The November chills are here and my mind is full of squash – specifically butternut, one of my faves. Mmmm, thoughts of butternut squash casserole to serve our guests makes me just want to, well, make a butternut squash casserole! One of the great things about Fall is the plethora of root veggies. Fall harvest foods are so rich in colour and flavour, not to mention they’re full of vitamins too – A, Bs, C, E, K – as well as minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron. They’re also excellent complex carbohydrates because we could all do with more complexity in our lives. And speaking of food…
Darling daughter has now eaten beans, tofu, cheddar, Yves deli ‘meat’, Tofurkey, eggs, rice, noodles, carrot, peppers, spice (and so she should – she’s a Hunan girl!), whole wheat bread, crackers, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, bran muffins and blueberry scones. Things are moving along for her little taste buds although we’re still disguising fruit. I thought all children loved fruit, which is so plentiful in Southern China (memories of fresh dragon fruit for breakfast and the pomegranates from the orphanage staff come to mind). This child prefers savory but maybe her food preferences are a reflection of her personality – a little spicy.
As we head into the winter season, I have memories of a vegetarian guilt experience that happened a few years ago,
THE DAY THAT ANIMAL FUR CAST ITS SHADOW OVER OUR DOOR!
It didn’t just cast a shadow but actually came right inside the house. And I don’t mean the kind that our cats and dog are covered in because as far as I know that’s still acceptable. I’d bought a parka, since that’s what we Canadians wear, and it wasn’t until I got home that I realized the faux fur collar was not-so-faux after all. Some poor bunny out there was missing a strip of skin off its back and it was attached to the front of my parka hood. With thumbnail and forefinger only I unsnapped the loathsome thing from the hood and threw it into the garbage can OUTSIDE. Yet my hands were tainted as it were, and try as I might I couldn’t wash the proverbial blood from them. I had supported the fur trade, albeit unwittingly (what a great word – unwittingly), but felt guilty anyway.
A week later I decided to return the green parka because, after all, it was green. Thankfully the city of Toronto doesn’t pick up garbage weekly anymore so the thing was still sitting in the garbage can. I reattached it to the hood and went back to Costco and returned the coat (sorry Costco). Then I felt guilty because some poor sucker was going to buy that coat after me and the fur that sat in my garbage can for a week would be wrapped around their face. Then I stopped feeling guilty and decided that they probably deserved it for buying fur.
Please stay tuned for the results of our vegetable vs. beef French Onion Soup, or, the triumph of good over evil!
Yes that poor human being wearing a garbage hood.
Looking forward to the soup.
The girls cannot wait to meet JUNO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How do you disguise the fruit? Not that I need to, but it might give me ideas about how to disguise green veggies for L.
Regarding the fur incident, I recently came across something really neat (although it seems to be in the States only): http://www.grist.org/list/2011-11-04-give-used-furs-back-to-the-animals-with-coats-for-cubs
Hey! I usually mix bananas in with porridge or just hide anything more obvious underneath a piece of tofu. Since she’s not feeding herself yet it’s easy to do but sometimes she catches me.. She liked bananas in China, but not any more. I’ve tried regular yogurt and she won’t swallow it, just holds her mouth wide open until it slides out 🙁 not very pretty).