Salad Ala Art: How to Develop Your Child’s Palate with Local Lavender

February 22, 2015February 22, 2015 Moriah Lavendar 957 Views 0 Comments cooking with kids, eat local, Georgia Food bloggers, healthy eating, LocalLavender, Macon Georgia, Modern Southern Bloggers, Southern Bloggers, vegetarian

It is Saturday morning. My family and I are doing a million things. I’m writing the recipes for thedirtfarmers.com CSA newsletter, and simultaneously planning my family’s menu for the week. I type the ingredients for I “Heart” you juice or Curried Lentils with Bok Choy, and in the back of my mind, I’m thinking, “What are we having for lunch?”

Likely Mike & I will have leftover roast chicken or roast veggies tossed in a salad or over rice, and my kids will likely eat pb&j or a quick cheese quesadilla.

I peruse “67 funky ways to eat Kale” or “raw vegan avocado mousse” recipes, and my husband begins to read excerpts from this article: “Death to the Chicken Finger: How we created an entire generation of unsophisticated, picky eaters — and why we must stop the tasteless cycle.”

I am struck by the article’s insightfulness. The author, Adam McDowell, observes that the last generation of American children has been raised on chicken fingers, lunchables, mac-n-cheese et al. because our society has shifted from family oriented meals to convenience oriented meals. These children raised on unadventurous, bland chicken fingers “become adults with infantilized palates.”

In striking juxtaposition adults are becoming more culinarily adventurous. All one has to do is browse trending Pinterest recipes to see a plethora of super vegan bowls, 101 green juices, or how to ferment foods tutorials. So where does that leave the child raised in the freezer section?

Let us look to the French for inspiration: “At the core of the French approach is the belief that you teach your kids to eat just as you can teach them to read.”

Mike read the last sentence. My fingers ceased typing. My eyes lifted from the computer screen. And I realized that my family is the quintessence of this dual palate family. With one hand I photograph and cook purple cauliflower, heirloom turnips, romanesco, sorrel, blood oranges, and kohlrabi for the CSA, with the other hand I rapidly prepare peanut butter & jelly for my own children.

I fooled myself into believing I was doing “better than average” because our kids see us eat funky food; however, reading this article highlighted our shortcomings: we have not given them the opportunity to learn. We arrogantly assumed we know what they like, and we lazily allowed them to eat what they would to avoid conflict.

I set aside the computer and the freshly written recipe for sunchoke chips. I erase the notion of cheese quesadillas from my mind and turn to my 5 year old son, Art. “Honey,” I ask him, “I’m making salad and these yummy chips for lunch. What would you like on your salad?” He looks at the chips, nods with approval, and responds, “I’d like apples, goat cheese, those chips, and apple cider [vinegar].” Say whaaaaaaat?! I am dichotomously ashamed and proud. I feel like a schmuck for underestimating my son and proud of his imaginative palate.

This is the resulting lunch.

Salad Alá Art

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb. sunchokes, scrubbed & thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons Olive oil, divided

Salt & pepper

1 head Romaine lettuce, washed & chopped

1 pink lady apple, washed, quartered and sliced

1 small daikon radish, washed & sliced in half-moons

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon Local, raw honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

3. Slice sunchokes thinly with a sharp knife. Lay in a single layer on baking sheet. Brush with 1 Tablespoon olive oil (as needed) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes until golden brown.

4. While sunchokes bake, whisk together apple cider vinegar, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, honey, and a generous pinch of salt & pepper in a medium bowl. Add sliced daikon radishes.

5. To serve, plate a bed of romaine lettuce, top with sliced apple, marinated diakon radish, crumbled goat cheese drizzle with the radish dressing, and top with crispy sunchoke chips. Enjoy!