Children's Television

Jason and I, along with most of the rest of the country, have gotten really into a TV show here called MasterChef Australia. It's a reality show, and as such, whittles down a group of amateur chefs to one winner, through a series of incredibly difficult/crazy culinary challenges. We never watch cooking shows, and neither of us are all that great at cooking. But this show is super-entertaining to watch. One of the reasons I like it so much is that it doesn't focus on drama between contestants or mean-spiritedness. It's just like, "Y'all here's some sheep's brains, beetroot, and a tub of cream cheese. Make something yummy." It's like MacGyver meets Julia Child.

Right now, it airs almost every night of the week, and Ava has started watching parts of it with us. And inexplicably, she loves it! We don't normally let the kids watch any primetime TV--I'm usually not comfortable with some of the commercials or previews of later shows that come on. I mean, you and your kid can be watching a football game or a kid's show early in the evening, and then an ad for "Criminal Intent" or "Law and Order: SVU" comes on. Yeah, that's what my 6 year old needs to see.

But we've been letting her watch MasterChef with us. And she is cracking us up with her commentary. She's some kind of cooking authority, all of a sudden. Last night, she was watching the contestants in the main challenge. They were all shucking oysters or something. One guy was having a hard time, and Ava turned to us and said, "He's giving it a go, and that's what's important." Recalling that episode later, she told us, "I really thought Joanne would have to go home cause her oysters were gritty."

Someone was rolling out the pastry for a lemon tart, and she mused, "That looks too thick." (This is someone who wouldn't know a lemon tart if it hit her in the head. Or eat anything with identifiable lemon in it, either.)

Tonight, we were watching another two of the chefs try to cook 3 major dishes at once, with the clock counting down. Ava was getting really anxious as their time wound down. As the camera zoomed in on one of the guys slicing mushrooms, Ava heaved a big sigh. "They're not multi-tasking!" she said in exasperation. My jaw just dropped. I have no idea where she heard that word. And what's more--she was right!

It was bedtime before the end of the show, and we promised her she could watch the rest online before school in the morning. It was the only way we could get her into bed without serious drama. We are baffled. But at least now she knows that deef fried silken tofu goes nicely with mushrooms and shitake salt and pepper.