— Denise Tarasuk

Well, you can always try, um, miso soup, as we talked about earlier, uh, which comes in an infinite number of flavors and textures and appearances. Um, let's see, tofu, uh, a lot of different ways to create tofu in terms of, you know, sauteed vegetable toppings. Uh, another idea that I've had success with, with the three and 6-year-old crowd is to make Japanese style curry rice. And at least to start with, I will recommend that, uh, you look for the Curry ru, uh, which comes in a box about this big, and I find this at a Japanese grocery store, uh, in town. But you can find this product, uh, at other grocery stores. Sometimes you'll need to look around, but all the, all the spices are all mixed up in the ru and, uh, super simple to use. Um, but it gives you the opportunity, um, to, you know, add vegetables of your choice. And for that audience, what I, um, have done is I will grate the, the onions, the carrots, the potatoes, whatever it is that's going in there, so that once it's all cooked down, no one knows what's in there. And so far, I, I've had anyone object to the flavor, uh, of Japanese curry. And, uh, you know, I've even had, uh, some kids that, um, have been really picky eaters and I mean, super duper picky eaters. And their parents would whisper in my ear and tell me, I don't think my kid's gonna like this, and guess what? Their child asks for seconds. And I'm not, I'm not talking about my cooking here. I'm talking about simply Japanese curry. Uh, and so give that a try. It comes in different heat levels from zero up to a little bit hot. And, and so you can pick that, uh, also for your audience. Now, the, the next step, you know, if you get that under your belt, and it works out for everybody, is that you can make your own Japanese style curry. And that's what I've been doing. It, it's a lengthier process, and, um, a lot of fun. You can experiment with it and make some adjustments. Um, I'm still somewhere on this learning curve myself, but having a great time with it. But that's another way, um, to, to create this dish. Um, but without some of the additives of a processed food, right? That's you're, that, that you're using with the curry ru. Okay? Now, the other thing that comes to mind, you know, for kiddos, and this will work, uh, for both of them, and that is to get them involved in the cooking process. But what I've found, um, uh, you know, generally speaking, uh, and maybe specifically speaking too, is that when a child has their hands in on the food that they're gonna eat, that they are gonna trust the results more because their input, right, their fingerprint is on the meal. So get them involved in some small way for the 3-year-old in some larger way for the 6-year-old. And you'll also instill so many other, um, good, good habits around food. Um, you know, knowledge of ingredients, knowledge of, of how to use a knife, um, how to, how to control heat and time. And just so those basics of cooking, um, will become natural for them as they grow up at your side. Um, so, you know, when it comes to, you know, more ideas using miso and tofu, there are so many out there. And I suggest that you, you go online or pick up a a book at your local library and just play with things. And, um, you know, you're, you're, you're bound to find a lot of things, you know, in this, um, sort of framework that, that you and I just, uh, sketched out that will work for everybody at the table. And I suspect there's gonna be a lot of enjoyable, uh, food prep sessions ahead as well.