So many people have difficulty getting their kids to eat fresh vegetables.  We often have people shopping at the store look at things and say "my kids would never eat that".  Far be it from me to tell other people how to raise their kids (try that some time).  However, parenting aside, so much of that kind of thing could be solved with a little creativity.  Case in point:

Tonight, Heidi brought home a carnival squash so we could try it (it's rough having to taste test everything you grow).  Rather than doing the brown sugar and butter kind of thing, she tried something different.

One carnival squash (you could use any other winter squash instead)
One quarter cup sour cream
One half cup crumbled feta cheese
Sea salt to taste

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds.  Place in the microwave and microwave it until soft.  Scoop flesh from shell, mash the flesh up, stir in the other ingredients and serve like mashed potatoes.  It was awesome.

Anyway, Schaeffer, who's five, was none too sure about it.  Furthermore, we also had fresh tomatoes, which he has recently decided are anathema for some reason (though he ate dozens last year).  Nevertheless, due to our dinnertime rules, he had a slice of tomato and a scoop of squash on his plate and the requirement that he eat it before leaving the table.  Pretty soon the red potatoes and meatloaf (from our very own goats) were all gone, but the squash and tomatoes were still sitting sadly on the plate.  Inevitably the mashed squash ended up spread atop the tomato like frosting.  He wasn't being creative, just delaying the misery.  Immediately, however, the three year old imitated him.  Heidi noticed and said that it actually sounded like a really good idea, as the two would really complement each other.  Suddenly, Schaeffer was a genius.  He agreed that the two went really well together, which of course is why he'd thought of it.  Every kid in the house was suddenly heading back to the table for seconds of tomatoes and squash.  Even the six-year-old cousin we were babysitting (who had said he wasn't hungry) was getting a plate.  Eli had to slice more tomatoes and pretty soon there was no more squash left.  Schaeffer had eaten three servings, tomato and all.

Another good dinner with no leftovers