Kids Dish

I first “met” Sharyn Lilley (AKA Eneit) on the HarperCollins Voyager forums, known to its loyal denizens as the Purple Zone, and have since continued our online acquaintance through reading her Livejournal. I’m very pleased she’s added her voice to this interview series - as you’ll see, she’s a Mum with a capital M!

KidsDish: Sharyn, tell us a little about yourself.

Sharyn: I’m a forty year old musician, mother and author. I’m learning about editing an anthology by being thrown in at the deep end, and that tends to be how I’ve lived my life - the first fruit cake I ever made was a two tiered, royal iced wedding cake.

I have a deep abiding passion for the high country, and the Rutherglen and King Valley wine and food regions, my childhood home being somewhere between these areas.

I can’t remember not reading, and the 600 odd page novel, Papillion, read in my teenage years, stands out in my memory solely because until I read it I had never before read a book where they mentioned people going to the toilet. Immediately after that I read Go Ask Alice. After which I decided I prefered to not know quite so much detail about toilets.

KidsDish: So how many kids do you have, and what ages?

Sharyn: I have 6 children, although next May that will change to 7. From the eldest down their ages are: 20 (son); 19 (daughter); 17 (son); 14 (daughter); 27 months (son); 8 months (son).

KidsDish: How much influence do you have over the food your kids eat?

Sharyn: The 20 year old is in the army, and the 19 year old is living away from home - so my influence over the choices are limited to what I managed to beat into … I mean - teach them, when they were younger. Which, apparently, was considerably more than I realized at the time. The 17 year old and the 14 year old are allowed certain choices; I’m not going to stress over them not having a lunchtime sandwich provided they have had a healthy breakfast, fruit during the day and eat a good tea. There’s far too many other issues you can argue with teenagers over, I don’t consider a peanut butter sandwich one of them *g* The younger boys, well, totally in so far as I regulate when they eat and what they are offered - but the 2 year old gets to choose his sandwich toppings (usually from a choice of two, that I have selected, never the same two in a row)

KidsDish: What are their favourite foods?

Sharyn: 20 y.o. - homemade lasagne; 19 y.o. broccoli and cheese sauce (apparently every meal needs to be served with this side dish, if I’m cooking *g*) but her favouite to make is homemade chicken schnitzels; my 17 y.o wants to be a chef, and his favourite meals are incredibly varied, but if I’m cooking he likes roast beef; my 14 y.o. loves lemon roast chicken and homemade wedges; the 2 y.o. loves yoghurt, pumpkin soup, chicken and corn soup, spaghetti bolognese, sausages, chicken casserole and cornflakes; the 8 month old is showing a liking for stewed apples and rice cereal.

KidsDish: I’m impressed that you remember all that! I suppose you’d get into trouble if you didn’t… Do you have trouble getting them to eat healthy food, like fruit and vegetables? What methods have you developed to encourage your kids towards healthy food?

Sharyn: I didn’t have a lot of money to buy treats very often when my older children were babies, so I got into the habit of taking individual containers of cut fruit and sandwiches with me when we went out. I realized, quite by accident, that this was a good thing to do when at a Playgroup association party, my toddlers were quietly eating up their apple and banana pieces while all the other kids were fighting over the plates of lollies on the tables. So I continued. Even when I have the money, chips and are a treat, not an everyday item; McDonalds was for holidays (this doesn’t yet apply to the younger ones) and kids, if you want cakes and biscuits you can help make them, and help clean up afterwards.

Sharyn: When I had the eldest four bring friends home after school I used to supply a huge plastic platter filled with wedges of watermelons, orange segments, apple rings, banana slices, celery boats, fairy bread and chips. This looked hugely impressive - but in reality equated to one thick slice of watermelon, two oranges, two aples, two bananas, three sticks of celery, four slices of bread and two of the lunchbox size packets of chips. The kids all thought they were having a party (especially if I used food colouring to turn each their drinks different colours) Their birthday parties had similar platters, with the addition of chocolate crackles and birthday cake *g*

KidsDish: That’s a great idea, I’ll have to remember that one! Do you enjoy cooking for your family? What are some of your favourite things to prepare?

Sharyn: I love cooking. I read cookbooks, usually for inspiration the way some people read novels. I rarely make a recipe absolutely to the book after the first time I’ve made it. For large parties, I like pasta dishes - make ahead, and reheat *g* For family gatherings, roasts in winter, cold meats and their favourite salads in summer. During the week, everyday meals are often “experimented” with.

KidsDish: What’s your breakfast routine?

Sharyn: Adults and teenagers fend for themselves; feed the babies as much as they need help with. *g*

KidsDish: Do any of your kids cook, or prepare food? If so, what sort of
food can they prepare?

Sharyn: My older four are all capable of preparing a range of full meals. The 14 y.o. is a little overshadowed by her brother’s efforts, so she tends to stick to making biscuits and cakes, and helping me (ok - potato peeling is usually done only under duress *g* but she likes making marinades) The 17 y.o. had to make a three course roast meal for his major 2nd semester Year 10 Food Technology assignment, here at home. This included a dessert of chocolate truffle cake roloude. The filling was kahlua flavoured whipped cream, and the finish was a bittersweet dark chocolate ganache - does this child know of his mother’s chocoholism or what?

KidsDish: Do you ever feel guilty about what you feed your kids?

Sharyn: No.

KidsDish: What’s your favourite vegetable?

Sharyn: Potato. So damn versatile!

KidsDish: Thanks so much for taking part in this interview!

Sharyn: You’re very welcome.