4.20.2009
Kent ♥s soy
Tonight, two words came out of Kent's mouth that I didn't expect to hear in succession: "more tofu!"
We made vegetarian sushi rolls again tonight, and I put some of the ingredients on Kent's plate in addition to a few homemade meatballs (from this awesome meatloaf recipe) I had defrosted for him. I tossed a couple of cubes of tofu on the plate, since I had marinated strips of it in hoisin and rice vinegar before I deep-fried it, and I thought its sweetness might appeal to a toddler palate. I really wasn't sure, though, given his usual skepticism around dinnertime. He surprised me by loving it and asking for more. We actually had to pull tofu out of some of our rolls to give him, because he was so excited about it. He also apparently likes edamame, which we've had for the last two days. (We told him edamame and tofu were practically the same food, but I'm not sure he believed us.)
Maybe we'll work on Indian food next. He ate saag paneer (creamed spinach with little homemade cheese cubes) when he was a baby but isn't interested at all in it now. He, like Angela from The Office, will only eat naan (the bread). If we can actually get him to like some of the more exotic foods we enjoy, we could have a lot more fun eating out than I had thought we'd have with our kids.
He's also very interested in learning to use chopsticks, though he's developmentally pretty far away from being able to use them effectively. We gave him a pair to try several months ago, and it ended in disaster when he used them to push the food wildly around the plate and onto the floor. He's not normally a food thrower, so it was a bad experience, and we don't let him have them anymore. Still, he'll soon get to an age where he can practice. We might get him one of those little pairs for kids that are already attached at one end, if they're helpful at all. I figure Asian kids must learn how to use these things sometime earlier than high school (which is when I learned), so Kent has a chance. And Jack, spurred on by my example, has even figured them out in recent years, so anyone can do it!
We made vegetarian sushi rolls again tonight, and I put some of the ingredients on Kent's plate in addition to a few homemade meatballs (from this awesome meatloaf recipe) I had defrosted for him. I tossed a couple of cubes of tofu on the plate, since I had marinated strips of it in hoisin and rice vinegar before I deep-fried it, and I thought its sweetness might appeal to a toddler palate. I really wasn't sure, though, given his usual skepticism around dinnertime. He surprised me by loving it and asking for more. We actually had to pull tofu out of some of our rolls to give him, because he was so excited about it. He also apparently likes edamame, which we've had for the last two days. (We told him edamame and tofu were practically the same food, but I'm not sure he believed us.)
Maybe we'll work on Indian food next. He ate saag paneer (creamed spinach with little homemade cheese cubes) when he was a baby but isn't interested at all in it now. He, like Angela from The Office, will only eat naan (the bread). If we can actually get him to like some of the more exotic foods we enjoy, we could have a lot more fun eating out than I had thought we'd have with our kids.
He's also very interested in learning to use chopsticks, though he's developmentally pretty far away from being able to use them effectively. We gave him a pair to try several months ago, and it ended in disaster when he used them to push the food wildly around the plate and onto the floor. He's not normally a food thrower, so it was a bad experience, and we don't let him have them anymore. Still, he'll soon get to an age where he can practice. We might get him one of those little pairs for kids that are already attached at one end, if they're helpful at all. I figure Asian kids must learn how to use these things sometime earlier than high school (which is when I learned), so Kent has a chance. And Jack, spurred on by my example, has even figured them out in recent years, so anyone can do it!
Labels: Kent, kitchen adventures
- posted by erica 4/20/2009 06:56:00 PM
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Comments:
That's awesome! I am writing this as I have some leftover tofu & veggies with peanut sauce for lunch. Maybe Kent will grow up to be a vegetarian like his dad! Or at least, a tofu-liking meat eater who is friend to vegetarians. :-)
Hoisin & rice vinegar marinade sounds awesome.
p.s. my word verification word is "heeing." Would that be a special type of peeing? Like maybe by a male? LOL!
Hoisin & rice vinegar marinade sounds awesome.
p.s. my word verification word is "heeing." Would that be a special type of peeing? Like maybe by a male? LOL!
Anna LOVES chopsticks. She started using them pretty well at a very young 3- but then again, I don't think I really let her have any before then. We used the kind that were separate, but had the thing you clip onto them to keep them together. That way you can kind of adjust it and slide it up and down until they are in the best condition. She can eat an entire meal with chopsticks, and I used to keep a pair in my purse because she would ask for them at restaurants.
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