Hello. I wish the kids were as easy going about food as I am. I've got the oldies, Bugsy and Rocky hanging around my feet because they are not happy with the food I have just served up. They think if they whinge enough I am going to cave in and come up with a fresh bowl with something different in it. Sometimes I do, to get a bit of peace from them. Tonight they are just going to have to eat what is there, I am fed up of throwing food away.
When we were little we had to eat whatever mum dished up, and some of it was pretty awful. Some of the meat dishes were unrecognizable as meat, gawd knows which bits of the animal she was giving us. I often felt sick moving it around on my plate and was almost in tears. We moaned a bit but it was eat it, there is nothing else. I remember tripe, I definitely had to go without that day. Later on when I went to big school I looked forward to school dinners, especially puddings which my mum was not very good at making.
This portion of frozen stew does not look very appetizing, but I know what's in it so it will be tasty.
Thanks for popping in, We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip
Not my cup of tea... where's the chips?
ReplyDeleteHi. I don't make chips at home, I get them from the chip shop two or three times a year, they are a treat.
DeleteYou make me laugh Ilona! My mother once decided that she was going to cook tripe - OMG - the smell was so awful that we all (5 kids + dad) declared that we weren't going to eat it - she finally admitted that she didn't want to eat it either so out it went!
ReplyDeleteMy mom and dad were both very good cooks but dad favoured the "exotic" - we'd often come home from school and have to try and figure out what was for supper - it always tasted great - it just wasn't the usual meat & veg. I think that gave me more confidence, I can always throw something together from my freezer and pantry and if I don't have a particular ingredient I can figure out what to use as a substitute. But - I do love to cook so when I have the time I love to spend the day in the kitchen - that is my creative outlet.
I have several successful recipes floating around in my head. However, I also look at recipe sites when I get bored with what I'm cooking; looking for inspiration with the ingredients I have on hand. I find it interesting that you can dine on cuisines from all over the world with the same half-dozen ingredients, by just changing up the herbs and spices. And, sometimes it's the same spices just in different amounts.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit of an improviser myself, keeps things interesting. Your food looks like it would stick to the ribs and taste good.
ReplyDeleteThis is the way my husband would eat if I let him. So I do all the cooking.
ReplyDeleteThere is something to be said for having grown up in Post War Britain. I often talk with my class mates and we all agree, we eat everything- no messing! JanF
ReplyDeleteI wonder if older animals lose some of their sense of smell, and foods do not always appeal because they can't smell or taste the food as much as they used to? I've come up with this from watching the behavior of my 13-year-old pup lately.
ReplyDeleteI think you might be right there. I sometimes refresh a bowl of picked at and unwanted food with a dollop of tuna fish. Seems to renew interest in it.
DeleteHi Ilona, I'm a little older than you, and cook for myself and my adult daughter, and when funds are very low, I make what we call stone soup (you know the story, one person starts with a boiling kettle with stones in it, and gradually the neighbors add veg and odd bits of leftovers, until they all have a real meal). Anyway, I find it an interesting challenge to come up with something to eat from what we have on hand. Many pasta variations with a mushroom, some onions, fresh herbs from the back porch, maybe some canned tomatoes. I actually like to cook quite complicated meals, but the basics are still the same--aim for a balance of flavors and textures. Your beans and blue cheese look wonderful. That's another tip I have--keep savory things that you can add in small amounts and really add flavor. I always have capers, olives, salsa, cheese, onions, garlic, fresh herbs, and lemons (can't cook without a lemon for both the zest and the juice). By the way, we're Yanks, and my daughter announced tonight that she figured out how to download the Shed of the Year show, telling me "Hey, I can download your friend's shed!" We do think of you as a friend, and even when the black dog is sitting rather heavily on my shoulders, I always enjoy your posts. Thanks from Kate and Laura in Oregon
ReplyDeleteThank you Kate and Laura. I think a few flavours added to a variety of ingredients are all you need to make creative dishes.
DeleteHello. Your food creations look so yummy. I too like to mix things up without a recipe. Yesterday I made food for our beach picnic. I was making butterscotch brownies and wanted to add a teaspoon of coffee flavoring to the mix. Hurriedly, I placed a bit of instant coffee powder in a measuring cup that had a tiny bit of liquid left over in it. I then added the dissolved coffee to beaten egg. Right when I was about to add this mixture to my batter, I realized the "liquid" in measuring cup was onion juice!! Needless to say, I threw the egg, coffee and onion mixture away. I think I'm getting forgetful :( Have a great day! Pat
ReplyDeleteHa ha, a senior moment, we all have them.
