It has been a long time since I have talked about cooking. It is one of those things that I do most nights but don’t plan well enough to take pictures during the stages. Consequently the meal comes and goes and I don’t end up talking about it.

My son came up with idea that we would pick a theme and he would do part of the meal and I would do the other. We picked Thursday because it is one of the few nights of the week that we didn’t have an evening commitment (at the time). One of the reasons I really like the idea is that this is something we can bond over. I don’t have a lot of interest in video games or silly YouTube videos but we talk, plan, shop and cook together.

The first time we did this, we chose German. I made sauerbraten and fried cabbage and mashed potatoes and Aaron made strudel. I think that it was a big hit so we decided to do it again.

Aaron is vegan/vegetarian, depending on the month and so he tends to focus on the dessert. I work on the main courses. We choose Greek for some reason. This was supposed to happen two weeks ago, but when we came down with Covid, it got sidelined until we could dedicate the appropriate attention.

Here, I made the lamb meatballs, the orzo and the cucumber salad. He made the bread. He also made the Baklava.

Next week we have chosen Vietnamese likely followed by Indian. I haven’t decided on the my part of the menu yet. I like a good challenge so I am up for picking a direction and heading there. Maybe I will incorporate this into a weekly segment as well, it is something more than pictures of 2x4s and survival kits. Certainly food needs to have a higher profile than what it has gotten in the last year.

End Your Programming Routine: I struggle a little bit with both relating to my kids and supporting Aaron’s interest in baking because of the mess and the risks he takes without the skills. But, I think back to how bad of a cook that I was when I was his age and I need to let them try so that they will be able to have the skills when they get older. This seems like a low risk high, reward way to build our relationship and we have to do it anyway.