Food for children

 Italy is known for it's views and it's foods. After our first meal of fresh veggies and fresh pasta, I knew reverting to an American diet again would be a bad choice. The meals are famously long but I had always assumed they were long just for big events such as weddings or birthdays of a grandparent. The several course meals are much more common.

Our first interaction is when our landlords invited us over for "pool opening and pizza party" We came over about an hour after they said things were heating up. We missed the pizza course but they saved some for us. The next course was pasta with mussels. Poor Tiger had his whole plate full although I plead for him to stop knowing there was more around the corner. Next course was a plate of mussels, as the women walked around giving lemons and squeezing them on the shellfish. I don't recall the order but there was a cheese course with a full mozzarella ball (about 1/3 a lb!), another of fried fish and after we left, we were given some of the cake that was for a later course! Bread and wine were constantly being pushed on us. During each course, everyone sat down and ate. The women then would sweep away the old plates and clean the table. The men would sleep, the children would swim and the women would talk or watch the kids. The older children (around 9 years and up) would watch the younger children. After some unset time they would start cooking again and when all was ready, the men would be woken up and the kids would dry off. It is exhausting to watch and we only made a few courses until the kids needed a nap.


I still felt that was a once a year event until I went and visited my kids' school. My kids are vegetarians as am I, so they do have a slightly different meal than the others, and this was a Halloween celebration but I was told by other parents and teachers that this was a normal meal for them. They started with what is commonly the "second plate" of meat and veggies. My kids had a plate with a croche (a log of breaded mashed potatoes with cheese), a spinach ball, sliced carrots and smiley potatoes. The meat eaters didn't have the croche but did have 2 hot dogs (sans bun) with cheese and catsup, a deviled egg and smiley potatoes. My children ate their whole plate and I went to go talk to other parents when I saw them getting another course! This was pasta with tomato sauce-- a plate full of it! Normally this is "first plate" but the school decided since kids fill up on pasta, the pasta should come second and veggies and protein should be first. Over an hour after lunch started for my 4 and 3 year old children, they were still eating. The teacher told me the NEXT course is usually fruit and bread but because it was a special day, they were just getting "dolce" meaning sweets or dessert. I thought it would be something similar to chips-a-hoy but instead they unwrapped packages from the pastry shop! The kids got chocolate filled pirouettes or nutella on cookies, or marmalade scones. I did taste some of the food but the director looked at me and the other nibbling parents and said "I didn't think you'd have any interest in this food! Your food is out in the meeting hall" so we went and ate eggplant Parmesan, breaded and fried eggs, croches, spinach balls, pastries, really anything you could dream of! I can't imagine seeing a PTA meeting and the cold donuts and coffee they serve after this view!

Bugsies enjoying her first course