Trout

I remember in PNG the kids would always clamour for different animal parts at mealtimes. Paul and I were never too sure if chicken feet, waddles, heads, and other parts were actually delicious or if it was the sheer novelty and humor in eating chicken toes that the kids enjoyed.

But today we saw a little bit of PNG in Will as he found a whole trout at the grocery store and insisted that he wanted to eat the eyes. Paul brought it home and showed him how to prepare it, grill it and then eventually eat it avoiding bones and skin. Will did, in fact, try the eye but he said it was not very delicious.

Paul and I realized tonight how much more valuable this experience is for Will to eat things in their whole form and/or to see where his food comes from. I don't think I'll ever forget my own food experiences eating freshly caught eels (from a night excursion to trap them), eating tiny anchovies I had only just seen fly over the wooden dugout canoe moments before, watching pigs slaughtered and roasted, watching a cow cut up in a river and mumu'd, and a whole host of other things. At least for now the best we can do for Will is to show him that not all fish comes gutted, cleaned, fileted and wrapped in plastic.

photos to come