Fake Vegetables, November 12, 2008

About a year ago, when Diego was still learning to eat vegetables, broccoli was one of his favorites (corn on the cob was the other).  He wasn't too keen on trying other vegetables.  One day I decided to let him try 'cousin' cauliflower.  He took one look at it and said, "fake broccowi?  No, thanks!"

Now, however,  Diego is the first to ask for vegetables.  He looks for the peppers and carrots in kaldereta, and the green peas and potatoes in igado.  If the dish isn't a stew, he is happy with blanched green beans or munching lettuce on the side.  He even eats sitsaro, which I only started to like when I was already in my teens!

So, I guess I was to blame when a couple of days ago I served him pork adobo and didn't serve any veggies.  In the middle of lunch he asked for "more vegetables, please!"  I apologized for not having any vegetables.  But he said. "Menon (meron)!  There!"   I tried to discern what he was pointing at in the monochrome of that comfort food and gravely realized what he wanted.  "Diego,"  I carefully pointed out, "hindi yan vegetable, taba yan!" *

From now on I'm putting potatoes in the adobo.

______________

* "That's not a vegetable, that's fat!"

DNC Convention August 27, 2008

(To understand this bubuwit, you may have to watch this first:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCDO8LlIRj8 )

We are constantly amazed at what Diego observes.  Sometimes he would see a toy he has as part of a small picture in a magazine. "Oh, look!"  He would suddenly say, "Kangina, wight?!"  He uses "kangina" (a while ago) to refer to past events, even if he refers to something that happened, or something that he saw, weeks ago.

When it is our turn to watch TV, Diego sometimes watches DVD's on the laptop, which is usually placed on the dining table.  So it was when we were watching the Democratic Conventions leading up to Obama's acceptance of his candidacy as the democrat's presidential bet.   At the end of one speaker's turn, the Democrats were prompted for the refrain that Obama made popular after the New Hampshire primary.  "Can we do it?"  And the audience replied:  "Yes, we can!"

Diego looked up from the laptop, looked at the TV, and said "Oh, Boh Da Bidda!" 

------------------------------------
Bob, The Builder is a kids TV show that features Bob and his crew of construction vehicles.  He fires them up by asking "Can we fix it?"  And they reply "Yes, we can!"

Diego is not half off, too.  Bob, The Builder has been around for some time and is probably a show that Obama watched as a kid.