The Way of the Natto

According to Amaya, this is what she looks like:

She made this on starfall.com and she always makes the avatar of herself the same way.

She loves The Fantastic Mr. Fox, and dresses up like Ash.

“YAWN!” she says, when I ask her to clean up her room.

Maybe 4 year olds are just weird, but this one likes natto

And using chopsticks.

Hopefully her weird will stick around. We’ll make a little foodie of her yet.

When I was young my mom would eat natto (fermented soy beans) and stink up the whole house. NASTY we would say. How can you EAT that stuff? we would say. It smells rotten and the strings are long sticky spider webs from your lips to your mouth and then back again. Your lips feel like you’ve loaded on a ton of carmex after you eat it. Except slimier and you can’t rub it off.

Now the smell and taste are nostalgic for me. It satisfies a strange umami craving.

My favorite way to eat Natto (thanks to my Mom)

1. Put it in a bowl. Stir it around like crazy. Till it looks like nasty snot. (healthier this way, Mom says.)
2. Wait 10 minutes.
3. Chop up some avocado and put it in there, and empty the little sauce packet over the top of it. If you didn’t get the natto with the sauce packet, you are wrong.
4. Tear up some shiso leaves and mix those in.
5. Serve with rice.
6. Take a shower and wash your face because you are covered in slime.

My mom eats it with a raw egg too. I won’t recommend it unless you know your eggs are safe.

Are there any weird foods you or your kids eat?