triticale - the wheat / rye guy

The Rest Of The Story

My wee wifey posted the recipe, picked up by this week's Carnival, for an old family favorite, but she didn't tell the entire story behind it.

Long ago, when our now 28 year old son was 4, Chicago's then-mayor Jane Byrne had her people organize an ethnic folk fair which was held at the Navy Pier exhibition hall. Upstairs were information and craft booths, and a stage for song and dance performances. Downstairs was a "taste of the world" with booths selling traditional foods from people's homelands.

We were standing by the Nigerian booth, and Emrack, who had been weaned on a jalepeño pepper, was holding a paper plate of spinach stew up to his face so he could shovel it in. This family who looked like they had come in from a nice suburb in a Volvo station wagon wandered up. The wife said to the husband "He's obviously enjoying it so it can't be that strange. Let's try some." The wee wifey, fearing child abuse charges, panicked and dragged us away before I could see their reaction upon trying it.