100 new foods

Micro greens

microgreens

This week I brought home some micro greens from the Farmers’ Market.  What I didn’t know is that prior to our mystery food session, Rodney had taken the kids out for donuts and movie popcorn. So while I was running errands with Emma, Lauren and Sam were feasting on more junk than I usually eat in a week.

So what I’m trying to say is that micro greens were off to a horrible start. But miracle of all miracles, even after the sugar and the salt, Lauren said that she liked them. Loved them actually. Especially with a little drizzle of oil and salt. Can’t say I blame her after the morning she had. But I’m eager to get more of these greens into the rotation.

ME: This mystery food is micro greens.  What does it look like?

SAM: It looks like bananas.  It looks like strawberry ice cream.

LAUREN: I think it looks like clear donuts, with clear frosting.

ME: Are we looking at the same thing or is there a dessert hidden somewhere?

LAUREN: Donuts.

ME: Why donuts?

LAUREN: Because we just ate them.

ME: Who?

LAUREN: Us!  I had strawberry.

ME: What? No wonder!  Who took you?

LAUREN: We got it from Daddy. Dunkin’ Donuts.

ME: So that’s how he gets you to eat your lunch.

ME: Why’d you get Dunkin’ Donuts?

LAUREN: Because it was our special day going to the movies. We got popcorn.

ME: What? You got popcorn and donuts today?

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100 new foods

Canary melon

canarymelon 007

I was shopping at the farmers’ market last week when one of the farmers offered me a taste of a canary melon. Its light yellow, almost watery-looking flesh didn’t look like much, but after one bite, I realized that I would never again be able to buy cantaloupe. Where supermarket cantaloupe and honeydew can be dry and flavorless, the canary melon’s juices were bright and sweet and dribbled down my chin. Although Sam wasn’t in the mood to do a mystery food challenge the day we tried it, the very next day, he ate the entire melon on his own. That’s love for you.

ME: This is called what?

LAUREN: Canary melon.

ME: What does it look like?

LAUREN: It looks a bit like a pineapple.

ME: It does look a bit like a pineapple.

LAUREN: But it’s really not.

ME: Why not?

LAUREN: It doesn’t have seeds. And it doesn’t have stripes.

ME: Sam, what do you think it looks like?

LAUREN: An orange?

SAM: An orange.

ME: Lauren that wasn’t helpful.

ME: An orange will be your treat when we’re done.

ME: So who wants to smell it? Sam?

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100 new foods

Cactus pear

cactus_pear 005

The cactus pear was a big fat whopping disappointment of a challenge food. Not only did the tiny needles work their way into a few of my fingers, but the interior also tasted like potatoes and mud. I was so excited when I cut open the pear and saw the ruby interior. Looks can be deceiving, that’s all I can say.

ME: Do you guys know what this is called?

LAUREN: Ugly fruit?

ME: No, we ate the ugli fruit, you remember that one right?

LAUREN: I said Oogly fruit.

ME: OK, well it’s not that either.

LAUREN: Is it a kind of fruit?

ME: Yes. What is it called?

LAUREN: Well it kind of looks like Sam’s big head.

ME: That’s not nice.

LAUREN: I mean not the color.

ME: Again, not nice.

SAM: My head is big. My head is going to be like MegaMind!

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100 new foods

Passion fruit

passion_fruit 003There’s a big difference between ripe passion fruit and the not-quite ripe variety. Which goes without saying. But with something like a banana you can muscle it out – peel back the greenish skin, chew a little harder, and it’s tolerable. With passion fruit, a nearly-ripe fruit is so puckeringly tart that it’s almost inedible. Which is a long-winded way of saying that the kids need to give passion fruit another chance. Because really, there isn’t a fruit on this planet that smells or tastes better.

ME: Guys, What’s this called?

LAUREN: A plum?

ME: No.

LAUREN: Passion fruit?

ME: How’d you guess?

LAUREN: You were talking about it before.

ME: Oh. Describe it then.

LAUREN: Hmmm.  It looks light.

SAM: And heavy.

LAUREN: It looks light and heavy at the same time.

ME: What do you think it’s going to look like on the inside?

LAUREN: Yellow and peach.

ME: Can you shake it?

LAUREN: I feel a little shake in it.

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100 new foods

Yellow lentils

red_lentilsYellow lentils were a non-event this week as the kids felt that they tasted exactly like the brown lentils from their lentil soup. Snooze.

To make it a little more interesting for the readers at home though, here are some little-known factoids: Lentils (as Lauren pointed out) are actually seeds that grow in pods, usually two seeds per pod, and they were one of the first crops ever domesticated, between 9,500 to 13,000 years ago.

Maybe one day the kids will get as excited about lentils as I do. I just love them for their earthy taste and ability to take a starring role in just about any kind of cuisine. Hopefully next week’s challenge will be a little more talk-worthy, like the mangosteen, cuke-asaurus, and ugli fruit.

ME: These are yellow lentils. Cool, right? What do they look like?

LAUREN: They look like seeds.

ME: Sam?

SAM: Seeds.

LAUREN: They look kind of like flat chickpeas.

SAM: Mine is a circle.

LAUREN: All of them are.

SAM: A circled head.

LAUREN: A little circled head.

ME: What do they smell like?

LAUREN: Kind of nothing.

ME: What does it feel like in your hand?

SAM: This is my hand.

LAUREN: Kind of thickish.

ME: Oh it does.

LAUREN: What if we shake it?

LAUREN: Nothing.

ME: What does it taste like?

SAM: Can I have a spoon?

LAUREN: They taste like regular lentils. Like the lentils in lentil soup.

LAUREN: It tastes like real lentils.

ME: So did you guys like the lentils?

SAM & LAUREN: Yes.

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