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Across the Fence:  My food needs a sign to say what it is. RANT  |
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 04:03:30 AM
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That's what my cousin told me. They don't have Gorgonzola at Jack in the Box, so I can understand why she didn't know what it was. They don't serve pine nuts there either. My other cousin told me that she cannot afford to make fancy salad with Gorgonzola. I paid 3.00 for 8 oz. Nice try KRAFT-Y.
I think that I will just bring flowers for the hostess from now on.
“It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black.”-Charlie Brown |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 06:08:33 AM
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That is so sad! I feel bad for people who don't understand the joy of real food. I think some people are afraid of cooking. They are worried that what they are going to make is going to taste bad or something.
I am so thankful that my mom taught me how to cook from a young age. Doug is really great with Nora and helping her learn and help cook each night with dinner. He is giving her little tid bits of easy to remember knoweledge and the gently quizes her the next time they make the same food. She has taken to watching "Good Eats" with Alton Brown at night with her Daddy which is great.
I hope when Nora is old enough to make her own food decisions- that she chooses to cook her own meals and eat healthy local foods.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 06:20:16 AM
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Alee, that is great. I promise you she will, unless you are a whole wheat fascist type mom. Like millet and quinoa all day everyday, which I know you are not. I know macrobiotic kids that eat ice cream for breakfast, as adults.
Owen only wants to make music with utensils. He's getting a drum pad for Christmas. I have a crush on Fat Alton Brown.
We were always in the kitchen with mom. When I was 19, I got a no experience needed job in a scratch bakery, when I moved to Portland. The bakers told me that I was the only person they didn't have to train, and was soon decorating cakes. Good job, Mom. Good job, Alee.
Maybe I should make something with capers!
“It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black.”-Charlie Brown |
Edited by - one_dog_per_acre on Nov 22 2011 06:22:12 AM |
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 06:23:34 AM
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If only garlic scapes were in season. That would totally freak them out.
“It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black.”-Charlie Brown |
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Sweet_Tea
True Blue Farmgirl
194 Posts
Tara
Newberry
SC
USA
194 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 11:06:01 AM
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I'm with you both on this..
It bothers me to see all these kids eating mcdonalds..
They don't eat real food, but instead they want poptarts and crap to fill their tummies up with.
I go through that with my husbands kids... they didn't even know what pork chops were...seriously.
My Mother and both grandmothers made me who I am.. and I am thankful for them.
Farmgirl Sister #2974
~ http://notsosweettea.blogspot.com/
"The air of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears"
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mountain mama
True Blue Farmgirl
168 Posts
Marilyn
Divide
Co
168 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 11:14:33 AM
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I think if we look around us we can see the results of the lack of knowledge of real food. The art of preparing a home made meal is one to be proud of anyone can open a can or a package and "make a meal" but to take raw ingredients, take the time to prepare, cut slice or whatever is required is a skill.
We can see the results of the laziness or lack of loving preparation of meals. The obesity rate is staggering and the health of the majority of people is downright frightening.
So what kind of food are we preparing our families--food for a good healthy long life.
Marilyn
Farmgirl #408
Stress relief: go fishing, play in the dirt. go on a road trip, talk to a farmgirl. |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 11:27:34 AM
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You know, since I'm a person who brings all kinds of different things to gatherings, especially gatherings where there are a lot of people who's backgrounds I'm unfamiliar with, I DO make a sign. Especially if something is spicy--I don't wanna hear about it, honestly. I learned my lesson at one party, where I made beef curry puffs (I used the hot Madras curry--which wasn't hot, by the by) and one pansy man ate a bite, made a huge deal out of how his "mouth was on fire" and then he parked himself by my appetizer and "warned" people off of them. I was SO angry.
So, now I put pretty little signs describing what I've brought--and it if it's spicy, I usually draw a red pepper or say, "caliente!"!!!
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
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Missus Miranda
True Blue Farmgirl
285 Posts
Miranda
Thrall
TX
USA
285 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 11:42:42 AM
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*bouncing, wiggling, excited!* LUUUCEEEEE, I'm HOME!!!
I have been ranting about this for SO long!!! Our roommate is a grown man and will not eat veggies because (and I QUOTE) "they are yucky". He's fooled his kid into believing this, too!!!
One of my mother's friends growing up was taught that she did not like rice. When she was a grown woman, she finally tried it, and it's now one of her favorite foods.
