New Year, New Food

New food: Pork Belly, and Quail Eggs Wrapped in Bacon

Today kicks off a new year, full of new possibilities. For my daughter and I, it kicked off our year of new food.  My Sous-chef is pretty adventurous when it comes to eating.  As long as she knows it won't make her sick(no wheat or gluten), or does't contain butternut squash(the kid can detect it in anything), she is game for trying any food.  Side note: I tried hiding butternut squash in home made mac-n-cheese when she was 3, and is still skeptical that I might be trying to pull one over on her if I make it today.  This is one of the reasons why I always tell her what ingredients are in her food.  I also tell her, because I want her to feel comfortable trying different food, and that way she learns what ingredients go together, and sometimes what doesn't.

Our rule is that you have to try three bites of something on your plate.  You don't have to like it, but unless it will make you ill, you are allergic to it, or religiously or morally opposed to eating a certain food, you have to try it.  This also applies if it is a food that we have had before that maybe Sous-chef wasn't a fan of.  Tastes change over time, and you might grow to like it.  If after trying something and Sous-chef isn't a big fan of it she usually responds with "well, it wasn't that good, but maybe it is something that I will like when I'm older."  SC's facial expressions when she tries a new food aren't necessarily indicative of her opinion of the food.  She has to let the experience sink in; the appearance, the taste, the smell, and the texture.   After trying a new food she may also give suggestions on how to modify it to make it taste better.  She has a pretty good palate, and is frequently correct.

This year we are making a point about trying new food.  It is easy to focus on foods that we can't have, but it is far more fun to focus on all of the different foods that we can have.  After all teff flour  makes for amazing brownies, and soghrum and millet are excellent in pancakes.  We never would have tried those if we hadn't had to give up gluten.  So in the vein of exploring we are going to keep track of the new foods we try.  Some things may be just a single new ingredient, other times it will be a new way to prepare a food, or new seasonings.

Today we tried three new foods.  (New to SC, one a new recipe for me).  We went with my family to a favorite restaurant of mine at the Mall of America called Masu  .  I discovered it a few months ago and tried it out when I saw they had a gluten-free menu.  I have been there a few times and am always very appreciative of how knowledgable they are of their ingredients and making sure that your food is in fact gluten-free, plus they have excellent service.

Sous-Chef decided that she was going to try the quail eggs wrapped in bacon (a favorite of mine), the pork belly, and the roasted corn with a  side of rice.  She boldly dove in to her plate when it arrived, using chopsticks fairly well on the rice too.  She thought the quail eggs wrapped in bacon were pretty good (taste was great, texture she was unsure of) and devoured the pork belly.  I really wanted a bite, but I guess I'll have to order my own next time.  She was so proud of herself for trying completely new food.  Masu is definitely on her list of favorite restaurants now.

French Onion Soup, Family Style

We continued the new food exploration tonight with a new recipe for French onion soup.  (I'll post it later this week in a post about the importance of seasoning).  Sous-Chef was excited to try something new again (three new foods in one day!).   For  her this was a "I might like this another time" kind of recipe.  The rest of my family loved it.  That is the thing about trying new food though, you won't know if you like it or not until you try it.  If you don't like it maybe you will some day.

Tomorrow we have a new steak recipe on the menu.  We then plan to watch the season premier of  The Taste.  After all what better way to kick of trying new food then to watch a cooking show where they try new food?   So, sometime this year try something new, and let me know what you have tried.  I might even add it to my list.