My interest in food definitely led me to write the
Blue Plate Café Mysteries
I recently read a blog by the
mother of a two-year-old who said that every meal was a battle, but it was a
battle she was willing to fight because so much of our lives takes place over
food. We come together as family over food, we celebrate holidays and special
occasions with special food. When we begin to date, it’s over food, whether it’s
the soda in a drugstore of my day or that special dinner before prom. Apply for
a job, and your interview is likely to include lunch, where your manners, your
ability to carry on conversation, and your eating habits will be judged.
I worry sometimes about the
grandson I’m closest to because he is what I’d call a picky eater. My advice,
like that of the mom of the two-year-old, is to offer him what we eat; if he
doesn’t want it, his next chance will be the next meal of the day, even if it
means going to bed hungry. His mother says, “He has to eat,” but I don’t think
so. He’s a solid child and won’t waste away. When we have pets, we put their
food out and if they don’t eat it, we shrug and say they’ll eat when they’re
hungry. I feel the same way about children, and I’ve watched several of my
grandchildren develop appetites for a wide range of food, when I would have
given up hope early on. Two granddaughters have always loved everything from
dolma to sushi, but one is a vegetarian out of conscience, and I respect that.
Jacob, the one that lives near me, is a vegetarian out of instinct—the child
just doesn’t like meat—and I’d respect that if he were a little more
adventuresome about other foods.
Two of my sons-in-law are
what I’d call vegetable-challenged. The list of vegetables they’ll eat is
limited, though they have strange likes that I can’t fathom. Christian loves
radishes and will eat an entire pack at one sitting (which causes some physical
distress); he’ll eat green beans, asparagus if he has to, broccoli or squash, never.
Today I sent my neighbor a
list of things I wanted to talk to him about and realized that three of the
five items had to deal with meals. I am never happier than when I’m planning a
dinner menu. Tomorrow I’m fixing a belated birthday dinner for Christian—crock pot
pork tenderloin in a sauce of soy, maple syrup, oil, mustard, diced onion, and garlic
salt. Yum! Because it’s his birthday dinner, I’ll go the extra mile and make
twice-baked potatoes, though I have four potatoes for five people. Should work
well.
I know I’ll have more to say
about food in future blogs, but to see some of my recipes you might check out
back posts of “Potluck with Judy,” http://potluckwithjudy.blogspot.com.
I’m going to set the dinner
now for tomorrow’s supper—oh yeah, I’m a plan-ahead cook.
No comments:
Post a Comment