My picky eater loves stinky cheeses and octopus

I’ve almost been speechless today, not just because I have laryngitis but because my daughter is a lover of stinky cheese.  On top of a salad (yes!)  We’re talking feta, blue cheese, the ones that make the fridge smell funny.  Not long ago I had a post about how Leilani wouldn’t eat her veggies.  But she will eat her Vieux Boulogne.  This I’ve discovered is the stinkiest cheese in the world, so much so that the French have outlawed its transport on all buses, trains, and subways.  And I have a sneaking suspicion that Leilani would love it.

And here’s another shocker: my daughter also loves to chow down on octopus.  I discovered this quite by happenstance on a culinary adventure with our good friend John, an expert on Asian cuisine, particularly if it’s territory not often explored by American tastebuds.  We went to a Korean restaurant that served only the hotpot, a bubbling cauldron in which your meal is cooked at the table, served with countless exotic side dishes, kimchi being the most mainstream.

The octopus was smeared with a spicy Korean red sauce, and there was nothing I could do to keep my daughter’s little fingers from gripping those chewy, somewhat gelatinous cubes and cramming them into her mouth.  She almost forgot to chew.  It was as if she hadn’t eaten for a month, and to us it had felt like she hadn’t.  She refuses peanut butter, but she’ll eat the chili-spiked broth our meal was cooked in with a spoon?  She ate dried seaweed and hot cucumbers.  What child does this?  Chicken nuggets and mac ‘n cheese aren’t going to cut it for my little culinary thrill seeker. 

I was stunned to learn that the battle over Leilani’s picky eating, or at least the fight to convince her to chew and swallow, was over.  My jaw is still on the floor.  We’ll be having Korean every night from now on.  

But I’m still puzzling over how to work in the blue cheese dressing.  Oh well, it kind of goes with everything...right?