Thoughts Sprinkled with Cilantro

So, my kids seem to finally be getting into the idea of me blogging about what they eat.  I have had several requests, from sweet potato biscuits to corn-blueberry muffins, to write about things they have consumed (though why it is only baked goods that I can come up with right now, I am not sure).  I was actually planning to write something about both of those things (both really yummy, though I was not entirely happy with the muffins as they seem to be VERY dry), but something happened at lunch today that made me stop and think.

Last night, I made one of my favorite (and easy) vegetarian meals: black bean and rice burritos.  It is basically brown rice, black beans, pico de gallo, a squeeze of lime (which I, sadly, forgot last night), avocado slices and pepper jack cheese all wrapped up in a nice little package of a burrito sized tortilla.  For last night's incarnation, I added a hefty dose of minced cilantro to the rice mixture.  I usually squish/cook them on my Cuisinart Griddler (my favorite kitchen gadget, bar none), but I took the lazy/easy way out last night and popped them in a 400 degree oven until they were lightly browned on the outside and warm and melty on the inside.  They are filling, delicious, slightly spicy and make FANTASTIC leftovers.  I had a little bit of the rice mixture leftover as well, so I decided to serve it to my son for lunch this afternoon.  What I noticed was this: every time he would put a piece of a cilantro leaf into his mouth, he would chew it for just a second and then screw up his face and scream.  The screaming thing is not really abnormal for him, as he is a non-verbal 18 month old, but this seemed to be pretty closely connected to the herb he was trying to consume.  It is said that people are born with taste receptors that either love or loathe the taste of cilantro; it truly is one of those flavors that has no in between.  Though my husband and I have the "love" of cilantro, I am starting to wonder if my son's little tongue truly "loathes" it.  Of course, he also seems to "loathe" the mouthfeel of most leaves (raw or cooked, apparently), but his reaction to a heavily cilantro'ed dish today really makes me wonder.  I guess only time and his eventual ability to say, "Mommy, this is disgusting" will tell.