Bad Home Cooking

This pasta dish is child's play

Well, it is. I love this video

Into the mouths of babes...

There's an interesting article over at Babble, a sort of Daily Beast for the new parent set. The writer asked five top chefs what they feed their kids at home. Great premise, I thought.

But the content didn't live up to the promise. Three of the top chefs interviewed have children aged 2 or under. Children under two are never picky. They will eat anything you put in front of them. It's not until they hit 3 that they suddenly and without explanation stop eating anything with herbs in it, anything with distinctive taste, or anything that is not the color white.

This is almost universal (well, in developed countries, I mean. There really is a kid in Afghanistan who would weep over your kid's untouched bowl of soup.). I say this as a mom of two myself, and as someone who spent four years in a child observation unit (otherwise known as graduate student family housing). At two they're gourmands. At three they're Vegan.

One chef interviewed had one child, a 1-year-old. Why? A one-year-old will happily try cat kibble and eat dead bugs out of the windowsill if you let them. Yes, they'll eat your organic puree too. But picky they're not.

I would have liked to see a chef with older kids, grade school and a little above. Now that's a picky, stubborn and vocal group. I might have asked the guys at GastroKid what they think, since they both cook and have a book coming out about feeding kids creatively.

The other chefs had 4-and-5 year-olds. And although they admitted they were a little picky and they couldn't explain why, neither did they offer any actual meals that worked for them. The final chef had two grown daughters, who hardly count, because they're no longer kids, and nobody can be counted upon to remember the gastronomic quirks of their progeny 23 years earlier.

Now I'd like to see a piece on what chef's really feed their kids at home. Dirty little secrets of top chefs' home life with kids. Breakfast cereal? Chicken McNuggets? gasp! Kraft Mac and Cheese? No! the horror.

Vote for your favorite and let me know.

Responsible snacking

It's nearly noon. Since I ate an entire bowl of cereal (two Weetabix with dried cranberries on top) at about 8 a.m., I don't know why I should be so hungry. But I am. So hungry I'm starting to shake.

I wander down to the kitchen. What should I eat? Why is there nothing ready-made to shovel into my mouth? Why don't I have any more TJ's frozen burritos?

Another bowl of cereal? Meh.

No more fruit left. No chocolate. No french bread.

I dig through my pantry. I note I have pesto, and briefly consider pasta. But no, that would take 15 whole minutes. I need more instant gratification.

Then I hit paydirt. A tin of sardines. A jar of capers. The lone avocado in the house, perfectly ripened. And those Pita Bite crackers from TJ's that are obscenely tasty.

I make a variation of this.

If I'd had chocolate I might well have eaten it for lunch. But I'd never admit it to you.