This is not probably the picture a foodie was expecting. Furthermore, this does not look good. I know it might look angry. It is not. It is more like humiliating and funny and lovingly done. What on earth is going on? It all started with some chewing gum.

Now if you are an extreme and inventive chewing gum chewer, listen up. Asier, our 6 year old, like many other extreme gum chewers got crazy – must have been the new bursting at the seams powerful minty flavor but he just popped it out of his mouth and started exploring hand-chewing the gum, I guess. But because he is a very cool 6 year old, he was exploring this cutting edge chewing gum trick while casually laying back on our white leather sofa. Suddenly, before he even noticed it, his eyes were drawn to the video game being played by his brothers. In that short out of body experience, he forgot himself. He must have almost felt the fingers on his hand move and flitter about the vividly imagined controller. And then it happened.  He realized his hand chewing had met his disheveled hair that had been sticking up against the cushion and voilá! The recipe for disaster was complete.

The just desserts were beautiful though. He went to his dad. Confessed. Walked around the house embarrassed before his two older brothers. Until Javier, who is now 8 comforted him, “Don’t worry I already did that once.”  “You’ll just have to take a bath in peanut butter…” he added with an earnest look and mostly undetectable mocking tone. “I am going to have to take a bath with peanut butter!!!!” shrieked Asier, sure that his coolness rating was going to drop for sure.

At his son’s shriek, foodie hobbyist and master engineer of the house, quickly analyzed the chemical interaction that informed the previous “peanut butter takes chewing gum off by dissolving it”. He then posited the idea that canola oil might do the trick. Asier found comfort in his dad’s words and assented to being guinea pig for crazy foodie science. At least there was no bathtub and peanut butter scrub.

Jim asked for a plate and the canola oil.

There was no oil-boarding torture. Asier was resigned to his improved fate. He put his head on the plate, face down and putting his hands on the table. Meanwhile his big strong daddy was holding the huge family sized canola container so that only a light drizzle fell on the front of his hair. Asier rested his forehead now in the shallow pool of oil gathered in the plate and waited for the gum to loose its gumminess.

Next, Jim asked his loyal and amused assistants -Asier’s older brothers- for a fine toothed comb.  Gingerly the top portion of the hair was combed. The gum came off and only the slick hair styling of a 50’s greaser was left behind.  That Asier sure does know how to look good even when he is dripping in oil.

So now you know the rest of the story.  🙂