When they find a correlating custom that they find amusing, we celebrate it. We have burped at the table, broken dishes, eaten while sitting on the floor, served the men first, and done all kinds of neat and informative things at our dinner table.
Sometimes we have had headdresses on, sometimes kerchiefs, sometimes nothing. Sometimes we have had grand discussions at the table about this country or that. Sometimes we've bent over laughing because we disliked the taste of this dish or that so much, and it caused us to pull a face. The children are always involved, and always curious to see what comes out of the kitchen next.
Sometimes I really wish we could have a nice, plain meatloaf. Sometimes I'm not in the mood to make this food, that food, and shop all over town till I find the other food. It does take some effort, and it takes some energy. Some days, I don't have nearly as much as I'd like. When report card time comes, I'm always glad I did this.
You see, there was a time when I thought there was no way I could help educate them about the world. I'm not a teacher, it isn't what I do. I've never been taught to teach. One day, it did occur to me that they learned how to walk without a teacher; I taught them to walk and talk and how to be polite; so why couldn't I teach them something else, just doing what I do? There was no reason I couldn't. So I set about to give my kids the world tour, right in my own little kitchen.
That first night, I made New England Boiled Dinner, and I told the children what was in it, where it grew, and where it was, originally, most popular, which was New England. I showed them New England on the map. My son said he thought New Englanders who didn't want to eat anymore boiled cabbage and corned beef won the Revolution. He was positive they ate it because they couldn't find anything else. I told him it was, at one time, served often on Mondays, because Monday was wash day, and women boiled it on the stove, right next to the socks. He thought it explained a lot.
A few weeks after I made that first dinner, my son came home, talking about the Texas Revolution. So I made some Tex-Mex food for him, but the next night, I made Mexican food. Not just content with tacos, I made Enchiladas Verde, black beans and picante sauce. I didn't know what the proper thing was to serve with enchiladas of any kind (still don't), so I served what I thought I could get the kids to eat. If I've done this improperly, please forgive my ignorance. On the third night, we had big old steaks. It was Texas' turn, after all.
Getting kids to eat is hard. Getting kids to pay attention in school is even harder. If you can find a way to get them to eat and do better in school, you're on a roll. For once, I was on a roll, instead of getting rolled over.
Tonight's supper is going to be a mish-mash of all our favorites. I'm going to fry plantains, make hamburgers, cabbage and bacon, and quesadillas. I'll put some garlic bread on the side, and we'll have a meal everybody can be happy with. For drinks, I guess I can't do better than an American Classic- we'll have Cokes. I normally make them drink milk, but occasionally, a little Coke won't hurt. Crazy variety makes my kitchen Delicioso, how about yours?
