“Moe Peas”

My daughter is 21 months old and her vocabulary is growing daily.  It’s very exciting to see another layer of her personality through language.  Without a doubt, her most commonly used word is “more”—pronounced “moe.”

“Moe” has an almost universal utility.  It covers most situations.

“Moe!”  Translation: Daddy, I would like additional couscous please.

“Moe!”  Translation: Daddy, I fancy a hug.  Would you be so kind as to stop making my lunch and pick me up in a warm embrace?

“Moe!”  Translation: Daddy, I am enjoying hearing “Elmo’s Got the Moves” on repeat and need to hear it for the 6000^th time today.

It’s my favorite thing she says.  Especially when it pertains to food.  Few things give me as much joy as feeding my family.  I am a trained chef—it’s what I do/did and sharing those skills with them in a fun and healthy way is when I'm most confident as a dad.

My son is four months old, so his menu still consists of milk.  Not much of a challenge there. Mom's got that covered. My daughter on the other hand has wide-ranging tastes.  She loves salmon, couscous, yogurt, hummus, watermelon, avocado . . . . I want to feed her the best foods I can while making mealtime an enjoyable experience.  Veggies and greens are a challenge, but one I am up for. 

How do I get her to ask for “moe”?  I make a pizza.  A simple homemade sauce on an organic whole wheat tortilla with grated mozzarella, peas, salmon, cherry tomatoes and kale.  Yes, KALE!!!  The response?  “Moe!”  Success.  *See this recipe below.

Always conscious of developing good manners, I am working on getting her to add “please” on to the end of “more.”  It’s a work in progress, a labor of love that melts my heart when I hear her say “Moe Peas!”

*Silly Lion's Favorite Pizza*

Ingredients: 10inch Whole wheat tortilla, Simple home made tomato sauce (drop a line if you'd like some good and easy recipes), 1 cup grated skim mozzarella (do not use fresh moz, it will make your pizza a soggy mess) 5-10 cherry tomatoes cut in half, 3 oz. cooked salmon broken into small pieces (recipe available upon request) frozen peas, kale of any variety ribbed and chopped fine.... Kids don't like this stuff??? use whatever you have in the fridge and make it your own.

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 425*. Coat a cookie sheet with a tsp. olive oil. Place tortilla on cookie sheet and assemble. Spoon a thin layer of sauce to cover tortilla. Spread most of the cheese over sauce to cover. Spread other ingredients over the cheese. Make it pretty. We eat with our eyes first! Top with remaining cheese and put in oven until cheese turns a light brown on the edges, 8-10 mins depending on your oven. Turn off the oven and leave pizza in for another 2 minutes. Take it out and let it cool to desired temp for your little ones liking. I cut mine into 2 inch squares which get gobbled up quickly. Save the rest or eat it yourself.