Maple Glazed Carrots and Turnips

Dec 21, 2009 by Anna Migeon

The maple glaze gives the vegetables a delicious, sweet flavor.  It was also delicious on the grilled fish I served with them both times I made it.  Not every body likes turnips but they were much softened by the glaze and I found their bitterness a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the carrots and the glaze. I’m sure other vegetables work also work well with this recipe: rutabagas, parsnips, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, onions…

4-5 turnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

8-10 or so carrots, peeled and cut into bite size chunks

2 T olive oil

2 T sherry vinegar

1 C broth

2 T pure maple syrup

2 T unsalted butter

Put the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil over them and toss well to coat. Spread them out in one layer and season with a little salt and pepper. Roast at 350 until lightly browned and tender, about 35-40…

Foolish freedom: Why some kids refuse to eat, even to the point of harming themselves

Dec 17, 2009 by Anna Migeon

“Leave them alone, and they will come home.” — Little Bo Peep

Sometimes a kid can be like a wild mouse, according to some lab studies of mice. Though I oppose the conditioning of young humans with incentives as if they were rats in a lab, test animals’ reactions can sometimes illustrate something about why kids—or grownups—do what they do.

A group of wild mice was brought into a lab and taught to turn on their own cage lights. Given the choice between bright light, dim light or no light at all, the mice would always choose dim light. But whenever the dim light was switched on for them, they would run and change it to either bright light or no light.

In another test, the mice, who for their own good needed and wanted to run about eight hours a day, were given a wheel to run on and also…