Is it the Eggplant or the Idea?

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Is It the Eggplant or the Idea?

I really believe that kids who won’t eat vegetables are mostly rejecting the concept.

My nine-year-old granddaughter was visiting for three weeks. Many vegetables were spurned despite lectures on how good they were for her. There was no way I could get most vegetables past her lips.

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Toward the end of the visit, she was busily trying for odd jobs from the neighbors and ourselves, trying to earn enough for a coveted special Lego set. She came in the house close to dinnertime, but hadn’t yet gotten to the kitchen. I knew she was hungry for both food and money. I had been cooking breaded eggplant for a casserole. Cutting a three inch square seedless piece out of the center of a slice, I took it into the living room on a small plate and showed it to her.

"Jackie", I told her, "I will give you a quarter if you eat this, and another quarter if you can identify it."

She looked doubtful, but agreed to give it a try. She took a small bite, then another. "It’s good," she said, "but I don’t know what it is."

"Take a guess," I said. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah. Is it chicken?" No. "Veal?" No. "French toast? Breaded fish?", doubtfully.

She got only one quarter and a BIG surprise!

See Hints about Eggplants