My two wonderful boys

While popping tonight's dinner in the oven - beef silverside stew with onions, carrots and mushrooms, which has been filling the whole house with the most wonderful aromas all afternoon, I thought of what Sebastian, my soon to be 18 year old, often says: The thing he looks forward to most all day is coming home for dinner.  He says he thinks about it from the moment he gets up, wondering what I'll be cooking.

It's lovely to know that the effort you're making will be so appreciated!

I'm very lucky with both my boys.  They both love food; while Sebastian's interests definitely lie in eating it, Blaise, his 19 year old brother, is equally interested in cooking it.

This is his 2nd year at uni and since he moved into a proper house this year with 3 friends, he has become quite a proficient cook.  He often prepares a roast dinner at the weekends, makes cakes for birthdays, concocts various fusion dishes and hand-crafts wonderful chocolate truffles, which he rustles up as a gift if going to someone's house (he also makes a mean margarita!).

While his friends imbibe their student loans down the pub, Blaise is to be found in M&S, seizing up the deals and planning the next menu.

I fear that Sebastian is relying on finding a mother substitute when he goes to uni this September - a good old fashioned girl who'll take pity on him and feed him, but I wonder if such girls exist anymore?