Would you like cauliflower with that?

I would first like to report that since my last post, I have feasted on tomatoes and basil about seven times, and I’m so much better for it. Don’t ever let me go that long again!!

OK, so, my little girl, my firstborn angel, my energy-filled, soccer-playing sparkplug, my wise-cracking, trivia-loving Lulupedia, turned 12 last month. 

TWELVE I SAY! 

 

Apparently they let that happen, a kid gets to keep growing, and growing, and then they turn twelve and start middle school, and there’s nothing you can really do about it. But you know what you CAN do? You can still try to get those 12-year-olds to eat their veggies. I try to do it all the time and on many occasions, it takes. (Note: this post is NOT about tomatoes and basil — everybody knows tomatoes are a fruit!)

For Lulu’s bday celebration with her gal pals, she really wanted to have a roller skating sleepover party. I’m all for that kind of madness! Throw a bunch of sweet girls with sleeping bags in my living room to squeal and giggle and put on their own version of “America’s Got Talent” after 3 hours of skating in a circle to the latest dance hits — those kind of memories will last a lifetime.

I wonder if they’ll remember that I attempted to fortify their evening extravaganza with some farmers market bounty before it all began. I’m thinking no. But you know what, I tried, and it sure was pretty, and I’m recording it here on the internets for posterity.

 

I stopped by the market the day of the party and found that POW! — the colorful cauliflower had made a showy stop on the racks. Amish farmers from a few hours away in Illinois had giant bouquets of sunflowers, celosia, purple millet, and those crazy, hairy, green orbs on a stick (if ANYONE knows what those are, please share with the rest of us!). I picked up baskets of Missouri-grown peppers in all different shades, plus sugar snap peas (not local, but total must-haves!), carrots and cheeses and lettuces, and even a dozen brown eggs for breakfast the next morning. We made sandwiches with simple coldcut fixins, and had a giant bowl of chips because you have to have a little grease and salty crunch with your healthy stuff, it’s only fair. 

I encouraged the kids to try as many vegetables as they could. And I dared them to break off a hunk of the yellow or purple cauliflower, which I’d popped into vintage flowerpots. The vibrant colors were so inviting, who could resist???

 

Apparently everyone could resist, except for Clara, who is 9, and who was the recipient of the Most Adventurous Kid of the Day award. GO CLARA! Upon trying the purple variety, she declared it gross, and moved on to the snap peas. Maybe it needed to be seasoned, or cooked, or hidden inside something else... I’m not sure, but they haven’t seen the last of the purple cauliflower, I can tell you that.

My friends, you may encourage your kids to eat their veggies. You can even stamp the sentiment AND the cauliflower onto a card with my Farmers Market set (you know my stamp ideas often spring from my real life adventures?). And sometimes they will partake of your healthy prompting. Other times, you just gotta roll with their turned-up noses, and get those preteen party people over to the roller rink for cotton candy and popsicles.

Have a great day and I hope your cardmaking has been filled with fun and fresh ideas! And maybe a few fresh veggie stamps. :)