What makes a kid decide that she’s no longer interested in sauces or seasonings? It’s like Iris woke up one morning and said to herself, “Hey, you know what would be great on a hot dog? No mustard.”

The other day Iris devoured a huge fried duck egg, but only after I made it look like I hadn’t put any pepper on it. She used to love dipping fries in barbecue sauce and slathering HP sauce on her burger. Not anymore. This happened to me at about her age, too, and lasted for ten years or so. I still hate ketchup.

Last night I made chicken strips and a spicy tamarind dipping sauce. The sauce actually didn’t turn out that great (bad sweet/sour balance), but it had potential. Iris peered at the bowl of sauce and said:

> **Iris:** Ooh, that looks GOOD. And I don’t want any.