The Aforementioned Woodchuck Story

In yesterday's post (for those of you who missed my somewhat sarcastic admission of Gather addiction and justification for such, it was entitled 9 Days ... Who Knew I Could Do It?) I alluded to a funny woodchuck story that would be good for a few chuckles.  Let's see if I can't dress it up a little to guarantee the comedy.  Of course, it's one of those "mommy stories" that perhaps only parents would appreciate, but I could be wrong.  You be the judge.

As a mom, I find it very important to introduce my children to different cultures, locations, and cuisines.  As they get older, we can never know what lies ahead ... and what food may be put before us in spite of the ever constant obligation of proper manners.  Imagine being a company executive trying to win over a new client or finalize a deal when the server presents a pu pu platter.  Given the situation, I think I would rather be aware of what it is and have some familiarity with what to expect vs. having an unusual and exotic taste sprung upon me while eager eyes anticipate my satisfaction in the meal.  Don't get me wrong - I am not out to make them eat what most Americans would consider "nasty" foods, such as escargot or monkey brains, but I am expecting them to broaden their culinary horizons and at least try some new stuff.

In October my sister-in-law was visiting from California and she already knew of the troubles I'd been having in getting my ten year-old daughter to eat foods other than chicken nuggets or strips and salads (the biggest issue is always vegetables).  We visited an Australian-themed restaurant known locally as Matilda's that serves a wide variety of Aussie dishes.  One of the appetizers was a sampler that offered a skewer each of emu and kangaroo as well as two coconut shrimp.  So we all got to try some new things ... and they were good.  For the record, emu is gamey and resembles dark meat turkey in flavor while kangaroo tastes like steak.  At any rate, she did try the emu, but wouldn't venture beyond that.  At least she tried one of them!

So, armed with the knowledge that I encourage my kids to try a number of different types of food whenever possible (they've tried at least 10 different cuisines now) you may get a kick out of a recent comment made by my 12 year-old son.  We were at a Tex-Mex / Cajun restaurant and he decided he wanted a cajun burger rather than fajitas.  He said, "Mom, their burgers are made with 100% chuck."  Unsure of why this made a difference I asked, "Ah, and that is a good thing, yes?"  To this he replied, "Well, it's different, isn't it?"  Again, I was stumped and asked him if he knew what chuck was followed by sipping on my soda.  He said, "Yeah, it's woodchuck, isn't it?"  At that point my Diet Coke nearly exited through my nose.  I explained that chuck is a cut of beef and it was ground up to make the patty, that it was not any other type of animal.  I also added that I wasn't sure if there were any restaurants that serve woodchuck, just in case he wanted to try it in the near future.  He said "That's OK.  I'd had the burgers here and thought they were good but if they weren't made from woodchuck, that's OK, too.  I didn't really want to eat one of those anyway."