Teenage Daughter!!!!

[Rosendula]

OK, she's not really in the pot, but she very nearly was!

For the last few days she's been asking for Spaghetti Bolognaise with bread and garlic butter, so I told her I would cook it for her tonight. Not having some of the necessary ingredients, I got on my bicycle and biked about a mile to the nearest cash machine, then a bit further up the road to the butcher's to buy the meat. Well, the butcher doesn't sell free-range eggs, only barn eggs, so I then cycled a couple of miles in another direction to go the fruit shop for my 'proper' eggs before cycling home. Phew.

By then, the bread, which I started making last night and done more on this morning was nice and big, so went in the oven. I then had a bash at making my own sausagemeat, made some pastry and made some sausage rolls for lunch. Not really applicable to the story, but you see how busy I've been?

While the bread was baking I made the pasta dough and put it in the fridge ready for later. Made the garlic butter (the butter was home-made a couple of days ago, so I just pounded in some garlic and herbs).

Quick cup of coffee much needed and consumed rather quickly at this point.

I then realised that it would be a real shame to open a tin of custard to go with the remainder of the home-made chocolate cake that OH made yesterday that we are having for today's dessert when everything else is home made, so I set up all the ingredients ready to make my own custard before turning my attention to my bolognaise. Made that and left it simmering away nicely and took out my pasta maker. Getting excited at this point because our most ever home-made meal is just minutes away. There I am, poking the pasta through the machine and making sure the 2.75 year old turns the handle the right way when in walks DD1 with her BF and says "We're off out. We'll be back later." Stifling the scream, I managed to calmly ask, through clenched teeth, "What about your tea?" to which she
SHRUGGED
and said
"Oh, I'll warm it up later" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Her name is BabyChrissy1993, in case any of you didn't realise she's a member of Ish.

[Thomzo]

Yup - pop her in the pot. Best place for her. Teenage casserole for tea!

Cheers
Zoe

(ps. can I have her dinner instead please? It sounds lovely).

[StripyPixieSocks]

See now she's 15... if I did that at 15 my Mom would have turned around and said "oh no you're not going out" and that would have been that, I would have been made to eat my dinner when it was ready or nothing at all.

I don't really get all this separate dinner times malarkey or even separate cooked meals, to me it is one meal at one time or nothing!

I mean I understand it if someone works shifts or whatever but if the family is home the family eats together, none of this "well Ryan won't eat vegetables so he as Chicken Nuggets and chips but then Charlene won't eat chicken to I cook her pizza, Rob won't eat pizza or chicken so I cook him lasagne and then I eat a sandwich at midnight because I' too tired to cook dinner for me and hubby"... NO you put dinner on the table at dinner time, they eat it or go hungry... end of!

*ahem* sorry just something I generally have a bee in my bonnet about, guess it was the way I was brought up!

[Helsbells]

Awww Rosendula!!

It makes me feel so sad to hear that your daughter did not appreciate the hard work you put in because I was just like that as a teenager, so it makes me feel terribly guilty!!

I am sure that she will appreciate you when she is older, as I really appreciate now how hard my mum worked to put fresh food and home cooked meals on the table.

Hang in there!

Helen
x

[Rosendula]

Thanks Zoe, thanks Helen

SPS, I know what you mean. It was like that for me when I was a teenager, too. TBH, she's usually not too bad and we do frequently have meals together. If she's made arrangements to see friends, she usually lets me know way in advance. It was just tonight there was a bit of a misunderstanding. Her BF was having dinner with us, and had told her he was playing football and what time he would be round. Chrissy passed the message on to me, and I don't know if I mis-understood or she passed it on wrong (doesn't matter now), but I got the impression he was playing footy this afternoon, THEN coming here for dinner. What he was really doing was coming here to pick her up, and then going to play football. Just a breakdown in communications really, but I'd put in so much effort for this meal, and felt so proud of myself - not just the making of the meal, but the shopping local at small shops and going there on my bike, too. Ah well. That's life, and so long as she's happy I guess I can let her off. This time!

