“No iPad today.”
“But why not?”
“Because you don’t use your brain anymore.”
“Yes I do.”
“Not enough.”
“Okay, so can I use the computer?”
“No, Aba said no electronics today.”
“What if I clean my room or take the garbage out, can I use it then?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I told you already.”
“It’s not fair! It’s so boring, there’s nothing to do.”
“I don’t want to hear any complaints. You didn’t want to go to the library or to the beach.”
“I don’t want to go anywhere, I just want to stay home.”
“So stay home. But I don’t want to hear anything about you being bored.”
“But I am bored.”
“Play outside, make a comic book, write a poem, cook something, just stop complaining, it drives me nuts.”
“Okay, I’ll cook something.”
To myself: Good! Goddamn you electronics!

I’ll do anything to keep my boys away from screens. So when my twelve-year-old Leo said he was bored, I immediately offered him the kitchen. He made a simple omelet, and I suggested adding fresh, aromatic herbs to make it more elegant and delicious.

As I mentioned many times on this blog, I don’t like to lecture people about food and health, though in this case, I strongly recommend buying pastured free-range eggs whenever possible. Not only are they better for your–when chickens eat a natural diet including grass and insects, their eggs contain more omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for heart and brain health–but they also taste much better.

A fun fact: did you know that the color of the yolk is determined by the hen’s diet, not freshness? I didn’t know that until Leo’s teacher, who provided us with those beautiful, fresh eggs, told us when we came to visit her on her farm. She said that hens that eat mostly green plants, yellow corn, alfalfa or any plant with xanthophylls pigment will produce a darker yellow-orange yolk. Hens that eat wheat or barley will produce pale yellow yolks; hens that are fed white cornmeal will produce almost colorless yolks.

When I don’t buy eggs from Leo’s teacher, I buy them at Larchmont Farmers’ Market every Sunday.