Potchouwat

Pronounced- Pot-shoe-ot

Definition: D's mysterious ingredient in many of her bathtub recipes. She says it's a type of bean.

Origin: Who knows!?

One day, and this could have been a year ago, I can't remember, D was in the tub mixing up one of her recipes. The plastic cups that appeared to be full of bath water, I was told, were actually parsley, cinnamon, and potchouwat.

"What's potchouwat?" I asked.

"One of my ingredients," D replied. I didn't ask anymore questions at the time.

But some time later, we were having pizza for dinner and D picked a piece of red onion off of her plate. She held it up and asked what it was with her nose wrinkled.

Now, I'm always trying to find ways to prevent or resolve conflicts without a power struggle with the kids. Sometimes a little humor works. I said the first thing that popped into my head and that was "Potchouwat!" She didn't believe me but I persisted, insisting that I had gotten some fresh potchouwat from the grocery store that day. D ate it that night, totally confused about how I actually found and bought this ingredient.

Tonight we had pizza again. We put red onion on it. D picked up a piece of red onion and laid it on the table. But before she said anything I exclaimed, "Oh yum! Potchouwat!"

She then informed me that potchouwat is a bean.

So, I'm searching for this mysterious bean.