Twelve-year-old Carson joined his middle-school wrestling team in the fall, and this boy has found his passion! Carson is quick and muscular, but he is not especially tall, so wrestling is a good sport for him because competitors are paired based on weight. One of my pleasures as a mother is helping the children discover their talents, so earlier this week we celebrated Carson's hard work with a wrestling-themed breakfast. I can't say that our menu would be appropriate before a tournament, so we didn't risk it. We enjoyed this brunch on our last lazy day of Christmas vacation.
Wrestling Up Some Grub Brunch
Flapjacks Pinned with Strawberries
Eggs Over Easy
Sausage Links
Twisted Raspberry Punch
I saw mini-pancakes skewered with blueberries on Pinterest and loved the idea for our wrestling brunch. Raspberries or strawberries seemed appropriate fruits for a wrestler's breakfast. I planned to make the pancakes from scratch, but opted for the time savings when I discovered mini-pancakes in my grocer's freezer. I also found frozen turkey sausage, and none of the children noticed the difference. Serving eggs over-easy was an obvious choice for a wrestling theme, but my children only eat them scrambled. So I scrambled eggs and served them in foil cupcake liners to keep them from mingling with the pancake syrup. Other wrestling menu ideas include any dishes that are wrapped, rolled or twisted.
Served with a twisty straw, this frothy, tart beverage packed a punch for brunch.
Twisted Raspberry Punch
This punch was a little tart for my tastes, but the children loved it.
6 cups chilled lemon-lime soda1/2 can frozen limeade concentrate, thawedCountry Time powdered pink lemonadeRaspberry sherbetVanilla ice cream
Combine soda, limeade and powdered lemonade in a pitcher and chill. To serve, use a melon baller to scoop raspberry sherbet and vanilla ice cream into six tea glasses. Pour soda mixture over ice cream and sherbet, and serve.
Wrestling is a sport I knew nothing about before this year, but I am getting quite an education through Carson's efforts. When we went to the middle school's first meet, I stifled a giggle watching another team warm up as I bit my tongue to keep from calling out, "Boys, settle down or take it outside!" I told friends that I enjoyed that tournament except for all the roughhousing. It really is an intense sport and one that requires vigorous training and focus. Carson told me yesterday that a wrestler from another school was seriously injured during a tournament over the holiday break, so I am not without worry that Carson could be injured or injure someone else. But I also understand that done correctly, wrestling can be a great character-shaping and strength-building endeavor. I am proud of Carson for working so hard, and I hope Monday's breakfast let him know that win or lose, he is always a champ to us.
I must admit, I feel a bit out of my element with all the boys' sporting endeavors, but wrestling is totally new to me. If you have any advice you can share as the mom, sister or supporter of a high school or collegiate wrestler, please offer that in the comments below.
And on a very different note, congratulations to Claire K., who won a copy of the Jan./Feb. 2012 issue of TeaTime Magazine. Claire, please e-mail me your address so I can get your magazine to you.
