The Future of Foodies

So what happens to foodies when they grow families? Does the foie gras get replaced by mac and cheese? Pancetta by bologna?

A weekend at my sister's and an article from a friend give me hope for my children (yet to be born) and the future of foodies.

My sister has three children under five. The infant I have featured before as she has accompanied our family to NYC for gastronomic adventures, and to our delight gummed various exotic fruits. The oldest child, well, there is one in every family, he won't eat anything. But the two year old...ahh there is the budding genius. As I helped rearrange the spice cabinet at my sister's, her precocious son proceeded to help me, asking what each spice was and if he could smell and taste them all. You should have seen his face (a) when he took the lid off the tumeric and it poofed in the air coating us both with that wonderful golden pollen, and (b) when he tried to eat a piece of candied ginger, and then gave it to Grandma to try. But it didn't stop there. As he was served a piece of bread and a little chicken, he jealously eyed my sushi and asked if he could have some. He delighted in the crab and the tuna, but decided that the eel looked "too red" (the sauce). The next day, with grilled cheese on the menu, he eyed Grandma's sesame cold noodles. Guess what...Grandma had grilled cheese for lunch because he ate all her noodles! Yep, that one gives me hope.

Now this post from epicurious.com, about a child's obsession with capers, is another great example of the "difficulties" of child rearing, that I pray I will have to endure.

One other culinary triumph: the two boys (5 and 2) and I managed to crack seven eggs and whisk the eggs with neither shells in them nor eggs on us prior to them going into the pan. The boys declared them delicious and then promptly screamed when they found there was no more bacon.

This weekend I was grateful for my family and especially my sister, brother-n-law, niece and nephews. I rarely get to see them, but now they have moved to the south, so perhaps I will see them more.