I am endlessly perplexed by a four year-old who eats virtually nothing (Thus, her nickname Sylph, the mythical creature who lived on air). The work-around to her complete starvation is that she loves green foods--no, not eco-happy "Green Foods"--but those that are quite simply, her favorite color.
Also, she and her two-year old brother appear to be unfazed by nearly all degrees of spicy heat, & will tell me when I am being too shy in my cooking. (Telling me what to do--"Merge LEFT, Mommy!!!"--is of even greater interest than refusing food.)
It's possible their tongues suffered some Tabasco-related mutation in the womb, since I consider one of the distinct advantages to having to carry a purse or diaper-bag every bloody moment of my life to be a license to carry a concealed bottle of hot sauce at all times.
I'm sure there are scads of recipes like this, that BOBBY FLAY had a lap-pool filled with it last decade, but it's a staple in our house, and any time you can fool a small child into eating, well, I think it's worth sharing. Referring to this recipe, Sylph will actually say: "Needs Green."
VERY VERDE
- fat-chopped tomatillos
- green onions--every usable part
- diced poblano chile (Scotch Bonnet, habanero...whatever heat & color dictate)
- fresh-squeezed lime juice (always get your toddlers to roll your citrus)
- hanks of cilantro*
- pear nectar
- scant drizzle of honey
- freshly ground pepper and kosher salt
*My twin cautionaries to the do-ahead/keep on-hand method would be:1) Your fridge will always greet you with a pungent blast when opened (however I don't consider that unpleasant) and 2) You'll want to consider keeping your cilantro (I might start add watercress, which I'm wild about) to the side, to fold into individual portions as you go. Shudder: little is as frightening as slimy cilantro or cress.
It's addictive and I am never above opening the fridge with spoon-in-hand, but, over eggs with a healthy dollop of crema fresca and a handful of pumpkin or sunflower seeds (and more hot sauce, natch), you can almost remedy mornings. It's also pretty kicky over Manchego Mac N' Cheese.
I also recently found an antique meat-grinder (best not to think too closely on it), and made a Duck Sausage Pasilla Chili which was happy in kahootz with the Very Verde, which I should have written down...
With the above recipe, I have both children bamboozled into actually requesting a food-stuff.
HA! That alone warrants documentation.
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2 comments:
I think all toddlers are part air-fern! How else to explain my own kids' exponential growth by merely scooting it around their plate?
But really, it is like they just grow from a couple Cheerios, a swig of milk, and the ocassional lollipop. That's so great Sylph's food of choice (or should I say, color of choice) is green. You really lucked out - her favorite color could have been purple (not too bad), sparkly blue, or (yikes!) silver...
Do they sell duck in your grocery stores? That one was pretty impressive. Of all the sausages I might have tried to make, I have to admit duck was not one that came to mind, but more than impressive nonetheless.
Cannot wait to try your salsa recipe!
Part air-fern: I spit out my coffee laughing.
Yes, I'd have been in trouble with silver...because even a Sylph cannot live on those little sugar ball-bearings Martha Stewart loves to put on cookies.
Also yes, you can find duck here. Also peacock and bobcat. Seriously, there is a butcher around the corner with all sorts of fantastic meats. They make their own sausage--not duck, though. The duck sausage was not as impressive as it sounds. Anyone can grind and season a duck breast. NOW, when you start putting it in casings, you really have too much time on your hands!
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