When the girls were little and I was working on their table manners, I spotted an idea in a magazine that I thought sounded fun. I found a cute little ceramic pig to put on the table. He’s meant to be a salt shaker but he’s our “good manners” reminder.
The way it worked was this. When one of my girls had bad manners at the table, I turned the pig to look at her. Some evenings, the pig was moved quite a few times during dinner. Whomever he was looking at when dinner ended had to clear the table or do some other dinner-related chore. If the pig hadn’t been moved during the meal, I cleared the dishes.
As the girls got older, the reminder wasn’t really necessary anymore and they had taken over clearing the table nightly and doing the dishes. But we’d all gotten used to the pig being on the table and now and then I would just look at him when someone was acting up a bit. He’s usually relegated to the window sill these days, but I set him back on the table for fun the other night.
Oh, and here’s the recipe for the white bean salad that is just beyond focus. It’s really good!
Love the pig. It’s darling. The story behing it too.
And, coincidentally, I am soaking cannelini beans as I type. I had a salad similiar to yours in mind. Hadn’t thought of adding capers which I love.
Have a great day. *Oink, oink*