There are not many foods I will not eat or at least try. We actually became good friends with the former manager at our Le Cruset outlet because my father had a pan addiction!!! Cristophe and the other man who worked there would beam every time Daddy walked in because they had JUST gotten this dutch oven or that roaster.
I was about 13 when I started cooking, but I would stand on a chair and watch my mother cook before I was even in school! I owe a LOT to her for that. The Old Man says he has never eaten anything I cooked that he didn't like. I remind him of the frybread catastrophe and he giggles, but otherwise, he's right. I made chili a while back that was on the sweet side and it irked me. He scolded me and said it was fine. Apparently so, because there was little more than a ladel full left that night!
When/if we start a family, they will be fed RIGHT. Granted, occasionally Josh and I have junk food, but it's very rare! And our kids will learn to eat veggies and LIKE it!
"I'm not trying to be mean or cantankerous. I just wish people would do the right thing, and use a little common sense." ~ Farmgirl 3535
Pflugerville, TX
http://www.tawnycow.blogspot.com/ |
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acairnsmom
True Blue Farmgirl
1319 Posts
audrey
cheyenne
wy
1319 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 11:53:56 AM
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Just look at it this way, you are bringing a much needed ray of sunshine into their otherwise dreary lives. If you didn't bring in "exotic" foods, they would never even know "exotic" foods exist!
Audrey
.jpg) Good boy Hobbs! I love and miss you. |
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 3:11:28 PM
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Jonni,
Why does that make me so sad? I am planning a cold salad with penne pasta, grilled chicken, gorgonzola, red onions, red grapes, and candied walnuts. If anyone asks, I'll sing Yo Gabba Gabba: Try it, you'll like. I know it's strange, and you've never tasted it, you'll just have to trust in me....
I listen to children's music instead of going to therapy. My favorite is Ziggy Marley Family Time.
“It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black.”-Charlie Brown |
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 4:48:35 PM
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The Yo GABBA GABBA reference really made me laugh.
I love to try new things. I wasn't always this way. I prefer not to know what is in something and try it before I make up my mind.
My family use to make a face and not eat my food. Then one day, one of my sisters wasn't there and everyone ate all my food. Go figure. It only takes one to spoil the day.
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
www.morganicinstitute.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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Lieberkim
True Blue Farmgirl
839 Posts
Kimberly
Sunnyside
WASHINGTON
USA
839 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 9:09:43 PM
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I must admit I'm not as experiemental as most of you are! I like simple home grown, home made food. My husband is a foodie and likes everything gourmet, man did he marry the wrong woman. :P Anyways I'm a big fan of eating healthy although I must admit that I enjoy junk food too. I was tickled pink last night when my children were offered orange punch (very artificial) and they didn't like it. They wanted real juice. My children love artichokes, it's a treat at our house. They know that we sprout our grain, then dry it, then grind it, then bake with it. They've been standing on stools "helping" me cook and can and bake since they could stand up. They help me harvest and prepare the pumpkins so that we can make pumpkin seeds and pie filling to freeze. And I tell you what, my kitchen will be full of happy children when we start baking our pies tomorrow. My five year old has already asked me to teach him to cook. My goal is to raise both my son and daughter to know how to grow, raise, butcher, preserve the majority if not all their food on their own so they can if they want to or need to.
Excuse the mess & the noise, my children are making happy memories |
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FebruaryViolet
True Blue Farmgirl
4810 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4810 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 05:43:04 AM
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@Trish--I HIGHLY recommend singing Yo Gabba Gabba when someone asks the inevitable, "what is THIS?!" And, just an aside, this lady would park her bottom by your dish and eat the largess...
"Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile..."
The Only Living Boy in New York, Paul Simon |
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Annika
True Blue Farmgirl
5602 Posts
Annika
USA
5602 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 06:52:50 AM
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* giggling from the Yo Gabba Gabba* Oh girls, this topic is so dear to my heart. I'm an army brat, and my mother was terrified of any thing that didn't come from a can or box. We ate TV dinners, hamburger helper, pop tarts, wonder bread, American cheese...nothing fresh, ever. I remember as a child, falling in love with a leek at a grocery mart and loving it's scent and look of its bluish green leaves. My mother told me that it was dirty and that it would kill me if I ate it lol! She always referred to mushrooms as toadstools lol!
