After a long hiatus I am finally writing about cooking again, and this time I would like to share some joy and energy invested in planting vegetable seeds with my eight-year-old gardening partner in crime, Jahir. Jahir is adorable with gigantic eyes, super long eyelashes, and an insatiable quest for creativity. He sometimes plays happily with his brothers, but other times I see him sitting and working diligently on his own creative projects. The other day he took a large cardboard box outside and was cutting out square pieces from the box. I later told his mom about this, and she said, "I think Jahir may become an architect when he grows up. He loves to build neat objects with legos, and he often draws and constructs different structures." Then I understood why Jahir was cutting those square pieces from the cardboard box. Those were windows for a building he was creating. Jahir's creativity not only shines in the world of buildings and architecture, but he is so excited about new plant life. He was so eager to plant something this spring 2014 that he told me to save apple seeds and avocado seeds. Then one day he came back from the dollar store with his uncle, and he had bought planting tools, pepper seeds, and other vegetable seeds. Those gorgeous eyes looked up at me, and Jahir asked, "Can we plant these right now?" I said, "Sure Jahir. Why not?" I am an enthusiastic person as well, so I felt excited to go outside and begin the planting adventure. We finally started our little garden. Some of our plants had a tough spring with the fluctuating temperatures and heavy rainfall, but I am pleased to say that several of our plants have grown robustly. One day we also went to Mariano's and bought a mint leaf plant, which I have partly consumed. The mint leaves taste delicious, but it must be an acquired taste because I offered a tiny leaf to Jahir, and he made a funny face and threw it out. He is not very readily accepting of new tastes and flavors yet. Jahir likes apples and grapes when he is feeling like healthy foods are his preferred choice, and then like most kids he likes macaroni and cheese, pizza, and McDonald's. Jahir and his brothers are so enthusiastic when I make them macaroni and cheese. Instead of milk and/or butter I like to add olive oil. The kids love it! Instant gratification!
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