DeleteYou could at least have tried it and let us know!! Could be the flavour sensation of the year. I have been known to make a cup of tea and add a spoonful of coffee! ( not on purpose)
DeleteHope your little ones ate their dinner all up in the end. I don't do fancy food and live mainly on salads with kippers, trout, steamed fish, eggs or whatever else I fancy. I don't eat a lot of meatt mainly chicken. About every 2months I treat my daughter and grand daughter to brought fish and chips and this is a real treat, it's nice because we sit and chat for a couple of hours in the shop, and usually twice a month my grandson comes to dinner and then I do a roast, usually chicken he is like you Ilona and loves vegetables. I eat properly because I have to and don't want to waste time with it I would rather be crafting or gardening. Enjoy whatever you are doing today, I am of for a MRI scan on my heart so no breakfast for me only sips of water till it is done. Hazel c uk
ReplyDeleteI used to buy veggie cookbooks with recipes which usually had either very expensive ingredients or stuff you had never heard of and had to drive miles to a specialist deli to buy. Not any more - I have a pressure cooker for stews and curries and anything gets chucked into those and I've a simple steamer for veggies which gets used a lot at this time of year with friends giving me produce from their allotments.
ReplyDeleteThe only food I have chucked away (in the compost bin) was a yellow sticker tub of spiced cauliflower from Tesco. It was in date but it was foul!! I gagged on it and had to go on a marathon tooth brushing exercise to get the taste out of my mouth. I still shudder at the memory!
I do remember being forced to eat potted herring when I was a kid (I went hungry) and once they tried to get me to eat a fried flat fish with a hole where the eye should have been. I had nightmares about that for ages after.
Linda xx
Spiced cauliflower sounds awful. Plain, unadulterated, steamed cauliflower is a great taste.
Deleteive started using all leftover veg,liquidised to make a lovely gravy.a good way to get veg into a five year old!you have definately inspired me!
ReplyDeleteI think older cats do lose their sense of taste and that is why they seem fussy. One of my elderly cats likes a dot of marmite on
ReplyDeleteher food which seems to do the trick and she continues eating the rest - worth a try. SueM
I think you are right. I will look for some tasty morsels for them.
DeleteSometimes my husband says " that was lovely but I don't suppose we'll have it again". He's right because I often make things up as I go along. There are a few recipies I use but so often I have to improvise because I don't have all the ingredients. I'm really good at not wasting stuff and can usually manage to use up leftovers one way or another. I love to see your foodie concoctions, Ilona. X
ReplyDeleteEverything looks good, but I can have none of your food--no meat or products from mammals, no wheat, no peas, cashews, Brazil nuts, etc. Plus, I am diabetic! At least you can have a bit of cheese on your food! I am miserable, but these are life-threatening allergies.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up my parents being the WW2 generation were 'no pudding until you've finished the main course' (this was Sundays when we had a pudding) and on other days 'if you've finished ask to leave the table': no sweets or snacks later. Then I left home and made my own living; for a while I enjoyed spending my money on supermarket 'must-haves' then I saw the light. I do enjoy your food posts as it makes me think 'yes, that can go with that' and 'that looks appetising'. Currently eating everything in freezer as before the winter will have to de-frost it being old-fashioned model, but why replace when something still works ok? Amanda
ReplyDeleteI think all cats are the same - my three certainly are! They like something one day and refuse it the next. They prefer the pricey stuff so I have to buy it whenever it is in offer and they make do with cheaper stuff the rest of the time. I grew up the same as you - you ate what you were given. I always encouraged my daughters not to be fussy and they are pretty good. When their friends came for tea I couldn't believe how fussy they were!
ReplyDeleteJane
Oh ! The dreaded tripe ! My mum and dad loved it, and always encouraged us to try it...they finally decided to leave it simmer at the back of the coal and wood stove, and had some before they went to bed. Everything else, we ate what was put before us. I cook pretty much the way you do, Ilona. never seem to have the same thing twice. I have a collection of cookbooks that I read like novels, but never use recipes except for baking bread etc.I love reading your blog for inspiration, but I must tell you, I am not about to build a shed. If I was younger, I might. LOL ;)
ReplyDelete