The Twins Turn SIX!

[We interrupt our spring home improvement break to bring you this newsflash. Otherwise entitled: "What doesn't belong?!"]

Each year, our kids get to pick their birthday dinner. Thankfully, for the past 6 years, my boys have picked the SAME food as each other--convenient, eh? And this year, they pick some old stand-bys AND some new items. I can only credit our relentless "try this, you'll like it someday" approach and the Colvins' "surprise veggies" (as our kids call them). Here's how this went down this year:

• Me: Boys, what do you want for your birthday dinner this year?
• Boys: Hot dogs!! [no surprise there; hot dogs have been their birthday dinner for 6 years running]
• Me: Ok. What else?
• W: The Brown Beans!
• D: Yeah, the sweet ones!
• W: They're the only beans I like [he's referring to baked beans--another popular "pick"]
• Me: OK. That's easy enough. Anything else?
• Boys: Jello!!
• Me: OK. We'll make a fruity jello salad. Anything else?
• Boys: Mustard greens!!
• Me: REALLY?? Are you SURE?
• Boys: Yeah! We like them. Mustard greens, mustard greens!
• Me: [somewhat speechless]
• Me: OK. What do you want for your cake? 
• Boys: Chocolate Beet Cake!! [I despise beets, CSA notwithstanding, so last year I found a recipe that used roasted, mashed beets in chocolate cake. I could NOT abide the cake, but the kids loved it and still talk about it...]
• D: But Mommy doesn't like chocolate beet cake. Right, Mommy?
• Me: Right. Besides, we don't have any beets. [someday they'll wise up to this type of excuse, right?]
• Boys: Regular chocolate cake! With chocolate icing! [Mmmm... I'll make "my" birthday cake which I didn't make earlier this year]
• Me: Excellent choice.

And there you have it. Who'd have thunk it? Mustard greens for a birthday dinner?? For a 6-year-old?? Who am I to hold back greens from a kid who's asking for them, much less two kids who are asking for them. So, as you can tell from the photo above, they're most definitely on the menu. Will the kids still like them when they try them again? Who knows. But we'll give it a whirl before they forget they DID like them the last time.....