Gastronomic Exploration

I have been reading this wonderful book about a chef-mom, her four children and all of the wonderful recipes that accompany, shape and spice their lives. I am inspired to work harder at expanding the boys' palates. Mason and Ashton are good eaters, I think, but I do fall into menu ruts and run out of ideas for our usual vegetable suspects. We have tried a few new things this week, with mixed results.
Our first experiment was a whole coconut, which I was sure the boys would love. They loved that eating it required the use of a hammer, but it was downhill from there. None of us liked the coconut water, and only Mason and I liked the meat. Our next treat was artichokes. The boys love the hearts from a can, but have never had the whole vegetable, scraping away at the meaty parts of each butter-bathed leaf with their teeth like I remember doing as a kid. This was a winner; it was fun to do together and it involved lots of butter. Ashton was iffy on the leaves but loved the heart, it was a joy to watch him eat it. Today I made cheese, which Mason LOVED, and the rest of us thought was just too plain. It was easy and fun to make though, and I am already planning my next batch in my head (much more salt) which the kids will help me make.
I'm not sure what to try next, but monk fish, anchovies and soba noodles are on my list thanks to Franklin's book.
Blake is getting in on the experimentation as well. He has eschewed all baby food and is instead subsisting on whatever he can manage from our plates. Salmon, steak, pinto beans, feta cheese, broccoli, tomatoes, and pancakes are all things he just loves. I have been using up all of the baby food by sneaking it into the pancakes (the boys are none the wiser) so in a roundabout way he is eating some baby food after all.
This morning was prune pancakes-Mangia!