Baking is for Other People

Unlike, oh, everybody else on the whole world wide web, I am not such a good cook. Not terribly organised or efficient, and I tend to get distracted at completely the wrong moment. I invariably under- or drastically over-cook something at dinner (last night it was limp steamed vegetables). However, I do give myself points for turning up. Every day, come hell or high water, there I am, making something nutritious (not always appreciated by the children. They would prefer a feckless mother who fed them junk food or fish fingers).

And I am also on the turning-on-the-oven-once-to-cook-everything bandwagon again. Yesterday Rosy made brownies, I made apple and rhubarb crumble, and dinner, and banana cake, which I grievously over-cooked, but which still came out flat and rubbery. How does that happen? I think I will skip banana cake in the future, as it is a reliable failure in my kitchen. Except when The Girl makes it. Everything she makes turns out light and fluffy. If you detect a note of sour grapes here, it is because the grapes are definitely sour. How does one person make fluffy cake, and the other not, in the same kitchen with the same recipe? My grandma used to say it is how you hold your mouth. My mouth is a little puckered, what with all the sour grapes...

Still, it is wonderful to have turned out one brilliant and two competent cooks, despite my shortcomings in that direction. The eight year old, like me, prefers other people to cook for her. Lillies of the field, that's what we are!