By: Karen Cohen
Try it, you might like it! There’s a saying that all moms use often to encourage their kids to eat more than chicken nuggets and french fries. If the offer is made frequently, sooner or later, acceptance will occur. Don’t give up like my cousin did. His son was only 11 when they visited us. Offered various foods that differed from what the kid was accustomed to at home, even blueberries (!), I got a polite but curt, “No thanks.”
When I was growing up (preaching now), I was not offered any choice at my parent’s dinner table. We even sat in the same chairs for every meal. Mom cooked a hearty meal nightly after working an 8 hour shift at an office and she didn’t complain. If she did, it would fall on deaf ears anyway because we all expected food on the table promptly at 5:35 when my dad’s car would roll into the driveway. It was time to eat. Mom made dinner daily. We would gather forks, napkins, take our places, wait to be served, and then chow down. I was given only one choice after dinner and it didn’t concern dessert: did I want to wash or dry the dishes with my sister.
My cousin’s son ate dinner mostly out of a bag, in the car, on the way home from sports when his dad would pick him up on his way home from work. A choice offered would be: curly fries or regular, both loaded with salt. When he came to my house for a week of summer vacation, I was determined to get this child to expand his sustenance regime, maybe add some fresh veggies or fruit to what I thought was a lackluster diet of empty calories.
Anthony Bordain, of whom we were devout followers, had several recipes in his cookbook, Appetites, that he swore his nine year old daughter loved. And they cooked together. Nice. He encouraged weirdness, yes, being weird became a fun game in his home. Not like disturbed weird, just a bit beyond normal. Father and daughter made ratatouille together after watching the Pixar movie of the same name.
Ratatouille Recipe:
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1⁄2 cup of tomato paste
6 sprigs of thyme leaves, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 yellow squash, skin on, diced
2 medium zucchinis, skin on, diced
1 medium eggplant, skin left on, diced
1 large red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced after seeds are removed
2 teaspoons of aged balsamic vinegar
Using 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, add it to a sauté pan on medium heat with the onions and garlic, stir to prevent burning and add the tomato paste and thyme. When the onions are translucent, transfer the entire mixture to a bowl to cool off. Wipe out the sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil and cook all the veggies separately, one by one, squash, zucchini, and eggplant, cook each till just fork tender. (Cooking all the veggies separately keeps their flavors intact.) Transfer everything to a large bowl to cool and add salt and pepper to taste. Then add your fresh basil, balsamic vinegar, a dash more olive oil and toss gently. Allow it to marinate and cool for three hours. Serve as is or over polenta or farro.
I served this exact dish to my cousin’s boy. He gobbled it up. He said it reminded him of his Italian grandma. Mentioning Bordain’s name added some interest since everybody back in the days of food and travel loved that man, even kids. After all, he used curse words freely, had tattoos, and an earring! Talk about cool. Man. So in just one meal, this child tried (and liked), at least three new vegetables, and the recipe was easy enough for him to demonstrate for his own family back at home.
Now this young man is in his twenties. He loves sushi, maybe not the raw sashimi kind, but give him time… he scoffs at his friends’ daily dinners in a brown bag. Lobster rolls topped with melted butter are his favorite beach food when vacationing at the shore and grilled octopus and grilled asparagus, wow, are part of that weird club that makes him feel “different from the rest.” What I learned is don’t label your kids as picky eaters or say to their aunties, “No, he never eats rhubarb.” What I quickly add is: how do you know if you don’t try it? Everything in everyone’s life is NEW just once. We listen, we look, we open our mouths and taste… that’s how we learn. You know how the theory goes, say something three times and people will believe it? Well, let’s try that with new foods. And of course, add the final rule every parent says, “You don’t get any dessert until…”
(Karen Cohen is a home gardener, lover of music, and avid explorer. Email your tips and comments to: natureswaykaren@gmail.com. And Happy Growing!)
