We love the book Watercress by Andrea Wang so much, it's our second round of reading it. The first time around, I was floored by the story and how much emotional power was packed inside a kids book.
In the story, the main character struggles to understand why her immigrant parents make her forage for watercress found along the side of the road, and then eat the found food for dinner. Among the many things this book does well, it beautifully illustrates how memory and family stories are tied to food. So we decided to explore those themes within our own little family meal.
We also decided to try a little bit of the foraged watercress from the book. Before embarking on our adventure, Rémy flipped through the pages and pointed out the highlights to Sierra. Then we headed out to a patch of watercress we had found earlier, near a stream we often visit.
After collecting the watercress, we thoroughly washed it before sautéing it in oil, garlic, and sesame seeds - just like in the book. Sierra helped pick out the bruised leaves, Rémy did the cooking at the stovetop.
Next, the kids helped me make my Grandma's coleslaw. No matter what the celebration and what else was on the table, this coleslaw was always there. It is different than any other coleslaw I've ever had, and at this point there's no set recipe, so the mixing is done by taste.
I was excited to start passing along this family tradition, along with my memories of a grandmother who knew how to cook all my comfort foods. It was also fun to show them pictures of my grandparents with me as a yound child.
The kids chopped, added ingredients for the dressing, and sampled, sampled, sampled. Tasting and adjusting is the secret of this dish.
Then Andreas made a dish from his childhood called vodelheu. His mother was a truly great cook as well, and this simple dish was something Andreas couldn't get enough of growing up, It's essentially a recipe to use up old bread, and the very definition of comfort food.
When all the cooking was complete, we sat down and sampled each of the dishes. The vogelheu was a hit for Rémy, but he was not a fan of the watercress. Sierra liked everything. The next day we ate the leftover coleslaw. I remembered how it was always better the second day. Then I thought about Grandma and smiled.
I love that this book club activity can be an introduction to talking about cherished loved ones and memories. And it's wonderful that no matter the dish that is ultimately served up to accompany the reading of the book, the experience of making the meal and sharing the memories, will deepen those family stories that define our children.
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