Duncan and I baked Toll House Cookies yesterday. It felt like the quintessential Mom thing to do. He couldn't do much except pour ingredients into the mixing bowl and eat the product, but it was a worthwhile venture. The cookies got me thinking, though. Bear with me. I know some of you will be thinking "they're only cookies," but the project struck a chord in me.
I think this generation may come dangerously close to not knowing where any of the food they eat comes from. I had a friend in college who did not know that mashed potatoes were made from potatoes. She HONESTLY believed they came from a box, because that was how her parents had always made them. That was in the '80's. Now, we reached such an age of convenience foods and convenience products that I have students who think "baking cookies" means spooning cookie dough out of a tub purchased already mixed. The checkers at the grocery store inevitably have to look up some piece of produce I'm purchasing, and we don't buy anything THAT exotic. The herbs really throw them off. I already know it's a little peculiar that I like to feed my child a fairly balanced diet and keep him away from prepackaged foods full of chemicals as much as possible. No, we're not feeding him organic as I know we should, but we're generally not feeding him pre-made garbage with the nutrients sucked out either. The boy knows the value of a piece of fruit and a raw carrot. So, ironically, the cookies led me to renew my interest in growing some vegetables. I know it's a little late in the summer to do much, but I want Duncan to see that vegetables grow in the ground and that we can grow them and eat them. It sounds simple, but I think it's an invaluable lesson. Not only does Mama possess the magical ability to bake cookies, but we can also grow some tomatoes and basil and eat them for dinner. I'll let you know how it goes.
The cookies, by the way, were darned good.
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