Although my three sons are quite grown-up now – two are in local universities and one is in high school, they still sometimes fight like 10-year-olds.

The fighting has abated in the last five or six years, but I’m still refereeing far more physical bouts than I should be at this stage of the boys’ lives.

This year, we experienced some curtailment of the altercations. But I discovered that keeping the peace on the home front had its price.

Sometime in December, my middle son, Evan, told me that he had serious concerns about his big brother.

“Leigh used to like to fight,” Evan said. “Now all he wants to do is cook. He’d rather make honey balls.”

Matthew, my youngest son – he was within earshot of this discussion – was quite pleased with this development. “Leigh’s cooking is the best!” he said.

It was hard to miss Leigh’s new-found passion for the culinary arts. He was an exceptionally untidy cook. After he made a batch of honey balls, our shoes would stick to the floor.

I used to buy this traditional Greek dessert from time to time in our old neighbourhood. But the deep-fried sugary dish had become a rare treat once we moved away.

Leigh’s foray into cooking began when he discovered a recipe for honey balls on the Internet. When he realized he could make them himself, there was no stopping him.

Night after night, he would try different recipes to perfect these dishes. One day, a sauce would be too sweet or too tart, or it would be too runny or too sticky. Then he went on to tackle brownies.

I was torn about what to do about this culinary output. It was messy and unhealthy, but I worried that if I set limits, I might stymie my son’s creative aspirations.

Fast forward to my conversation about Leigh’s cooking with my younger sons. During this discussion, Matthew admonished his middle brother: “Evan, what are you complaining about? Does Mom bake honey balls or brownies? She would never make us lemon chicken. She only makes healthy stuff.”

I could tell by the pensive expression on Evan’s face, that he was not convinced all this so-called “good food” was a suitable substitute for a good fight.

Not long ago, I, too, began having my doubts about this tradeoff. It was the morning after a culinary double header – lemon chicken and brownies. The kitchen was a disaster.

Stand-ing in the doorway and surveying the mess, I realized that when it comes to peace in the home, there are worse things than shoving matches in the family room.

I had managed to live with the fighting all these years, but there was no way I could possibly endure the endless upheaval in the kitchen. I decided right then and there to shelve Leigh Cuisine – indefinitely.

I got out the cleaning supplies, and as I began scrubbing chocolate off the wall, an old adage came to mind: “Be careful what you wish for.”

Batter
2 packages active dry yeast
4 oz. warm water (105 to 115º F)
8 oz. warm milk (105 to 115ºF)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 cups flour, sifted
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
ground cinnamon, to taste

In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over the warm water and let stand to soften (about 5 minutes). Meanwhile, pour milk into a large bowl and add sugar and salt.

Stir yeast mixture and eggs into milk mixture; add butter and beat well. Slowly add flour, beating continuously until batter is smooth, sticky and thick.

Add more flour as needed to arrive at correct consistency for handling. Cover bowl with a tea towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (2 to 3 hours).

In a medium saucepan pour oil to a depth of 3 or 4 in. and heat to 360. Stir batter well. Drop batter from a tablespoon into hot oil and cook, turning spoonfuls in oil, until batter puffs and is golden brown on all sides (about 2 minutes).

Remove balls with a slotted utensil to paper towels to drain briefly, then arrange a layer of balls on a platter.

1 tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 tsp. ground cinnamon, to taste
1 cup honey
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

Place honey, sugar and water in a small saucepan, mix to combine and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in lemon juice and lemon zest and simmer until lightly thickened. Remove from heat and keep warm.
Drizzle the balls with warm honey syrup, dust with cinnamon, and top with a second layer of balls. Continue in this manner until all the balls are layered and dressed. Serve at once.