Chris Gordon is our events and programming manager extraordinaire, as well as our monthly food and gardening columnist. Here is the latest instalment of her self-isolation cooking diary.

As part of the great experiment of having our adult kids cook for us on a regular basis, I would like to share with you some observations…

Please do note that these observations should not be construed as advice. Certainly one of the big lessons I have learned after being in isolation with adult children is that there is simply no place for advice. However, I have seen with my own eyes the astounding effect of simply walking away, popping in some ear plugs, and becoming invisible.

This new technique has resulted in some excellent meals where key ingredients have been displayed with great passion.

Take for example The White Meal. This episode in our nightly meals came from from the belief that learning to roast a chicken is a step forward for independent living. Using excellent guidance from Melbourne cookbook author PJ Booth, my children served up a Greek-inspired meal celebrating both the chicken and potato. A combination of slow-cooked chicken, lemons and potatoes – it paired very well with fries and the contented look in their eyes.

Rivalling this delicious ode to root vegetables, they later produced a wonderfully steamy soup from Meera Sodha’s East. Let’s call it The Off-Green Meal. Cooking a shiitake-based pho with crispy leeks had the added benefit of a life lesson when some eyes were rubbed after slicing chilli… Still, despite lingering pain by one of us, the entire family relished that soup and we all appreciated the restorative power of those green vegetables.

As well as leaving the children to their own methods, my bloke and I have also observed that if we make a cocktail each day, pre-dinner time, pre-viewing of the kitchen chaos, then we are more able to enjoy the end result with a sense of gratitude. To that end we have been steadily working our way through The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook cocktail list, and I have become particularly fond of a Tom Collins (gin-based, can be sippped quite quickly).

A note to our customers…

We have been overwhelmed by the support Readings customers have shown us during this unprecedented crisis, and we are so grateful to be able to continue delivering books and music (and puzzles!) to our readers.

Our staff are working as hard as they can to fulfil your online orders quickly. However, due to our stretched resources, delays from our suppliers, and delays at Australia Post, your items may regretfully take longer than usual to reach you. Click