In many ways, I've always been the weird one in my family, I've always been the one that would try new things, eat foreign or different things, etc. To this day, not one of my family members will eat anything not prepackaged from a grocery store. They do love my baking so long as its not too weird or foreign =P I'm so grateful for my dear Andrew, we often cook together and we enjoy our cooking experiments so much! He is a very picky eater, but I'm slowly broadening his tastes =) I'm a gourmet foodie on a budget, but there are so many delicious things that can be made from just a few fresh ingredients!
It is a pity that so many people are afraid of real food and daunted by the thought of actually cooking from scratch.
Happy Thanksgiving !!
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
http://thegimpyfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
http://pinterest.com/annikaloveshats/
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
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GaiasRose
True Blue Farmgirl
2552 Posts
Tasha-Rose
St. Paul
Minnesota
2552 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 07:02:36 AM
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They were just talking yesterday on our NPR music channel "The Current" about "normal" food and "real" food....and how kids are so impacted these days by "normal" food.
Travis and I went on a date two weeks ago (every two weeks :-D) and we had french fries and escargot at this local place wiht a limited but amazing menu. We told Grace that we had escargot and she was like, "oh yummy!" Any other kids would be like, "ZOMGS EWWWWWWWWW!!!" So Alee, Nora will pick up on and retain your food habits for sure. Open kids up to real food and fine cuisine and the won't hesitate the grab a handful of carrots instead of begging for a sugary snack (this is sooooo my little guy. Degory's nightly snack before bed while his sister are falling asleep is either a handful of baby carrots or a cut up apple...he practically begs for them, though he has no need to. But that's a three year old...)
It is sad to see kids eating crap. What we can do though is train our own children up in such a way that they will tell their peers, hey! This plum is great and it's full of antioxidants! or...ZOMGS YOU GAIS!!! I ATE THIS AMAZING MASALA THAT MY MOM MADE!! IT WAS LIKE, SO GOOD (that's me pretending I know how pre-teens speak...)
~*~Brightest Blessings~*~
Tasha-Rose
Farmgirl Sister #88
Blogs:
http://omgsitstasharose.wordpress.com
[url=http://lilypie.com] [/url]
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Missus Miranda
True Blue Farmgirl
285 Posts
Miranda
Thrall
TX
USA
285 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 09:09:57 AM
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I think a lot came from my mother remembering how often my Grandma made the same dish over and over. Momma started learning new things when she got married, and started a HUGE cookbook collection. I've since inhereted several of them.
I was raised in Texas by a generational Texan, but I was born in Alabama. I quickly learned that I loved anything that came out of the ocean, anything cajun or creole, and that salt and black pepper are not the only spices in the spice cabinet!
I just could not imagine eating everything from a box, but so many people do! I don't do every single thing from scratch... I buy my dried pasta and occaisionally something from a can or jar, but I am getting away from that more and more, and what I do buy, I check the label!
I have lost my taste for a lot of pre packaged foods, though. I can taste chemicals...
And leeks ARE dirty and that's what makes them wonderful. That means they came from God's green earth!
And I love love LOVE raw mushrooms... I thought I was alone till I brought a package of them with a veggie tray for a company pot luck. They were one of the first things to go, and that's before I got to eat any!
I do believe that things are changing, however. People are realizing that prepackaged "food" isn't really food. It's making us fat and lazy. It's making us sick. Do you know, my mother is 62 and a rarity because she only takes one prescription for her heart arythmia? I'm almost 32 and half my peers are on this scrip for something that I could almost guarantee could be treated by a diet & lifestyle change!
WHEW I'm gonna wear out my soap box!!!
"I'm not trying to be mean or cantankerous. I just wish people would do the right thing, and use a little common sense." ~ Farmgirl 3535
Pflugerville, TX
http://www.tawnycow.blogspot.com/ |
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FarmDream
True Blue Farmgirl
1085 Posts
Julie
TX
USA
1085 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 5:23:35 PM
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A couple of months ago I, a butternut squash, fell in love with Fennel. I didn't know much about him. In fact, we had never met. I was determined to find out if we could be a couple. We were so different. Could it work? We arranged for a date at the local "hot spot." I wore my red pepper dress and he wore his chopped onions. Together we sizzled on the dance floor. He said, "You're quite a dish." Maybe it was my olive oil perfume. It seemed like we danced all night, but it was only 30 minutes. Then we knew. We were meant to be together. Some people thought we were an exotic couple. But when you get to know us we're just like your old time favorite comfort food.
