Rhubarb and Egg Hunts

Since before Jett could start eating, I have been on a mission to entice and expand his tastebuds to include all kinds of interesting and diverse flavors.  I believe that it is important for children to try, try, and try again new foods so that they are able to eat a variety of colorful and wonderful foods. (And let's be honest, so that someday Jett will like many of the same foods that his mama does.)

Currently his growing list of favorites includes red pepper, garlic, mango, spinach, pears by the fist full, chicken Alfredo pizza, tandoori chicken, and add a new food to the list...drum roll please, this is a good one...rhubarb! 

My parents just moved to a beautiful new house that has an abundance of rhubarb growing in the back yard.  My mom sent home a bunch for me to use, and I've only gotten through half of that harvest.  Jett helped me bake, and as I was chopping, he was begging for a taste.  Knowing how bitter and sour raw rhubarb is I gave him just a little teenie tiny piece to try, and to my surprise he loved it.  Even better than the raw fruit, he loved the dessert that I made from it, a recipe from none other than The Pioneer Woman.  I can only begin to describe this rhubarb cobbler by saying that the recipe (like many from the Frontier) is not afraid of butter or sugar, but after all this is dessert.  The rhubarb itself doesn't get much dressing up, just simple granulated sugar, which gives the fruit's zippy tanginess a chance to shine through.  The cobbler part is like biting into a sweet fluffy biscuit and the two together yield almost a pudding like consistency.  Amazing!

(By the way, did you know that rhubarb is actually a vegetable, but is largely considered a fruit in the U.S.  You can wow your party guests with that one.)

I'm also excited to share some adorable pictures of Jett's first egg hunts!  Last week we joined in the fun of my dad's company egg hunt, which was fantastic for a beginner.  Lots of eggs, few kids in the 0-2 age category, and great weather.

Today we were invited to join my best friend and her daughter in Tekamah for their annual community egg hunt.  It was a huge event complete with a petting zoo, pony rides, and a train.  The 0-3 category was the opposite of the week before.  Nearly a hundred parents and kids lined up on both sides of a field and when the guy said "go", they went!  Our inexperience shone through, yielding no eggs until a kind man revealed one that he had hidden under his foot, for the pathetic hunters. It was literally over in about 20 seconds. But not to worry, it was really the petting zoo that our kiddos were most excited about.

Reagan with her egg!

 Happy Easter everyone!