Start of a new project inspired by the movie 'Julie and Julia'

My younger son is staying at home for a year and he loves to cook! And I love to cook when there is someone around to cook for. So for this year, we are going to merge our passion for food in the kitchen and get to know each other better. I think! I hope! The problem I have is trying to think up what to cook every day, and worse still, what ingredients to buy for the week ahead.

Last year my BFF, Madelie (who is an award winning romance writer - I had to get that in - so nice to see people becoming famous) came and spent a long weekend with me to celebrate her birthday. On her journey down, she found an Ideas Magazine Special Issue at the Johannesburg International Airport that has recipes for every weekday for five weeks of every month for all twelve months of the year! Halleluya! An external brain to ensure domestic culinary variety!

Being single and on my own at home, I was not in the least moved to do much with the magazine other than glance through it occasionally if I was going to cook something new up for the boys (I have two) when they came home from varsity for the weekend or vac. But mostly my three cheese MacCheese was requested among some other old favorites, so the scope of my culinary skills have not been expanded. But now, with Son at home and studying a challenging course, and needing highly nourishing meals because he is active on the sports grounds, I am moved to expand my horizons and not cook any dish twice throughout the year. To this end I am going to follow the Ideas Magazine special issue religiously. Son is tolerant of the idea and is a keen helper in the kitchen, so I am sure that this will also be an experience for him that will stand him in good stead as he heads out into the world from next year onwards and has to cook for himself. It is also while we cook together that we share our thoughts and philosophies!