I couldn't resist. This is now a permanent dish at our house.
~FarmDream is Farmgirl Sister #3069
Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow
http://naturaljulie.etsy.com
http://julie-rants.blogspot.com |
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Missus Miranda
True Blue Farmgirl
285 Posts
Miranda
Thrall
TX
USA
285 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 5:33:39 PM
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BWAHAHAHA!! I LOVE IT!!  Now I am going to have to try the "recipe" *wiggle dance* just.. not while HEB is as insane as it is right now.... nearly got run over by people hollering "Can you tell me what aisle the cream of mushroom soup is in?" and all I needed was butter.
"I'm not trying to be mean or cantankerous. I just wish people would do the right thing, and use a little common sense." ~ Farmgirl 3535
Pflugerville, TX
http://www.tawnycow.blogspot.com/ |
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Violets November
True Blue Farmgirl
342 Posts
Violet
Exeter
California
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 8:55:13 PM
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So good that many here can cook.
And all this about women, or folks not cooking...it's sad.
I think so many women lack confidence in their womanhood. Lacking confidence to the point they don't believe they have the ability to lovingly cook for and feed their family.
~Violet~
Farmgirl Sister #1669
My blog, http://hiddenacre.blogspot.com/
Our Organic Jewelry, http://www.etsy.com/shop/GaelicForge |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Nov 24 2011 : 03:56:19 AM
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Doesn't even have to be "exotic" just not from a box-please!
We ate as a fmaily together and all our meals were cooked from scratch. That's how I learned growing up, and even as a poor starving college student, I still bought sepatate ingredients and cooked from scratch. I know no differently.
Pity the person who sincerely isn't taught how to read and follow even a simple recipe.
And there are those who buck the system and are good enough to not need those recipes. Those kitchen purprises are even better when they turn out!
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Calicogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
5216 Posts
Sharon
Bruce Crossing
Michigan
USA
5216 Posts |
Posted - Nov 24 2011 : 06:43:09 AM
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Girls,
I am really enjoying this thread 
Like Annika, I grew up with TV dinners, white bread and you can add Chef Boyardee to that mix with spam too! The only real meals I remember having were Spaghetti and Meatballs, Chili (very mild), Stew and an occasional Pot Roast. I wanted to experiment, I used to subscribe to Seventeen magazine and they would have a monthly menu. My family would not touch anything different so I invited my friends from school and experimented on them, so I pretty much taught myself to cook. :)
I have a SIL that says I am a horrible cook, I don't know, maybe it's because I refuse to use Cream of... soups (unless all natural in a pinch), or Velveeta, Spam, Pillsbury biscuits Or eat at All you can Eat buffets. Call me a snob :)
I have to share an amazing meal I had the other night. My husband and I had to go to Albuquerque the other day (only a 5 hour drive). We were looking for a place to eat and found a Macaroni Grill. I am really not big on chain restaurants and have more often than not been disappointed. Well it turned out to be fabulous! Picture this:
Four Cheese Tortelacci with roasted Butternut Squash and slivers of Prosciutto in a Asiago Cream sauce with white truffle oil garnished with pumpkin seeds. I can not get over how delicious this was. I want to try and replicate it :)
Julie, that was cute!
Anna, I agree! Simple foods are wonderful too! And the reading thing is important. When people ask me for recipes I always tell them to read it a few times before they start. Think about timing and prep as much as you can before you get into it. And clean as you go if you can :)
~Sharon
By His Grace, For His Glory
http://merryheartjournal.blogspot.com/ |
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queenmushroom
True Blue Farmgirl
985 Posts
Lorena
Centerville
Me
USA
985 Posts |
Posted - Nov 24 2011 : 08:50:09 AM
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My mom was not and still is not a good cook. She taught me a few things from scratch, like mac and cheese (I hate box stuff), cakes, meats, etc. But because of her fear of anything with too much "bite" (spicey like jalapenos), she would never truly season anything (even with black pepper). After I moved out, I started expirementing (sp) and turned out to be a pretty fair cook. Due to money constraints, I can't buy alot of fancy seasonings, more expensive cuts of meat and different cheeses (I'm not much of a cheese person anyway)and(also my dh is a fussy eater) but I do try to cook with as fresh of ingredience as possible and from scratch as much as possible. I will agree there are too many families that eat too much processed food and too much take out. My My MIL can't figure out why I wanted to make the stuffing for the bird today. Granted I didn't toast my own homemade bread, but the onions and celery were sauteed with real butter (I figure I'm going to die someday, I might as well enjoy my food the way I like it) and stuffed in the turkey and baked right away. Sorry, I know that isn't pc now a days, but I always follow common sense. I don't even by fresh stuffed meat in the store. I don't know how long it's been in there. I also made my own homemade rolls and whole berry cranberry jelly.
