Okay so no-one from spain would probably recognise this but Zeph is crazily pleased with his take on paella. Actually, so am I since he managed most of it himself and it was really tasty. The only thing we bought specially was the mixed seafood pack as the rest was hanging around in the freezer and cupboards. Another reason it wasn’t exactly authentic.
The funniest thing was the speed him and Ida disposed of the mussels. They were either side of me at the table and it was like dining between a pair of ravenous sea otters.
Don’t get me wrong, Zeph is as fond of fast junk food as any other eight year old boy. Recently during a seasonal bedroom clearance I found a stack of those junky menus that come through the door. Apparently he likes to look at them and imagine ordering burger deals. (I was slightly disturbed and had a flash forward to future teenage conversations – gah!)
Ida can be as picky as any other toddler. I read somewhere that it’s a survival instinct to stick to what you know while foraging and that you have to serve a new food item fifty times before they’ll accept it. On the whole though they’re a pleasure to cook for and eat with. Zeph will usually give anything new a try and gets genuinely excited at the idea of cooking something.
I read this really interesting post recently on WHAM BAM! – like Tasha I’ve never made a face out of food. I don’t really think I need to make food look like something else, just its delicious self. Also – I’m too lazy… I also like to cook with the kids but getting them to join in with actual dinner preparation as opposed to a lot of fairy cakes. I mean they’re always a hit but so is peeling garlic,chopping up mushrooms for stir-frys and stirring the white sauce for lasagne. (All jobs I hate.)
Now if I could just get Zeph as interested in washing up as Ida is.
dichotomyof 
hmm….. maybe the boys can get together and order junk food!!
ha! he’d be there in a flash!
I need to involve them in cooking more again. Rosemary used to join in quite often, but I avoid it these days, because it’s easier if she plays with Eleanor while I cook.
So true – it is aways quicker without the help 🙂 I had a real glimmer of hope with this cooking though as at 8yrs old Zeph really did most of the actual cooking with intructions from me over my shoulder as I washed up and did other stuff. Ida was being distracted by Steve – I suspect things would have been very different with her help.