and crumbly. And I have many more years of experience in the kitchen.

“Jealous, huh?” said teen sweetly.

Petty jealousies aside, we were in sugar heaven. And like Pavlov’s dogs, we were anticipating our next day’s treats.

Now that teen had proved herself and risen to the occasion, I asked her, “So, when are you going to bring us home some real meals?” Feeding three kids breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks during summer vacation is no easy task. And what good mom would feed her kids sugar for all three meals and snacks. So, it was about time for teen to be a real cook and learn to whip up some real meals. Plus, shouldn’t teen be learning to cook from the bottom of the food pyramid and not at the top, which would only add fuel to the rising epidemic of childhood obesity.

Teen must have relayed my message to her teacher, because the next day the class got their hands rolling in dough again to make the all-American dish, pizza. The day after she brought home penne pasta with, um, vodka sauce, which teen couldn’t really stomach (see my previous post on teen’s sobering thoughts on alcohol use). Teen also learned how to whip up a Monte Cristo sandwich, macaroni salad and a tray of Philly cheese steak mac and cheese. For two weeks we have been a well-fed family.

I’ve allowed teen to sign up for fall cooking classes and I hope this won’t turn out to be a recipe for disaster. But should she consider applying her classroom skills to real life, I’ll be more than happy to let her be the kitchen queen for a day or two, but she still has to do the dishes.