Kid Food

There is no excuse not to feed a child as you would an adult. I remember growing up being fed extra plain, "dumb downed" versions of adult food, or a Kid Cuizine TV Dinner. Now most kids will happily accept a plate of chicken fingers and corn off the cob, but I think their culinary intelligence is much higher than that. I often wish that my parents had exposed us to ethnic food such as Thai, Indian and Japanese at a younger age. But never you mind, that is all just curry under the bridge.

Most of you don't know this but Monday-Friday after school I care for a couple of awesome Westside kids. They are incredibly smart and very well spoken 8 and 9 year old's. I knew I liked them the first time we met when I used sarcasm on them, and they got it! It was a match made in babysitting heaven.

So over the last two and half years, I have been caring for them, helping with homework and cooking the occasional dinner. They have the most beautiful kitchen with so much counter space! It's amazing even boiling water there! Ah!  Tonight we had pre-made Pat La Frieda burger patties for dinner and Ms. 8 year old is not a burger fan. So we decided to transform the burger patty into mini meatballs marinara a top some spaghetti. I used sauce from the pantry and cooked the meatballs in it to add a nice rich flavor with the meat drippings, plus salt and pepper and dried oregano.  Boiled some spaghetti and sprinkled the top of the dish with mozzarella cheese. Now this is a very basic Italian meal, but I think far beyond a plain burger patty with American cheese on top. She also ate a mini Caesar salad and some pellegrino so I thought the experience was very grown up! She concluded the meal was a success and uttered after her first bite "This is delicious!"

Lesson learned here: when cooking for a kid, never underestimate their palate. They might surprise you!