play.imagine.act.

My parents have a video (quite a few videos, actually) of me “helping” my dad make bread on Christmas Eve. The year is 1989 and I am three years old, kneading the bread by lying on top of it and occasionally sticking my chin into the dough. We make this bread every year in our house – Russian egg bread flecked with golden raisins. The smell of it baking and the taste of it, toasted and buttered, will always remind me of Christmas.

Food is one of those things that everyone has in common. In my “Cultural Cuisine” program, I share a simple drink or snack common to another country with museum visitors. Recently this was Moroccan mint tea, with a little added brown sugar. In Morocco, tea is a part of life. It is an offering to houseguests, a cause for an afternoon break, and something that has been consumed there for centuries. I tell our littlest visitors that it’s OK not to like it – it’s just great to give something new and different a try! I can usually get even the most hesitant kids to take a sniff, and eventually a shy little sip. Their eyes widen: “This is good!”

Of course, there are children who don’t always like everything I offer, but this is to be expected. The goal is about exposing them to food (and, therefore, a piece of a culture) that is outside their realm of familiarity. The more comfortable children are with the idea of different cultures’ foods, the more comfortable they become with each others’ cultural differences – and more aware of what we all have in common.

Make a kid-friendly version of Moroccan mint tea at home!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups boiling water
• 1-2 handfuls fresh mint
• 2 Green Teabags
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Pour the boiling water over the mint, green tea, and brown sugar in a heat-proof container (large Pyrex measuring cups or a teapot both work great). Stir until combined. Pour and enjoy!