ddtchick

I hate the smell of Bugles (stinky feet, just like Fritos.....) and never would eat them. HOWEVER, about a month ago I was in a candy shop in Wichita and they were giving samples of Bugles dipped in white chocolate .....yum! (Did you know white chocolate makes almost anything palatable?)

I saw this with my 15 year old son last night. Excellent film. There were plenty of couples without kids in the audience (apparently the foodies who sat through the credits to see who was listed). The food looked so delicious, it was almost as though you could reach into the screen and eat what was there. On the down side, Disney has released some dishware with "retro" rats on them, which really is quite gross and unsettling even if it is cartoonish, I don't think they will sell well.

Microwave cake and brownie mixes which didn't really "cook" and were just a half done mess in the middle....didn't last long I don't think. Also seems to be the era when docs were trying to push margarine off on everybody.

...and I don't know why the second image is not showing up!!!

Some of the food art I did, not on my walls but my counter- Another one, not food per se, but inspired by the vineyards in Montone, Italy -

Onion soup -LOTS of it, some toasted bread, and melted gruyere on top. It hits the spot.

Not Jewish, but yes. My dad spent about 35 years in the restaurant business and cooked at home most of the time. He passed away 3 years ago, but even in poor health he could still put my mom to shame.

If I'm cooking and my mother is around, "What is this", "Is it done, are you SURE?", "What are you putting in that?", etc. Her area of expertise extends only to Hamburger Helper. Besides standing over my shoulder, I have found my cast iron AND my carbon steel wok in the soapy water! New rules at my house: If you want to clean up, fine, NO washing the pots and pans!

This month it started with Captain D's fish, except I didn't eat the fish or fries, I went straight for the crunchy, buttery, batter crispies in the bottom of the box. Two nights ago my uterus told me we were having popcorn with lots of melted butter for dinner. Is it menopause yet?

"Salmon pattie" at a hospital cafeteria. I should have known better since those are six words that should never be put together. I cut into the middle of it and it was a gooey, mushy, gray mess. It smelled like fish, other than that, no clue as to what it actually was.

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? Middle class. Dad lived on a farm as a kid so we did raise some of our own food. Was meal time important? Yes. Was cooking important? Extremely. If you couldn't cook in my dad's family, there must be something wrong with you. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? "Hey, were you raised in a barn?" Who cooked in the family? My father. And if not, we wished he had. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Special occasions. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? No. When did you get that first sip of wine? I don't remember wine. I do remember beer at age 6 or 7 and thought it was bitter. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Only on holidays or at grandparents' house. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? No. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Most of it. I generally cook meals at home, fresh and not from a box, and am TRYING to teach my teenage son to cook.