Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Road from Picky to Discerning

"We had salad today. It was so yummy!"

The first time I heard this I almost fell off my chair. I don't remember which girl said it but within seconds the other had agreed. Salad at restaurant scolaire, the school lunch program, was good. Mommy's was not.

How could this be? My salads are excellent: greens from the neighbourhood marché tossed with slivers of fresh garden vegetables, dried cranberries, toasted pine nuts, and a home made vinaigrette. Yet, when served, they are met with less enthusiasm than a trip to the dentist. Mighty Mouse prefers to nudge the offending greenery off the edge of her plate while Emma the Brave ignores it after the first compulsory bite. News that a salad could actually be described as 'yummy' by either of them came as a shock--and a challenge. If restaurant scolaire could do it, then so could I.

Introducing the Summer Salad Taste Test.
The girls have eaten more greens in the last two weeks than they have in their lives. I'm amazed. What's equally amazing is that the person hardest to please is me!

SEPTEMBER UPDATE:
The girls turned out to like the following greens: sucrine, feuille de chene, baby spinach, and rampon. They didn't like rocket or watercress. Unfortunately, it is Migros-brand French salad dressing that they prefer. Tant pis! I guess I can't have it all.

3 comments:

  1. This is so cute.
    Rory refuses to eat courgettes here but at Iona's nounou's he can't get enough of them. Anita's are just better???

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ok...so maybe you should post your yummy salad recipe on here. Sounds really good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are definitely in charge of salads during your visit.

    Love,
    Mum

    ReplyDelete