Teach Your Children Well

And feed them on your dreams
The one they picked, the one you'll know by . . .

~ Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

We went grocery shopping together just before Christmas. She likes to help independently so we both took hold of our own shopping carriage and pushed them toward the entrance. 

Upon entering, brightly colored flowers on our left tempted me, seemingly in tiny melodious voices, to pick a few bunches for the dinner table. Pretty, but I already had freshly cut holly from the yard at home. To our right, a display case with assorted colorful pre-cut fruit, seemingly boasting their juicy flavors, tempted her to make hasty choices. 

My daughter loves fruit. With eyes wide open, she reached for a package.  

"Wait. Let's see what's available in the produce section which will save us money," I advised her. Yes, it's more work but can be fun when you prepare the produce together at home.

After pushing my carriage around the bustling produce section a bit and now near the greens, I suddenly felt overwhelmed. Perhaps the past few weeks of the holiday season were wearing on me. I looked at my daughter and said, "I just don't feel like cooking. I'm so tired." Without hesitating and with outstretched arms, she said, 

"Mom, look at all the beautiful colors! Look at all the fresh food! 

You don't need to cook - just put fresh food out and

we'll eat like we live on an exotic island." 

When I asked if she was serious, she said, "Yes".

I smiled.  

I felt pretty proud of my daughter at that moment and perked up. Confident she'd choose organic, our norm ever since she was diagnosed with FSGS Syndrome four years ago, we split up and shopped away. It wasn't the time to "preach" about making local choices, sustainability, carbon foot print, and all things related. That time will come (although she's been to plenty of farmers' markets and farms with me to already know a lot).

Baby steps.  

 *   *   *

The above pastel drawing was made by my daughter in elementary school

and hangs on a wall in our kitchen.

I love how the deep red apple in the center

looks like a heart.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad, Apples With Celery Leaves

Using up some vegetables before they spoiled, I made this simple roasted vegetable quinoa salad. Not much to it. Anything could be used really. This isn't really a recipe, it's just an idea.

Coarsely chop vegetables, here is a red bell pepper, zucchini, and small eggplant. 

Prepare the roasting pan with sprinkles of olive oil, season vegetables lightly with salt and pepper, squeeze juice from half a lemon. Roast in 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes until vegetables soften a little but not mushy.

Sprinkle with some minced fresh oregano, which is all I had. I think thyme would be really nice also.

Cook quinoa according to directions.  Here, I infused the water with fresh lemon and a sprig of oregano.

When done, mix it all together and serve over lettuce or pasta.

I sprinkled extra virgin olive oil and more lemon juice over the top before serving. I didn't think of it then, but a little balsamic or apple cider vinegar might be nice.

My kids liked it, my daughter loved it. And she actually told me that she appreciated the fresh food after eating out all weekend!

They preferred it with their favorite salad dressing. I served it with grated parmesan cheese, but feta would have been great. Or yogurt.

I also wanted to use up the apples before they went bad, so I sliced them up and sprinkled some chopped celery leaves on top.