A slight change of direction….adventures of a Teenage Cook

I initially created this blog as part of my MIS studies, as I was required to blog on library related things as part of that. Now that that’s (mostly) completed, it’s time to change the focus of this blog.

As the family definition of “manavellins” is a meal cooked from whatever leftovers are around, I thought the title remained appropriate, so I’ve kept it.

I’m going to be using this as a way to record (and share) the meals my son is preparing whilst working towards his Gold Duke of Edinburgh award – he’s using Cookery for the ‘skills’ part of this, so will be doing at least one meal a week for several months. This is a win / win situation as he gains a heap of skills he can use when he leaves home, and I get one night a week I don’t have to cook! This means there will be approx. one posting a week, covering the meals prepared by him.

I thought a blog on this subject could be useful in several ways:

1) To document the meals he’s cooked, so his assessor can see what he’s done, and sign it all off at the end.

2) As a place to record and share the recipes he’s used – so others can try them if they want.

3) As a way to record my thoughts on the process – to help anyone else encouraging their kids to cook.  and finally;

4) It will get me writing again on a regular basis (something I'm not as good at as I should be!)

I’m going to start him off on cooking relatively basic meals, building things up as he gains skills and confidence.   I’m also going to be focussing on things I know he likes. Later on, he can choose what's on the menu, as long as it involves him learning something new.

I use a mix of old and new recipes, so some of the quantities will be metric, others in ounces and pints – I don’t promise to be consistent!

 If you need to convert measurements:

1 oz = 25g (near enough)
1 lb = 450g (approx.)
1 pint is 20 fluid ounces, 2 ½ American cups, or 600ml.

 I hope you enjoy this journey with us - please add comments of things you think he should cook, and any suggestions that would make this blog more useful to others.