Tag Archives: kale

306/365. the power of a positive school lunch program to form social norms.

306/365. the power of a positive school lunch program to form social norms.

for as long as i can remember, odin’s favorite meal has been beans and rice and cheese and kale. and i think it’s not just because it’s covered in three types of yummy dairy ( cheese, sour cream and butter ). and it’s certainly not because of its association with The Dog Food Burrito Incident 🙂

rather, i think it shows the power of early experiences of a good meal combined with fond memories of friends, as it was a frequent lunch dish at the local walforf school. all the kids loved the hot meal made from scratch with organic ingredients by Jim The Cook.

don’t get me wrong, mac and cheese and pizza are still on his top five list but i think his love of beans and rice and cheese and kale with last a long time.

the Dog Food Burrito Incident.

the Dog Food Burrito Incident. I.

and it came to pass that it was my night on dinner duty and i was under a clear directive to use leftovers in the fridge in whatever concoction i could concoct. an easy enough task since we had just had black beans and rice topped with cheese and a side of kale the night before. i thought, i’ll just mix them all together with a bit of garlic, fold into a tortilla shell, cover with cheese and heat in the oven for a bit for a quick and easy burrito!

as i quickly grabbed ingredients, i notice some leftover refried beans in a container, so gave it a quick smell test, noted that it didn’t smell rotten, but also didn’t really smell like refried beans either. it had a vaguely familiar smell. one that i couldn’t quite place. but i was on a mission to keep on the dinner making schedule and brushed aside any nagging thoughts that something might be amiss.

the Dog Food Burrito Incident. II.

after 15 or 20 minutes in a 350°F oven the burritos emerged piping hot and covered in melted cheesy goodness and we started to eat them. straight away, odin refused to take more than one bite. too much garlic ( this is a common dinner issue. i keep thinking i can sneak it almost never works and i’m denial about possibly living without garlic for the next 10 years ).

kris ate half a burrito before declaring that they had too much garlic.

i, happily, devoured several ( with corn torillas in keeping with my mostly gluten free lifestyle ) while proclaiming they Most Certainly Did Not Contain Too Much Garlic. no sirree, they did not!

the next morning, while getting ready odin ready for school i noticed there was another container of refried beans in the fridge with just a small amount gone.

huh? someone just had to have a small bite of refried beans for breakfast? ever so slowly it dawned on me as i raced out the door to yell down to kris and odin as they walked down the street towards school.

the Dog Food Burrito Incident. III.

“HEY, KRIS, SAY WHAT’S IN THAT CONTAINER IN THE FRIDGE THAT LOOKS LIKE REFRIED BEANS?”

if i only could have taken a picture of her face as she turned around and slowly registered the real meaning of my question.

“WHAT?! NOOOOOOOO! TELL ME YOU DIDN’T!”

and that’s when i remembered that, unusually, we have soft dog food in the house to smother in the antibiotics pushkin has to choke down to help treat his latest lyme disease flare up.

i don’t think odin is going to let me forget the Dog Food Burrito Incident. ever.