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The tadpole stage is intense, everyone tells you that. You wake up ten times a night just to check that their little gills are still fluttering.
But just wait, because when they start hopping—that's when the REAL trouble starts!
I'll admit right now that I'm something of a "mamacore mama". My little one was the only to hatch from my last brood cycle—and that was a story of its own, see my recipe for "Authentic Mandalorian Pog Soup"! So of course I'm protective, but like my husband always says, children only learn by experiencing the world for themselves.
I believe in letting a child take the lead when it comes to climbing out of the kiddie pool, and that's how I'm trying to raise my own.
I also think it's important to grow up with friends of different backgrounds. My husband and I spent time on a number of worlds before we came to Trask, and I just feel that experience really helped us stay open to making connections with all kinds of people. Sometimes a stranger becomes a lifelong friend after just ten minutes—like me and Peli Motto.
You never know when someone will come into your life and change it forever.
So I've been taking the little sprog to a community pool for story hour, to hear tales from different traditions and languages, and to make friends. Well, we sure got a story the other day! The pool cleaner droid malfunctioned and started up a cycle with everyone still inside. It's a good thing I worked all those years in a droidsmithy! I was able to get to the deactivation button, although I had to use my tongue, which was a little bit embarrassing in front of everybody.
Anyway, after that the sproglet asked for fish for dinner, so I picked some up on the way home for fishcakes. The way I make mine is simple: about a one pound fillet, skin and bones removed, and coarsely chopped. Also half a cup of herby greens and another quarter cup of paleshoots. Last, a quarter cup of fresh bread crumbs, and two tablespoons of mustard. You mix all those up in a bowl, add some salt and pepper, and then divide it into four equal portions and mash them into patties.
Fry the patties on a hot skillet with a little oil, over medium heat. You'll want to cook them about five minutes on a side, and try to turn them only once because they do have a tendency to fall apart if you're not careful. But they're tasty, and kid friendly—my kid likes them, anyway!
For a side dish, I sometimes like to make a veggie relish while the fish is cooking. It's best with fresh veggies (everything's best fresh!) but you can also thaw some from frozen. You'll want about two cups of something sweet/starchy, like cob-kernels, and a couple of tangy fruits, like tomatoes. And you'll need a second skillet. Heat up a little oil and chop up an onion, your tomatoes, and a quarter cup of basil. Put the onion in the skillet first and saute it for about five minutes before you add the cob-kernels. That'll only need a couple of minutes to cook. Put the tomatoes in last, and give it just another minute to all cook together. Then add the basil off heat with some salt and pepper and your relish is ready. It goes really nicely with the fish cakes!