Tortellini for dinner

For dinner tonight we had cheese tortellini with leftover eggplant/tomato sauce, grated Parmesan cheese, and a salad made by Anna. I usually serve dinner family style, in big separate bowls, so the kids can choose how much they'd like and mix it up in whatever combination they'd like. The rule is that they have to try a little of everything. I find they end up choosing more than I'd expect for some things, and because they have chosen the amount, they are then more likely to be responsible about eating what they have chosen. And who can predict the strange ideas about what can and cannot be mixed. Thomas reminds me of my brother, who used to put everything separately on his plate, then eat each thing fully before moving on clockwise to the next distinct item! Since vegetables often are more likely to be disliked, I try to always have one they like in case they only eat a tidbit of one. Here, for instance, I know they both love the tomato sauce, but neither likes lettuce so they hunted out only a few cucumbers from the salad.

For dessert I stewed some mangy looking apples and mangos with some orange-mango juice... much better stewed than fresh, especially with ice cream on top.