A little veg, a little bean, a little Mmmmm.....

This spring Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution was the big thing in our house. The funky British chef with the funny accent set out to change the way an American town looks at food, mostly through the public school lunch program. My kids could relate to the cafeteria meals, cranky lunch ladies and the difficult choices such as white over chocolate milk. I found myself saying things like, "What would Jamie say about that?" or "Jamie would love this with all the veg!"

Those who have eaten a meal or two with my family know that I have one child that will eat anything, one that won't, and one somewhere in the middle. So when they were pestering me to make Jamie Oliver's Chili Beef Nachos (said in a child's bad English accent) I finally felt like I had to give in and try it. On the show, Chili Beef Nachos was one of the favorite hot lunch meals at the elementary school and my kids were more than intrigued. Google to the rescue, and the recipe was mine.

Today I set out to make it, and thank goodness I started early as it wasn't simple. No wonder Alice the Cafeteria Lady was cranky!

Step one was to make the Hidden Veg Sauce, and you need some heavy duty equipment to pull it off. With my Kitchen Aid grater attachment (a food processor would work) I grated two big carrots, two zucchini and half a butternut squash resulting in a huge bowl of veg. To that add two diced onions and two diced red peppers, cook it all with 5 cups of canned tomatoes and some spices and get all that "lovely veg goodness" going. Next take out the Kitchen Aid hand blender and "blitz it up". I actually had to read the recipe a few times to figure out what "blitz" meant, thank goodness I had a "blitzer" to make the job easy. Ok, so there you have a huge pot of pureed veg sauce. Step one done. Phew.

Time to make the chili. Chopped onion, a pound of hamburger, add to that a quart, yes a quart, of Hidden Veg Sauce. Then add two cups of pureed kidney beans. See how this is getting too good to be true? The thought that my kids would eat all these veg and beans... I was starting to question this project. Cook it all up, throw in some seasoning, and top it off with a bunch of corn. I put it aside and waited for dinner time with high hopes.

I sat down with my fellas (Alanya is with my sister for a few days) and told them how Jamie said to put together the nachos. A handful of chips, a hearty serving of chili on top, sprinkle of cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and I added some salsa and nonfat plain yogurt. They jumped right in and to my shock and delight, the boys were Mmmming and Yummming and wolfing it down. I have never been a mother who hides ingredients from her kids, and they both knew exactly what was in it. Somewhere in his second serving and in between bites, the picky 11 year old said, "It's all in the presentation."

So, in the end, it was worth it. Jamie does know what he's doing after all if he can get my kids to eat something with seven veg and beans with even more veg sprinkled on top. My pediatrician told me when Noah was about 6 that Noah would not eat chicken fingers at his wedding. I wasn't so sure then, but there may be hope!

The clavicle

By now I'm sure most of my friends and family have heard the story of Noah breaking his clavicle two weeks ago. He was on a ripstick and tried to jump off when he got going to fast at the top of a hill. The xray says it all. It was my first broken bone ever as a parent and I won't go into all the details. Instead, a few things I'm thankful for.

• The Helmet. Noah insisted he didn't hit his head, but a few days after the accident I went and looked at it. Sure enough there was evidence that he hit his head. I only hope my kids continue to wear their helmets because they know it's the right thing to do, not because we said so. Just this evening my mother in law called to tell me that a 26 year old family friend of hers died in a skateboard accident yesterday. No helmet.
• It was the Left. Noah writes with his right hand so his transition back to school wasn't so difficult. The worst part was having to use a new rolling backpack, according to him. But the left hand is getting use even with his sling. I have caught him using his PSP, playing wii and balancing a laptop on his lap.
• Health Insurance. Since the fall less than two weeks ago he has had three doctor's appointments and two sets of xrays and we are just getting started. Cha ching. Health insurance is a beautiful thing when you need it.
• The Timing. No time is a good time, but I realize this is a good time of year for this to happen. School is winding down, he doesn't need to wear a heavy coat, he can't slip and fall on the ice... Ok, maybe I'm reaching now.

He'll be ok, and eventually be well enough to get back on that wretched ripstick of his, which he was getting very good at actually. Ironically, I sort of enjoy seeing him slow down for a little bit. We talk in the car when I drive him to and from school. We hang out together before the little ones get home. He lets me cuddle and smooch him a little more than normal. I better take it while I can get it before the sling comes off and he's too cool for his mom again.

Ben and his buddy, J.K.

About two months ago my third grader finished reading the first Harry Potter. For a kid who has struggled to sit down and commit to a "real" book, this was a big accomplishment for him. He was encompassed with all things Harry simply by the joy of reading such a wonderful book and being moved by each and every word.

His fascination wasn't just with the book though, he was intrigued by J.K. Rowling as a person. Lucky for him he had to do an oral report on a biography of someone famous and decided to dress up like Harry and present the creative author behind the character. Around the same time my 6th grader was doing an assignment where he had to write a letter to a famous person or business. A light switched on in Ben's face and he announced he was going to write a letter to J.K. Rowling. About 15 minutes later he handed me a perfectly handwritten letter that told the author how happy he was to read her book and how much he liked it. We googled where to send it and off it went.

Jump ahead to today when I opened the mailbox and pulled out an envelope from Scholastic Publishing addressed to Ben. It took me a few seconds to figure it out, but when I did, Ben came running. How thrilling for a 9 year old to realize his letter had been read by someone and responded to. I had already talked to him about the volume of mail she must get and he certainly wasn't expecting a hand-written note from her, but any response was enough for him. Inside the envelope was a photograph of the author and a wonderful letter that apologized for not being able to respond personally to each and every letter sent. He was thrilled. What a wonderful experience for a child to know his words and thoughts matter and grownups will listen and respond.

He tucked it all away in his backpack to show his class on Monday. After that he said it will hang in a place of honor on his bulletin board.