7 Quick Takes Friday

http://www.conversiondiary.com/2010/10/7-quick-takes-friday-vol-101.html

We've got one dog, one cat, five chickens, three goats, and five kids ages 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2. We're a loud bunch. Here's a random take on some of the things cooked up at my house:



1

One of my personal food quirks is that I don't care for spaghetti. Everyone else on the planet seems to love it. I don't hate it or anything, I'd just rather have pretty much anything else. The odd thing about this is, I can make a wicked good sauce by all accounts.

2

One of the many dishes I can't seem to master is fried rice. I'm a pretty decent cook, but for some reason I just can't get beyond a "meh" response to my fried rice.









3

Here's what I've learned to take the fight out of meals. Present a few options at dinner: main course, two veggies, a starch and then let them pick and choose. If they don't like this, they've got that on their plate to eat. No battles, no stress. Our table rules are simple: Be polite (saying, "Yuk!" is not polite) and although you don't have to eat anything you don't like, there's no dessert if you don't at least take a taste of everything.


Parents worry a lot about what their kids will and won't eat. Over the course of a few days if you keep presenting the four food groups in various ways, they'll balance their choices. If you don't believe me, get a blood panel done--I've got an autistic son who I check periodically, so yes, I'm speaking from bitter experience.

4

Speaking of "Yuk!" why do some people not believe that some other people can actually not like a food? I knew this little old lady who was almost offended by my casually mentioning that I don't care for beets. She seemed to think that if I just tried hard enough I could overcome my little problem. It got so that every time I had to eat socially with her she had made a brand new beet dish just for me. We had many discussions about beets. I tried to explain to her that my dislike of beets is not voluntary, neither was it stubbornness. They simply taste like bitter, slimy dirt to me, and I am a little sorry for that, yes. Truly. Although I was flattered that she actually thought so much about me when I wasn't around, I wondered at her persistence. It got to the point that my mouth would start to water at the sight of her and not in a good way.

5

 Some days I love to cook and spend the whole day at it. I dirty nearly every dish and pan and make a symphony of my kitchen tools. Other days I begrudge the knife and spoon it takes to slather on the peanut butter and jelly for sandwiches.

6

Speaking of kitchen messes two of my daughters (ages 4 and 3) decided to help me with the dishes. Two hours later they were still working away. The dishes were no cleaner, the counter was soaked, and that cheap calculator my husband got from the bank was lost at sea, but I can now say with relative certainty that they do not have any attention deficits.

7

When inspiration fails, breakfast for dinner is always a good idea. Waffles anyone?