Day 229/365: Caterpillar, Kelp

[nanila]

I found a caterpillar in my salad today. Well, not so much "found" as "poked my salad with a fork and watched in surprise as a caterpillar leapt to the relative safety of another region of my plate".

Keiki was delighted. As soon as his daddy and Humuhumu appeared from a trip to the WC, he called across the pub, "Daddy! There was a CATERPILLAR in the lettuce and it jumped onto Mummy's LEMON!"

The looks on the faces of the other diners - not to mention the waitstaff - were a sight to behold.

Later, I bought the children a lollipop.

Me: "Keiki, what does your green lollipop taste like?"

Keiki, gravely: "Kelp."

Comments

[cmcmck]

That lollipop would be good for him then! :o)

[nanila]

True. The thing that has me worried is: When did he find out what kelp tastes like?

[cmcmck]

It tastes like kelp! Everyone knows that! :o)

[rmc28]

I'm assuming he got the idea from Octonauts :-)

[nanila]

Ah yes. Good point! He loves the Vegemals and their kelp cakes.

[wohali]

Kelp is tasty! Probably not in a lollipop though.

Sometimes it's good to have excitement. In your case with the salad...not so much. :)

[nanila]

I wasn't too fussed about the caterpillar although I did check the rest of my salad carefully. :)

[lurkingcat]

I'm glad your caterpillar was still alive when you found it. I have a very vivid childhood holiday memory of discovering a caterpillar in the cabbage on my plate. The cabbage had been well cooked and so, alas, had the caterpillar.

[nanila]

Alas, poor caterpillar! Keiki would have been very sad about that. He would have insisted on taking it outside and burying it, which probably would have caused even more consternation amongst our fellow diners.

[fred_mouse]

My childhood memories of caterpillars are similar, although in broccoli, not cabbage. They were green before cooking (and thus invisible to me, whose job it was to pick off the caterpillars) and pink after cooking.

[alatefeline]

What a delightful child.

[nanila]

All creatures are his friends. :)

[omnipotent]

Kelp is tasty, but probably not as a lollipop, LOL.

Well, I must ask because reasons....did you eat the caterpillar, and if so, was it good? :P

[nanila]

I didn't eat the caterpillar. Keiki would have been horrified. :p

[azurelunatic]

When Purple found a live caterpillar in his mint lemonade, he took it as a sign that the mint was very fresh. Still a distinct surprise!

[nanila]

Yes, I didn't mind the caterpillar. I did check the rest of my salad carefully before I ate it, though.

[st_aurafina]

I mean - at least it was a whole caterpillar?

Poor waitstaff!

[nanila]

That was my thought. I would have been a lot more upset if it were dead.

The waitstaff were very good about it - I had to keep assuring them that really, I was fine.

[silveradept]

That's certainly a thing to discover in one's food. And, of course, the fun is amplified by the multiplier of how loud Keiki's excitedness was.

Also, kelp, huh? Didn't know that seaweed types were part of the regular diet.

[nanila]

Keiki will try almost anything. He also likes an array of strong flavours - balsamic vinegar and chilli sauces, for instance!

[silveradept]

Ooh, that's lovely! I'll bet that makes cooking a lot easier.

[pbristow]

[GIGGLE]

[nanila]

I mean, no one wants a caterpillar in their salad, but, uh, at least it was alive and I found it before I stuck it in my mouth?!