Though I am generally very hell bent on making most things from scratch, when I saw a new fall item at Trader Joe’s by the name of “crispy garlic,” I figured I had to take a look. After successfully making garlic chips (and its beautiful by-product of garlic oil) only once and having a number of mediocre attempts after, I figured I could relent on this item if it was as cheap and convenient as this bag at Trader Joe’s. It is 4 ounces/113 grams for only $1.99. My final check before purchasing this last week was to look at the ingredients list: just garlic and palm oil — so no weird preservatives or artificial flavorings. I was sold.

I roasted my first butternut squash of the season last week and used it in a curried coconut butternut squash soup this week. I topped it with some sauteed kale in niban dashi and a sprinkling of Trader Joe’s garlic chips. Kaia has been very strange about “creamy” things lately, so I wasn’t sure if she’d like this soup. But, I had no doubt she’d love the garlic chips because the few times I made them, she devoured them and always asked for more. So when I told her she could have the garlic chips only if she had the soup, she initially seemed hesitant. I told her that the garlic chips and the soup go together; she cannot have them separately because that’s not the way I intended it (and well, clearly, I make the rules here!). She initially fought me and had a tantrum, even pushing a spoon off her tray, but I held my ground. She eventually calmed down and consumed the entire bowl I served here, including the kale.

I feel grateful that I have a child who has such an eclectic palate, but I also know that it’s not completely on her; it’s on us as her parents to set rules and boundaries and ensure that she can’t just say “no” to whatever she thinks she doesn’t want. Oftentimes when she rejects things, she ends up loving them in the end. But similar to adults, you cannot say you don’t like something if you’ve never even had it!