Sunday, March 15, 2009

Soup, Salad, Sorbet


We started what I hope will be a new tradition this week. Soup, salad and sorbet night. Each child gets to choose one of the three and we rotate who chooses what. We got off to an uneven start. Poor Clem has been out of commission for a week. Fever, pain, no appetite, and the insult added to the injury: long bouts of hiccups.

So Ev chose all three this week. I tried to give Greta choice of sorbet, but she enthusiastically agreed to the raspberry sorbet Ev had chosen.

I love how kids surprise you when you let them choose. On the menu: Onion panade (similar to French Onion Soup) and smoked trout and avocado salad. They've surprised me before by choosing quail eggs and alligator.

What food choices have your kids surprised you with?

Onion Panade and Avocado and Smoked Trout Salad from Chez Panisse Vegetables (my favorite cookbook). Look up the vegetable you have in alphabetical order and find a myriad of ways to cook it, some simple and elegant, some complex.

Raspberry Sherbet from Chez Panisse Desserts

7 comments:

Stefaneener said...

How I love alliteration. This sounds like a good idea for dinner ideas. Beats our "frozen pizza and dessert night" at least!

Poor Clem! Can we do anything at all to help?

gina said...

Well Shaye surprised me today by eating CORNED BEEF! CABBAGE! potaoes and carrots (she is SUPER PICKY and longs to be a vegatarian) because "I am half Irish you know." :)

Susan said...

stefaneener, Clem is at last better. Last dose of "salmon cherry flavored suspension" tonight.

gina, your dinner reminds me of my childhood. I bet my mom is cooking up some of the same...makes me want to do the corned beef and cabbage, too. My kids are only a quarter Irish, though.

Anonymous said...

Such sophisticated choices! And from two of my favorite cookbooks!

Mr. T is a very picky eater--but he likes bitter foods like greens and all manner of olives. His choices make no sense to me.

Where did your kids choose to eat alligator?

Susan said...

tricia, it's great that Mr. T will eat greens. I have decided if they'll eat one weird thing they'll eventually eat everything.

I forgot to mention in the post that Ev picked wild miner's lettuce and chickweed from the backyard to add to the salad, which made it palatable for her.

Kristin said...

Oh good, now I know what you are cooking in your kitchen-scrumptious food. No wonder they'll eat it without complaint at dinner. What was the exchange like during the meal? Has cooking made them want to cook more or less? What night of the week do you do this?

Susan said...

The kids don't necessarily eat what they cook.

In fact, the sorbet was the big hit out of this dinner. But at least they don't make horrible faces and say it is awful when they have chosen and cooked it themselves.