Inspiration

I try to never lose an opportunity to further my son's education.

Or at least to develop his taste buds.

Despite the fact that I ate lots of different cuisines both during my pregnancy, and during the breastfeeding stage, my son has a terribly bland tongue. His typical meal is plain pasta, with just a smidge of olive oil and salt and occasionally a sprinkling of cheese. On the side, he'll have some fruit, maybe one carrot or one piece of lettuce, a cheese stick, chicken nuggets or plain tofu.

Then came my next opportunity to change things with Remy the rat.

Remy, if you don't know, is the protagonist of the latest Pixar creation Ratatouille, the rodent who yearns to be a French chef. An animal after my own heart actually.

The actual dish is a wonderful concoction of summer vegetables blended with herbes de Provence and I thought I'd take a cue from my son's new interest to make it. And then make him eat it.

My plan started off brilliantly. He embraced the idea of making ratatouille, eagerly helping me pick out the peppers and squash and the eggplant at the supermarket. He even told the checkout lady that we were making ratatouille.

At home, he eagerly awaited the time to start cooking. He accompanied me to our garden, so we could pick fresh basil and fresh parsley. Then he joined me in the kitchen and helped me chop some vegetables. (Now before you say anything, he does this, of course, with my own supervision and he does pretty well for a 4-year-old. Of course, he's only chopping yellow squash, but still....)

Ratatouille was on its way! The aromas of the vegetables filled the kitchen and excitement filled the air.

Dinner was served and I proudly brought out the dish. But he glanced at the vegetables and had second thoughts.

"I don't know if I like ratatouille," he complained.
I answered, "But you haven't tried it. And you helped to make it."

He scrunched his face in dismay, then horror. I placed a small piece of eggplant on his plate.

He toyed with the other food on his plate (yes, I served him some of his regulars, since the boy has got to eat, no matter what). Then he gingerly picked up the eggplant.

He took the tiniest bite and thought it was ok. He continued to take tiny bites. At this rate, it would take him a week to finish the eggplant.

Daddy got impatient. "Just put it in your mouth," he urged.

The boy frowned. Then he did as he was told. And then he gagged it out.

Hoping the experience didn't spoil his taste for eggplant, we explained that he would have to have another serving when we actually saw the movie. Maybe second time's the charm?