After my Mom died my oldest sister Yvaine had to learn how to cook when my Grndmother had to go back to Canada. She was about 14 I'm thinking and she followed recipes, she also discovered food coloring.  We would have mint green mashed potatoes or purple bread pudding.  I never figured out why but we ate it because in those days you were not allowed to leave the table until your plate was clean. 2 things that bombed for me was "black bean" soup. Oh it was awful so when she had to leave to answer the doorbell we poured our milk in it to see if it would taste better. By then it was charcoal gray and tasted worse. All 3 of us dumped it down the sink before she came back in the kitchen.  Another time she made a Carraway seed chiffon cake and it had brown sugar boiled icing on it.  The icing was to die for but we were not allowed to have it if we did not eat the cake. To this day if anything has a carraway seed in it or on it I just shudder.  She ended up being a superb cook and raised 3 children but died in 2000.  I cannot imagine what it was like to have to take on the Mother role at that age.  My father started drinking and was often absent and there she was responsible for us and in her early teens. My maternal Grandmother stayed for about 2 years after my Mom died so we were 14 11 8 and 5 when she was forced to take over. Actually it probably made us stronger woman because we worked for everything we did get......Clydene's Blogs remind me of my early days.  She is an excellent writer though.
Jackie