[Sca-cooks] P B & J

[Judith Epstein]

On Aug 23, 2009, at 10:54 PM, Barbara Nostrand wrote:

> Greetings from Solveig! Aside from being anything but creative, PB&J  
> is anathema to folks with serious peanut allergy. Period cheesy mac  
> or at least something very very close exists. Basically, please  
> thumb through some period cookbooks some more. I'm pretty sure that  
> you can find things that are appetizing to the younger set.

I'm continually amazed at those who think children need to be  
culinarily patronized. Absolutely, feed your children mushy foods  
before they get teeth; cater to allergies and health-related  
intolerances; feed them according to your religious and ideological  
restrictions (kosher, halal, vegetarian/vegan). But that's where the  
restrictions can safely stop. After those restrictions are honored,  
feed children like you feed adults, and they will develop a good  
palate and an attitude that they can try new things. At the very  
least, they'll be able to be polite when offered hospitality in the  
form of food that is permitted to them (because it doesn't endanger  
their health or violate religious requirements). At the most, they'll  
get to enjoy the gorgeous variety of food that the world has to offer.  
Plus, the parent won't be stuck making a different meal for everyone  
at table, when they could instead be enjoying their family, company,  
and/or SCA event.

Judith