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There may or may not have been talk about Asian pear tasting like raw potatoes. But strangely enough it wasn’t a deal breaker. Personally Asian pears aren’t my favorite variety. They’re a little hard, a little woody. Like biting into a birch tree. I like my pears to be on the softer side, the kind of fruit that gives with gentle pressure like a perfect summer peach. But despite my own leanings, the kids loved it.

ME: Guys, the mystery food that we’re doing today is called….

EMMA: What’s that mommy?

ME: This is our mystery food.

EMMA: Yew, I don’t like that.

LAUREN: Emma, don’t say that.

ME: Called….

LAUREN: Pear?

ME: Yeah, what kind of pear?

SAM: A leech pear!

ME: What?

SAM: A leech pear!

ME: A leech pear? No. It’s called an Asian pear. It’s from Asia. Kind of like persimmon but different. Let’s smell it first. Let’s see if it smells like a regular pear. What do you think?

SAM: No. It smells like flowers.

ME: Flowers?

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power

Last weekend we visited the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. Although it’s not one of the museums on everyone’s Must See list when they visit New York, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Rodney thought it would be funny to dress up as a 6’6” elf for our visit.
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That’s actually one of my Christmas gifts to him. A perfectly slouchy hipster hat from Urban Outfitters. Rodney has taken to calling himself Harry Styles when he wears it, but if I were to give people a multiple choice test, the answer would most likely be B or C. Am I right?
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Besides Rodney’s experimental hat, there was so much to explore at the Science Center. First up was the suspended Rubik’s cube, which is visible from every floor. Although impressive in size, it gave me vivid flashbacks to the 80s when I stood at 4’9” with crimped bangs and jelly bracelets and would launch the cube across our living room in frustration.
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As to be expected, the Bob the Builder exhibit was a hit. Emma convinced me that although she’s on the young side, she’s ready for drivers’ ed. Which would be convenient since Rodney has suggested that I take my backseat driving tendencies to the next level by installing a secondary set of brakes into the car.
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We explored the Energy Quest exhibit and learned about the Earth’s natural resources, from wind and solar to nuclear power. But the favorite exhibit of the day was Our Hudson Home where we checked out all of the creatures that live in the Hudson River. The big draw was the tank of horrendously ugly bearded fish.
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To be honest, I’m not sure whether the fish are inherently ugly or just seem angry because they now live in a small dark tank in the middle of Jersey. But whatever the reason, we loved them.

Other animals included turtles and fake birds.
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Black radish

After the success of last week’s watermelon radish, we decided to give another radish variety a try. Enter black radish. But we learned an important lesson this week: not all radishes are created equal. Some, like the watermelon radish, are pleasantly spicy. Others pack  serious heat. Fortunately Sam didn’t suffer permanent damage, but from his reaction you’d have thought he’d scorched his tongue. I think I’ve tested about all the radishes my kids can handle. No need to try any more, we’ve been there, done that, time to move onto non-radish food.

ME: OK, you guys are going to be really excited about this next one…

SAM: Green beans?

ME: What do you think this is?

LAUREN: A radish?

ME: Yeah, how did you know it’s a radish?

LAUREN: Looks like it.

ME: Oh my gosh, I don’t think it looks anything like a radish. How did you know?

LAUREN: Well it had that same shape and the same thing on the top, so I just guessed it was a radish.

SAM: It’s a bum bum.

ME: Stop.

ME: What color is it going to look like on the inside?

SAM: Bum bumish.

ME: OK, thank you.

LAUREN: Uh, pinkish? Red? Green? Pink or green I guess.

SAM: Booty color.

ME: Oh, my gosh!

LAUREN: White?

ME: Yep. Hard to believe, right? Smell it.

LAUREN: That smells a little bit like cucumbers.

SAM: It smells like a bum bum.

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NYE

Nothing like waking up on Jan 1 with a mind-blowing hangover. But truthfully, I don’t remember the last time that we actually left our living room on New Year’s Eve, let alone stayed up until midnight. Years, I’m telling you, years.

So it goes without saying that our night out on the town had to be a go big or go home kind of evening. Starting with bowling and ending with dancing at some vaguely European-Middle Eastern-type of swankfest that used to define my 20s but is now just a blip in my hazy memory.

Waking up as a vegan on Jan 1 was no treat. Where were those greasy yet restorative egg and cheese sandwiches? The burgers dripping with fat? I had to console myself with quinoa sliders, which I assure you aren’t at the top of anyone’s hangover list. But Thursday brought some well-needed grease back into my life when I was able to track down a vegan cronut. Nothing like starting a January cleanse with cronuts, vegan or not. Give an inch and I’ll take a mile.

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Although I welcomed cronuts on Thursday morning, it was also time to say goodbye to a few of my favorite places. So long seafood counter at Whole Foods, you’ll be missed. 25 more days until we’re reunited.

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But I’m getting well-acquainted with a set of healing vegan foods this month, including lots of hummus and guacamole, 36 ways.

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Watermelon radish

Like our bean sprouts experience, watermelon radish was a total surprise hit this week. I had a feeling the kids wouldn’t like it because they didn’t like the red variety that we tried a few months ago. But because watermelon radish is so darn cute, I gave it a try. It’s a little sweeter and mellower than other radish varieties; if you’re not keen on radishes, you might just like this one. If you can find it…they’re not so easy to track down unfortunately, but higher end specialty markets (I got this one at Dean & Deluca) and the farmers’ markets are good places to look.

ME: We’re doing a quick mystery food guys, OK?

EMMA: It looks like canteloupe.

ME: It does a little bit doesn’t it.

SAM: No it doesn’t.

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

LAUREN: Pinkish.

ME: You saw it right?

LAUREN: No!

ME: Oh, I guess there’s a little red on the outside.

ME: Did you expect it to look like that? Do you know what this is called?

EMMA: A cranberry.

ME: It’s not a cranberry. Smell it, you might be able to tell from the smell.

EMMA: I want to hold it.

ME: What does it smell like?

SAM: A banana sauce.

ME: What do you think it is?

LAUREN: I don’t know. Kiwi or something?

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