Picky eaters

[Cooking Goddess]

I grew up with a mother who was a good basic cook...However, some of what I DO remember from her cooking time was that she could turn a lovely piece of beef into a hockey puck...

My BIL had a Mom who cooked meat to "well done", then set his plate for later and kept it warm in the warming drawer of her gas stove. By the time he got home from working until close at Sears, the food on his plate was all dried out. He became good friends with Mr. Heinz. When he got married, my poor SIL had to watch him cover his food in ketchup. The first time she cooked a beef roast we were over for dinner. When she cut into it, her hubby's eyes got wide and he said "that meat is still red!" Well, it was pink, perfectly cooked, and delicious. We hid the Heinz from him that night, and he learned it was OK to eat food naked.

Sadly, it kinda messed things up for the family at gift-giving time. Seems like one Christmas we each got him some sort of Heinz: his Mom and Dad gave him a case of standard glass bottles, we gave him a commercial service can (48 ounces?) of Heinz...and the insults just got piled on, bottle and jar and case.

 

[Addie]

When a child owns the food, be it growing it in a garden themself, learning to cook simple dishes, or even being allowed to peel cucumbers, carrots, celery, or any other fruit or vegetable, the child will be more willing to take a small bites and at the very least try it. The aroma of the food can often be the catalyst to get them to try it.

Even seeing a family member sitting at the table and relating how good it tastes can be the beginning of turning the child around. My youngest daughter HATED peas. I used to put one pea on her plate, and hide one in her mashed potatoes. She always managed to find that one pea and push it aside. Then one day I made pea soup. The aroma peaked her interest in the pan on the stove. All I told her was that it was soup. Not the name of it. Just soup. Then when it was served to the family, she wanted just a small amount. To the day I lost her, she absolutely loved pea soup. Give her a left over ham bone and you knew that was going to be pea soup cooking on her stove that day. I never asked her how she made it, but hers was a lot better than mine.

 

[Just Cooking]

Sweet story and memory, Addie... :O)