Summer has been heating up in Colorado, and by the time dinner rolls around, the last thing I feel like doing is making a heavy meal. I usually cook something substantial for the boys, but I’ve been trying to make simple and lighter food for myself.
Today while I was grocery shopping, I spotted some natural and organic prosciutto. I immediately thought of one of the tapas I love most from the Mediterranean Restaurant in Boulder. They wrap prosciutto around cantaloupe, and top it with grated Parmesan cheese. I thought it would make a perfect light dinner. Pictures of the final product I made tonight:
As I sat down to eat with the boys, who were eating turkey, noodles, cheese, and melon, they asked me in their most critical voices, “What in the world is that?” As if I had just picked through the trash can for dinner. I launched into my explanation about how wonderful prosciutto is.
I told them it is Italian ham, and asked them if they wanted to try it. Of course, they refused. I explained to them the salty flavor of the prosciutto mixes perfectly with the sweet melon, and the cheese gives it just a slight bitter taste. I told the boys this is one of the best dishes which blends three flavors flawlessly. I asked them again if they wanted to try it, and they looked at me like I suggested they ride their bikes to the moon.
Cole then said,” Mommy, do you know what I am going to make when I grow up?” I was excited- I thought I sparked his culinary imagination.
“What?” I asked him, eagerly.
He smiled at me from ear to ear and then replied,
“SpaghettiO’s.”
I have never served my children SpaghettiO’s. Up until tonight, I didn’t think they had ever heard of, seen, or (gulp) tasted SpaghettiO’s. How could my son compare a perfect real-food dish to SpaghettiO’s?
I almost cried into my prosciutto wrapped melon. But it would have made it soggy, and I wasn’t going to have two tragedies in one night at dinner.
Hopefully one day when we are all eating real Italian food, I can tell them this story and laugh. I hope for my kids, appreciating real-food is an acquired taste.