I’ve watched enough stupid videos online that I thought I would be immune from whatever my kids could conjure up, but I was beyond baffled and wrong this Christmas.
Approaching the house after completing the morning chores, I could smell the fire coming from the pellet stove. It’s one of the many nostalgic experiences that I look forward to each winter. The aromas of the homestead are sensational and justify all the work.
From the warm winter fires to the blackberry cobblers, cakes and desserts, there is nothing that can compare. And each year, we look forward to making some special things. This year, the younger boys were dying to have eggnog.
In the book “Farmer Boy,” Almanzo described a drink that was given to hard-working men. It consisted of whipped egg yolks with some sugar, tempered with milk and cream. The concoction is far more delicious than can be described in words.
Making it from our own eggs and following a simple recipe, we have helped many people fall in love with this classic drink. Unfortunately, most people only experience what is sold in the stores and never get to enjoy the real thing. And more unfortunately, no matter how much we make, there is never enough.
My family knows the difference, and my younger boys were looking forward to eggnog more than anyone else. By the time I took off my boots and walked into the house, I could see them working in the kitchen. They weren’t cleaning, like they were supposed to, but they sure were busy. The raw milk was out, as well as cream, sugar and spices. While I knew they were trying to make eggnog, I couldn’t find the primary ingredient — eggs!
I knew they had collected the morning eggs, but the collection basket was bare. Looking around, it looked more like a winter Easter egg hunt, with eggs scattered here and there throughout the house.
Having as many chickens as we do, we tend to find eggs all over, but nothing like this has ever happened before — at least not in the house. I was intrigued but not amused, to say the least.
As part of our homeschooling, every person must learn to cook. I feel that it gets them started in the right direction. It teaches them how to follow instructions, learn the chemistry of baking and life skills to be independent.
To top it off, learning to cook is simply delicious. Sometimes we hold cooking contests, like they have on television. We experiment and explore the world of gastronomy as a family. Sometimes a new recipe inspires us to grow something new in the garden, or use something we already produce in a new way, like eggnog.
When I asked them what they were doing, I wasn’t prepared for their innocent answer. As proud as I am of our homeschooling and their ability to follow cooking instructions, they were just following the recipe. They were trying to make eggnog, they said. But first they had to separate the eggs.
Looking around the kitchen, I began to make sense of the scattered eggs. They were separating them!
Lmao…you said they were still learning. I hope they got an A on this lesson!