Hey, Kids! Eat Your Fruits and Veggies...For Dad!

With Father's Day approaching, it's time to turn our attention to the Dads. It's common today for Moms and Dads to share equally in preparing the meals. However, when I grew up things were different. Mom was the one in the kitchen and when Dad came home from work, dinner was almost always on the table. The only time Dad got involved in the cooking was on the weekends when he fired up the Weber grill for a burger or a steak. 

As I think back about times around our kitchen table, I do remember my parents coaxing me to try new foods. I'm sure my Dad at one time or another put the peas on the spoon and tried to fly them into the open "hangar." This age-old trick to get kids to eat their vegetables seems to pass from one generation to the next...I remember the same trick when our own kids were little, and I'm pretty sure they didn't fall for it!

This week in honor of the Dads who've been working to provide food, putting meals on the table, and persuading kids to try something healthy, we're having a photo contest. Get that camera ready or dig out those old photos. Post a picture on our Daisy Mae's Market Facebook wall of your kid (or any kid) eating fruits or vegetables. The photo that gets the most "likes" by midnight on Father's Day, June 19, is the winner. Winner gets five bags of our Windy Acres dried fruits and snacks (Dad's love 'em) on the next visit to Findlay Market...plus the winner also gets major bragging rights for "Daisy Mae's Favorite Kid."  

Happy Father's Day from all of us at Daisy Mae's Market!

Marry Your Fruits and Vegetables

Since I used to turn my nose up at vegetables, I don't remember having many green salads as a kid. I remember nothing but fruit cocktail and jello salads. As I got a little older, tossed salads began creeping into my diet. I remember the first green salads I ate were covered in thick 1000 Island or Ranch dressing and topped with shredded cheese and croutons. Somewhere underneath was a bed of iceberg lettuce with a few slices of carrots or celery. 

Salads have come a long way in the last few years...both for me personally and in the culinary world in general. It's not uncommon for me to have a salad as my entree, and every restaurant in town seems to offer a dizzying array of choices. Now I prefer mixed greens with a light dressing that doesn't overwhelm the freshness of the vegetables...And much to my surprise, some of my favorite salads today include marrying the fresh veggies with a touch of fruit. 

I've really developed a taste for the popular spinach salad with dried cranberries and feta, but last night we discovered a new fruit and veggie salad twist: Grilled Peach Salad. We topped fresh peaches and Romaine lettuce from Daisy Mae's Market with fresh crumbled Greek feta from Gibbs Cheese at Findlay Market and came out with an absolutely delicious summer salad. 

If you're stuck in a mealtime rut, try introducing fruit to the vegetables in your salad bowl. Flavors that you may think have no business on the same plate may actually prove to be a marriage made in heaven. 

Taste of Cincinnati-The Sequel

Last weekend was one of Cincinnati's favorite festivals, Taste of Cincinnati. This eating extravaganza takes over downtown Cincinnati during Memorial Day weekend when sampling food and walking from vendor to vendor are the things to do. 
Yesterday when Daisy Mae's was booming with visitors buying fresh produce, it occurred to me that Findlay Market is really an everyday Taste of Cincinnati. People stroll from one stand to the next, sampling food as they explore all the tastes of the market. They discuss different flavors, try foods they've never seen, share servings that are too generous for one, and reinforce the idea that food is fun. And (gasp) they even talk to people they don't know about foods they are eating! It becomes a party atmosphere that definitely resembles the Taste of Cincinnati.
So my question is: Why wait until next May to experience a Taste of Cincinnati again? Come to Findlay Market any Tuesday through Sunday year-round to enjoy the feeling of a festival. You can eat and drink your way from Race Street to Elm Street any time of the year. What better way to get a taste of Cincinnati...