Let's get cooking

This is the first day of my first blog - did I get into this through my work, which is all about how the virtual and real world meet? No, this is driven by a much deeper and rooted passion: cooking. Why do we cook? To please the people we love? Yes! To take care of the kids and other who are entrusted to us? Yes! Because we love eating? Yes! Because we love doing something tangible in an increasingly virtual world? Yes! All of the above.

Whenever I am not working, I am cooking or reading up on cooking and wine. My eclectic group of friends all either love to eat, or also love to cook and appreciate the art of cooking and what it brings into your home. No news so far.

Then my son, who has been a gourmet babe since day one, sitting in a high chair in the kitchen seeing me kill lobsters, make his favourite Popey pasta and more, turned overnight into a teenager. Communication became more difficult and as I have this need to be and feel in touch, this was as hard a time for me as it was for him. I found my escape in cooking - without my usual - Undutch - need to hug and touch - I knew I still had a way into his heart - through the stomach. Yes, yes - he is a man, so no surprise, but the teenage angle is interesting. At this age kids get spoken TO all the time, don't do this, don't do that, sit up straight, pull your trousers up, take your hat off, etc. Before you know it all warmth and the comfort of their home evaporates into thin air.

Cooking, ladies and gentlemen is the answer and here's why:
- they need healthy food, their bodies are raging with growth spurts - make it tasty and they grow like corn in a field
- they don't want to talk to you, so sit down at the table, eat and conversation will happen!
- they think you are so uncool and you don't understand - but they still like your food and hence you!
- they are exposed to all sorts of horrific fast food, spoil their tastebuds so they never like MacDonals again (mine prefers roasted lamb over fast food any day!)
- soon they are off to university and they will eat horrible stuff, for they need the food budget for going out - get the vitamins in while you can!
- a mum or dad who can cook is cool - they will bring all the friends home you were dying to meet and earn browny points in their clan when it's fun and tasty. Peer pressure counts.
- they are at an age when they love to experiment with all sorts of things and substances, make sure a wide variety of vegetables, food, ways of preparation are part of that too and let their opinion count!
- You are at an age when the pounds start to stick a little longer than before, healthy cooking takes calories and you eat better at the same time.
- Try it on your partner, really we all remain kids when it comes to comfort food, so this is also good practice for the father/mother of your child - spoil them with the spoon!

I will blog regularly with recepies for quick and easy, long and elaborate, sports and cut up dinners for kids and.. tips for the chef as well. Important things like, how do you keep beautiful hands that you need during the daytime when all you do is cook, how to get the cooking smell out of your hair 3 minutes before dinner and other things that matter to 'Gooische mothers'.

Here's my first tip

Breakfast for teeanage mums and dads on the run, watchting their weight and needing heaps of energy:

LaDo ginger breakfast booster

1 grapefruit
2 oranges
2 thick slices of fresh pine apple (buy one a week, take the skin off and keep in a sealed container in the fridge)
3-4 cms of fresh ginger - sliced
a handful of (frozen) blackberries


Juice and subsequently put this in a juicer with the fibres of the grapefruit and orange. This will give you two huge glasses of fruit booster, which will keep you happy up to lunch. Do not eat any bread or carbohydrates for about an hour - the result will be better in all directions.

And now off to work....