After my husband initiated a heap of outdoor, boy-projects for the kids, I really felt that I was missing out on connecting with my sons.

I read somewhere that by the age of 9, children should be able to prepare a meal for the whole family. Now I LIKE THAT IDEA. I like the idea of raising young men who can cook a 3 course meal by the age of 17.

So. I have set up a once-a-week session where I help my 5.5 year old son make dinner for the family. A meal of his choice.

Tonight he chose homemade hamburgers.

Beef Hamburger Patties

500g lean mince beef
1 medium brown onion, chopped
1 tablespoon of parsley
1 egg
1 tablespoon of plain flour
1 tablespoon of Worchester Sauce
salt and pepper

1. Use a food processor to chop onion, parsley and 1/3 portion of beef.
2. Throw processed mixture into a bowl, add rest of beef, egg, flour, sauce, good seasoning of salt and pepper.
3. Mush it up and mix well with your hands and fingers!
4. Divide mixture into 6 balls.
5. Cut out large squares of baking paper and press beef balls into patties, about 1.5 cm thick.
6. Wrap it up in cling wrap and put in fridge for 30 minutes.

7. Fry on a lightly oiled pan for a few minutes, until cooked.
8. Assemble hamburger!

Hamburger Makings

Round hamburger buns
Lettuce (from my garden!)
Tomatoes
Sliced onions
Avocado
Grated tasty cheese

My son did really well throughout the whole preparation and cooking process. He plucked and washed the lettuce. Cut up the avocado. Grated the cheese. Buttered the buns. He even fried the patties quite well.

I treated the whole session like I was just helping him out. So I didn’t have that tense STRESSFUL build up of patience and frustration inside me. It was more like I was trusting his ability and allowing him to grow up. I showed him how to do something, showed him how it might go wrong, give him a few safety tips, and just LET HIM DO IT.

As he was frying the patties. I was laughing to myself, thinking – You’d better get used to this buddy, when you’re 15, you’ll be flipping burgers to earn your pocket money.

They turned out really well! They were yummy and healthy!

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