Enjoy today and be thankful EVERYDAY, for you never know when it all will be taken away.
Lorie
Patience is worth a bushel of brains...from a chinese fortune cookie |
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Penny Wise
True Blue Farmgirl
1903 Posts
Margo
Elyria
OH
USA
1903 Posts |
Posted - Nov 24 2011 : 10:04:38 AM
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[quote]Originally posted by Sweet_Tea
My Mother and both grandmothers made me who I am.. and I am thankful for them.
i love that sentiment!!!!!!!!!!! my grandmother and dad and step mom made me--then my MIL and FIL got hold of me and added to the mix!!!!! i love to cook- my son and daughter made their first batch of cabbage rolls today-wish i were there to taste them!
Farmgirl # 2139
proud member of the Farmgirls of the Southwest Henhouse
~*~ counting my pennies and biding my time; my dreams are adding up!~*~ |
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Missus Miranda
True Blue Farmgirl
285 Posts
Miranda
Thrall
TX
USA
285 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2011 : 07:48:56 AM
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I'm on the same page as Violet, in a way, but never quite thought of it as "lack of confidence". That's not to say you're wrong, Violet, by all means I think you're right! What I mean to say is, I kind of feel like some times, society has taught us that to be confident in your womanhood you must SHED the "norm" of being a nurturer and be a carreer woman instead. That you're not strong and independent enough unless you wear a power suit and have a 6 figure job. Things like knowing how to cook and clean are not only unimportant, they are beneath us. I feel so sad when I hear people talk in such a way.
I am grateful to my mother and grandmothers (and come to think of it, my father, too!) who taught me how to cook, sew, clean, bake and many other "domestic" things. It does not mean that I am uneducated (far from it... my assistant manager is still blown away at my breadth of knowledge... unfortunately that also makes me the Cliff Claven of our branch some times, haha!). It does not mean that I am weak (with the things I have been through, I must admit, I can be strong when the time comes!), or that I am unsuccessful (I may not have tons of money, but I have a great family and the most wonderful man, and dreams left to dream!).
It simply means that, when the times get rough, I can take a pound of ground beef, a handful of croutons, a carrot that's starting to go limp, a can of green beans and a left over half of an onion with the last strips of bacon and make ONE HECK of a supper. I also know how to get the pan drippings from the meatloaf out of the pan, and how to sharpen the knife I cut the veggies up with. And if that kitchen rag has a hole in it, I can fix that, too!
While everyone else is going to McDonalds or eating Ramen and getting pasty and fluffy (you are what you eat!) I'm able to put protiene and vitamins on the table!
Hooray for Farmgirls!!! 
"I'm not trying to be mean or cantankerous. I just wish people would do the right thing, and use a little common sense." ~ Farmgirl 3535
Pflugerville, TX
http://www.tawnycow.blogspot.com/ |
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queenmushroom
True Blue Farmgirl
985 Posts
Lorena
Centerville
Me
USA
985 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2011 : 3:51:04 PM
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Amen Miranda
Patience is worth a bushel of brains...from a chinese fortune cookie |
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Missus Miranda
True Blue Farmgirl
285 Posts
Miranda
Thrall
TX
USA
285 Posts |
Posted - Nov 25 2011 : 4:20:02 PM
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I LOVE fortune cookies... they do, oddly, have great wisdom some times!
"I'm not trying to be mean or cantankerous. I just wish people would do the right thing, and use a little common sense." ~ Farmgirl 3535
Pflugerville, TX
http://www.tawnycow.blogspot.com/ |
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Across the Fence: My food needs a sign to say what it is. RANT |
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My food needs a sign to say what it is. RANT
