My mum couldn't cook, hubby taught her how to cook a steak, up to then we had endured steak so over cooked it resembled leather where you could pull the fibres out.
Mum would chase us out of the kitchen. It's small, she hates cooking, only eats cause she has to, so never taught us how.
So I started adult life unable to boil an egg, I couldn't make coffee or tea (was told to never touch the hot jug). I could make 2 minute noodles, and toast, but that was about it. We never had fast food, but it was always over grilled meat, mashed potatoes, boiled frozen veges, occasionally a salad. Lunch was bread with honey, Vegemite, jam or peanut butter. Breakfast was weet-bix, on and toast. Very predictable.
Our first house we had a boarder, and he loved to cook. I would sit at the counter, glass of wine in hand, and watch him. I never offered to help, I had been chased out of the kitchen so often by then that I thought cooking was a solo occupation. But I did start to pick up a few things watching him. Even if one of my first early attempts did result in the arrival of the fire brigade.
Hubby did most of the cooking, and what a wonderful cook he was/is (though a little out of practise now). He cooked all through Sydney, and most of London until I got sick, and found cooking to be quite healing. At first I had to follow a recipe to the letter. If I didn't have an ingredient then I could not too that recipe, even if it was something simple like salt. Now I know how to substitute, and I am getting better at making things up from scratch and throwing whatever into the pot.
Little miss and little buddy keep wanting to help me on the kitchen. They want to stir the pot, and add the ingredients etc. is 2 1/2 and 3 3/4 to young to be starting? I'm so worried about them burning themselves, or cutting themselves, but they do somehow seem to understand the risks, but then they are only preschoolers and fly off on a whim. But I really don't want them growing up like i did not understanding what or how. I'm trying to break the cycle. I'm trying to teach them where food comes from. What did it look like before it arrived in our house. They know that half a cow is going to be in our freezer soon, but I think they will be a little surprised to see it in plastic all chopped up, and not looking like a cow.
I might not tell them though just yet that they fed it a bottle of milk as a calf.
When we went to Tunisia we shared a dinner table with a couple who had a NINE WEEK menu 
Yep, they'd sat down and listed every meal they liked, and made a plan, and they jolly well stuck to it 
Kids need/crave attention from parents who don't seem able to exist without their mobile phones/FB/Twitter whatever. It makes me sad and angry at the same time. 
