One of my teenagers is home all summer this year. He’s at the age when playing video games is beginning to lose its appeal, but hanging out at the mall doesn’t beckon yet.

So let’s just say there’s been a whole lot of moping and being bored going on around here.

Fortunately, in the past my son has also expressed an interest in cooking. He made crepes this year as a project for one of his classes, and they turned out to be really incredible. You know how difficult it can be to get crepes just right, especially when you don’t have all the right equipment, which we don’t. But his crepes were perfect - perfectly done, just the right thinness and texture, and the fillings were divine.

With this in mind, today we came up with The Cooking Deal to liven up his summer. He’s agreed to cook one lunch and one dinner each week. He’ll be fully in charge of each meal, from beginning to end. In planning the meals, he has to keep in mind things like costs, and ensuring it’s something that most of us will want to eat (we’re leaving the picky four-year-old out of the deal).

It gives him something to do - we all know how much fun looking through cookbooks, browsing online and reading the food magazines can be. It gets him active - he has to go with me to get his shopping list filled. It gets him in the kitchen, where he can be creative.

I’ll keep you all updated on the results!

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