Day 6 of Shopping at Home: Kids and Vegetables

I’ve lamented in the past (here) my difficulty of getting my kid to eat vegetables, or at least the amount and frequency of eating vegetables that I feel is appropriate to help him grow well and protect his immune system now and in the future.  It is a battle I fight with ingenuity and persistence, and even when I’m in the middle of a Shopping at Home Campaign.  (To his credit, he seems to be rooting for my success, checking every night before dinner, “did you go shopping for this, Mom?”)  I always put vegetables on his plate, and I always make him taste them, even if he says he’s tasted the dish before, and he knows he doesn’t like it.  I tell him that tastes change over time, and someday he might actually decide he likes whatever it is.  Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose; fortunately, tonight I won.

I was tempted to dive into the packaged vegetables in the freezer, but I knew I needed to clean out the refrigerator, and that I had been avoiding the vegetable drawer.  No more.  Tonight would be my unique version of pork fried rice.  I started with making a large quantity of long-grain jasmine rice (my favorite).  I sliced up the pork cutlets cooked last night.  From the depths of the fridge I found both leftover and fresh veggies, and prepped the lot.

Discovered:  1. Huge bag of organic baby carrots.  Cut up about a cup of them into tiny nubs.

2. Collard greens from farmer Greg at Claybank; about half were turning yellow, the other half were salvageable.  Removed the spines and chiffonaded the leaves.

3. Brussels sprouts. Trimmed the outside leaves, then cut them into small pieces.  Still have a portion left which might be my lunch tomorrow.

4. Green beans, left over from last night’s dinner.  Cut into small pieces.

5. Green onions, also from Greg, drying out.  Stripped off the outside layer and chopped them into the light green part.

6. Triple S pork cutlets, left over from last night’s dinner.

7. One of three little lonely yellow onions left in my basket.

Purged:  1. Half of the collard greens.  This made me sad.

2. A bunch of kale from Blue Moon.  This made me even sadder.

3. A plastic bag with a small handful of arugula, also Blue Moon.

4. A plastic bag with a small handful of Blue Moon cilantro.

5. A tiny, spongy cucumber from my own garden.

6. A tiny bunch of radishes from Blue Moon.  I love them on salad, and had totally forgotten about them.

7. A quarter of a red onion from ???.  I always seem to end up with a quarter of a red onion left over, no matter how small of an onion I buy.

I started with parboiling my uncooked veggies—the Brussels sprouts, the carrots, and the collard greens-- just to even the playing field with the green beans.  I drained them, then added a splash of rice wine vinegar to remove that earthy flavor and add some pizzazz.  I set them aside.  I put a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil in my giant cast iron skillet.  This oil is a good choice for high heat, and I love the flavor it adds.  I diced up a regular onion, then sautéed until it started to brown, and then added my veggies, including the green beans, and small pieces of diced pork cutlet. They were on high heat for a few minutes, then I beat three small farm eggs (with their gorgeous dark yellow yolks), scooted the veggies to one side of the pan, and poured in the eggs to scramble.  Once they were done, jumbled into pieces, and mixed in with the rest, I added a stir-fry ginger sauce, then a whole lotta shoyu (soy sauce would work here too).  I mixed in about two or three cups of rice, and made sure the whole thing was hot, and all the liquids were absorbed, trying to avoid letting the rice stick to the skillet.  I threw in the green onions at the last minute.

I dished it up just as my son was getting back from soccer practice, and he immediately pronounced it “delicious.”  I beamed with pride. Two minutes later, his little eyes squinted and he said accusingly, “You are sneaky.  You somehow managed to sneak Brussels sprouts in here!”

I only smiled.

“And what is this?” he asked, trailing a ribbon of collard green from his fork.

“More vegetables,” I responded.

“Then why does it still taste good?” he asked.

“Because I’m just good that way,” I said with a wink.

Full of vegetables; even Persimmon thinks it smells great!