Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: MIX (10/22/15)
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TITLE: Pumpkin Soup | Previous Challenge Entry
By Robyn Harbour
10/26/15 -
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This vegetable always evicted the same war cry from Johnny. ‘Pumpkin is good for you Johnny,’ his mum answered, ‘now eat it up without complaining’. The meal had progressed as did all meals with pumpkin, slowly, with lots of arguing and cajoling. Definitely not pleasant for those at the dinner table.
Inwardly Anne thought, ‘I’m tired of these battles, there has to be a way around this problem. Dinner time and food should never be a battle ground in the family.’ She did not believe in leaving the hated food off the plate but she always gave Johnny less than the his sister. Surely to eat just one small piece of pumpkin could not be that unpalatable.
Over the next few weeks Anne slowly reintroduced pumpkin in a different form. Yellow potato she told Johnny was potato mashed with lots of butter. He loved buttery potato. She added just enough pumpkin to color the potato without it looking too orange.
Chocolate muffins containing pumpkin were a hit, especially in the lunch box, white icing and sprinkles helped the disguise. Johnny came home from school after the first muffin and declared that they were the yummiest muffins he had ever tasted. There must be other ways of disguising pumpkin, she just had to think of them.
No matter what Anne did to pumpkin soup it was still pumpkin. Mr Google was not much help, he suggested mixing curry powder or ginger, parsnips, apple or celery with the soup for a change of flavor, but none of these suggestions did much to disguise the color of the pumpkin.
The answer was not to compromise and cook an alternative meal just for Johnny on soup nights. Pumpkin soup was the last battleground and one not so easily won. The ALDI catalogue that came in the mail box gave Anne a great idea. The week’s featured recipe was citrus soup. Brilliant, she thought, instead of pumpkin soup the family would have orange soup for tea. Johnny loved oranges, they were his favorite fruit. She mixed the juice and rind of an orange with the pumpkin soup while it was cooking and when it was ready she called Johnny.
‘We are having orange soup tonight and I have a special job for you’ she said. She gave Johnny a sauce dispenser filled with sour cream. ‘ Johnny I want you to decorate the soup in the bowls with a pattern or face to make the orange soup look really pretty.’
‘Great idea mum, can I do whatever I like?’ Johnny fell for the bait; hook, line and sinker.
Johnny did his best creative patterns on top of the soup; a heart for mum, a fish for dad, a flower for Sally and a smiley face for himself. Everyone commented on their decorations and declared that orange soup was even tastier than pumpkin soup as there was a strong citrus tang to the flavor.
Johnny agreed. ‘Can we have orange soup another night mum?’ he asked. Anne smiled to herself, the battle had been won.
It was years before Johnny found out about the deception.
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Anyway, you made a nice story out of this. Such clever ways to get kids to eat. It could give mothers some ideas on how to get their kids to eat. Good writing. God bless, LaVonne
This is well written and could be thought of being a true-life story. Nicely done. Creative and patient parent.