[Green Aura]

I know events like this can really p*ss you off. but just remember that's she's probably still one of a very small minority of kids who know where food comes from and how it's prepared - the odd missed meal's worth it knowing she'll grow up to cook her own food, not reach for the ready meal and microwave.

I hope that makes sense - i'm being a bit fuzzy at the moment

[StripyPixieSocks]

Thanks Zoe, thanks Helen

SPS, I know what you mean. It was like that for me when I was a teenager, too. TBH, she's usually not too bad and we do frequently have meals together. If she's made arrangements to see friends, she usually lets me know way in advance. It was just tonight there was a bit of a misunderstanding. Her BF was having dinner with us, and had told her he was playing football and what time he would be round. Chrissy passed the message on to me, and I don't know if I mis-understood or she passed it on wrong (doesn't matter now), but I got the impression he was playing footy this afternoon, THEN coming here for dinner. What he was really doing was coming here to pick her up, and then going to play football. Just a breakdown in communications really, but I'd put in so much effort for this meal, and felt so proud of myself - not just the making of the meal, but the shopping local at small shops and going there on my bike, too. Ah well. That's life, and so long as she's happy I guess I can let her off. This time!

Ahhhhh I'd be proud of myself too if I'd have put in as much effort as you did :D

I wasn't having a go at you or her even just a rant in general, I'm sure she'll enjoy and appreciate it when she warms it up later :)

[invisiblepiper]

How big is your pot..............................?
( Can we add a few more teens?)

[The Riff-Raff Element]

But how would we cook her How about a nice fricassé

I've got all this to come

I shall invest in some manacles in the next year or so

Kids! Who'd 'ave 'em! Oh.

[sheena]

I think we've probably all had times where putting our teenagers in the pot would be an easy option;however, just by knowing where the ingredients come from and how to cook them I'm sure that will have a huge impact on her a bit later on in life- when she needs to use that knowledge herself.
The majority of teenagers that I have met don't know that things don't have to arrive in ready meal form and that there are other methods of cooking food other than using the microwave

Keep up the good work and don't lose hope, just continue trying to instill it, it arrives without realisation most of the time, but she will recall everything that you taught her when she needs it most!!

[Loobyloo]

Sounds like dinner was lovely! Well done!

I have to say that as my OH works odd shifts he quite often ends up having his meals reheated later (or often the next day!) and a lot of the time it turns out that whatever I've cooked actually tastes nicer after having been sat 'maturing' for a few hours!

Sometimes I wonder if I should always cook a day ahead ie I cook tonight what i want to eat tomorrow and eat tonight what I cooked yesterday!

[MuddyWitch]

Rosendula,

On the teenage bit; I have a cherished note, written by my younger daughter, when aged 9, appologising in advance for being a teenager! She'd just witnessed a very similar sinario to yours with me & her sister. For the record, my girls are now 22 & 17 & I can therefore tell you that there IS light at the end of the teenage tunnel! (& they can both cook!)

On the cookery front, I heartily agree with Loobyloo, hubby does all the cooking in our house & always makes things like bolognaise the day before and pops it in the 'fridge to mature. It is especially good if you're using cheap mince, 'cos it helps break down the tougher bits.

MW

[Shirley]

Rosendula,

On the teenage bit; I have a cherished note, written by my younger daughter, when aged 9, appologising in advance for being a teenager! She'd just witnessed a very similar sinario to yours with me & her sister.

That's FANTASTIC - how lovely

[rockchick]

I am sooo not looking forward to when mine hit teenagedom! Although, my Mum worked when I was a teenager and if I wanted an early dinner at 15 I think I would have been stood over the pan making the bolognase myself Must have done me good though, when I got to uni my friends were in awe that given onions, garlic and tinned toms I could chuck something really quite tasty together!

[sleepyowl]

Apparantly I was boring as a child/teenager until I hit 15 when I exploded out of the closet quite dramatically but didn't really get too much of a handful after that either the only times I weren't in when dinner was ready was when I was working in the evening.