just another ordinary meal ???

[tianna]

About a week or so ago, I was hanging out with a pile of little bests.. ok not beast but children. I like to take in all the children in the family from time to time, and hang out doing kid stuff all day..... I made them all breakfast, lunch, and gave them snacks through out the day.



When it came to dinner time one of the girls asked me if we can go out for a good meal.. I smile at her and asked her what exactly a good meal meant to her... and she informed me that it is one you do not have to cook !! Then another one piped in telling me how great it was to have crayons at the table... I couldn't believe what I was hearing, as tons of the best meals I have ever eaten were made from scratch by my own mother.. I told them how if you don't appreciate cooking your own food then you miss out on everything that makes the meal so good.. A bunch of wrinkled noses and awes quickly filled the room.. before I gave in with some pop corn and kicked them out of my kitchen



This really made me think about how many people like to cook and do do on a regular basis, and how many people eat out all the time?????



I grew up having regular family meals... helped out in the kitchen, helped clean up afterwards.. and it was a time when everyone sat down together and bonded.. with out the distractions of anything other than the family at the table. I find these meals very important and almost sacred to my family and friends around me. I wonder if they are really important to others???? If they are initiated, or enforced... If other kids are allowed to just blow them off if they please.. lord knows I was never allowed to, My mother would have my head if I did, mind you I come from a fairly traditional old fashioned family... Ironically enough !!



In the end, with the beasts I grabbed some colouring books, and set them down at the table... with a pile of markers. When the spaghetti was ready, they all dove in and loved it !!!! the youngest, who is barely a year.. was the messiest.. and there was sauce all over the walls.. floor every where... I laughed at them all and took some pictures.. then ran a bath for the bigger ones.. and filled the sink up in the kitchen for the youngest.. and began the long hall of cleaning up after them.



Its not like a restaurant and at times I think how nice it would be just to walk away and let someone else deal with it.... but these are the moments I live for ... in every great meal !!


what makes a great meal for you ?????
food... time.. place..location.. company ????


Sincerely True

Tianna

 

[dr_pepper]

My mother was an excellent cook. I'm not so bad my self. My SO.......terrible. I guess I'm traditional, but as more families have two working parents I fear the art of passing along your cooking skills is being lost (and no I'm not saying this is only something a mother passes onto daughter). My mother could whip something up from nothing - it was an amazing skill and unfortunately a fading art. Now even when we do cook these days a special trip before hand is required to get all the necessary ingredients.

 

[skillhorn]

Include wine - repeat as necessary

Whoever is over for dinner... ask them to help cook. If they say no, insist they open wine for the sauce, and help finish off the bottle. If BBQing, replace with beer and don't waste any in the food.

When people help cook, the food tastes better even though it may not be. The essence of teamwork is that no matter what the outcome, everyone will agree it was a good effort. Drink more wine to celebrate.

If kids are coming, don't waste good wine on them. If they find something more fun to do, celebrate by drinking more wine. Hire them to do dishes - they'll end up with your money anyway, and it teaches them negotiating skills. If you've followed the instructions, you won't care about teaching them values by this point.

Oh yeh - colourful means healthy, so be sure to put ketchup and mustard on the table. Most kids think they're just as good as crayons ;-)

Fun topic, Tianna

 

[Fletch]

I agree with the home cooking part . . .

I just like to sponge off my relatives rather than do it myself. Works great. They are too polite to say anything and I have got away with it for years.

 

[wolverine]

Growing up, we just sat around and devoured what was in front of us. Quite a few times we'll all just eat in the living room while watching TV. My family had good cooks though, especially my dad. As world travellers, they loved to experiment with different cuisines, and they raised us with a strong appreciation for ethnic culinary delights.

As for me, I don't cook much. A few simple things like breakfast, pasta, chili, steak and burgers but that's it. I'm not that great at it, it is too time-consuming, and on a hot summer night the last thing I want to do is slave over a hot stove in my sauna-like apartment.

I have a tendency to eat out a lot, or I'll stock up on leftovers anytime I'm visiting family.

 

[edmontonsubbie]

my kids are very well rounded humans/eaters/thinkers. I like to think I had a small part in that. Wait...I insist on having a large part.

They like cornish game hen....planked fish....actually, they hate fish...but they humour me....their staples always remain the same and it's a ritual. Now I see their tastes expanding. Not by my efforts...just by the experience of life. Life will bring them the things they have sought. I can't control what they seek. I can only answer truthfully the questions they have.

rambling.....

eddie.

 

[wpgguy]

I spend around 100/120 nights away on business travel and there is NOTHING like a home cooked meal.

My fav is a few friends or family (specific family as we all have a few nuts in the family tree) out on the deck with the BBQ and some beer or wine. The food is secondary, anything from smokies to tenderloin or seafood.

Nothing like a warm evening, cold beer, the smell of a steak and making fun of my sisters taste in men. (OK the brother in law is a good guy if he brings the beer that night.)


P.S. Subbie you made sense tonight, better open another wobble pop.

 

[edmontonsubbie]

I spend around 100/120 nights away on business travel and there is NOTHING like a home cooked meal.

My fav is a few friends or family (specific family as we all have a few nuts in the family tree) out on the deck with the BBQ and some beer or wine. The food is secondary, anything from smokies to tenderloin or seafood.

Nothing like a warm evening, cold beer, the smell of a steak and making fun of my sisters taste in men. (OK the brother in law is a good guy if he brings the beer that night.)


P.S. Subbie you made sense tonight, better open another wobble pop.

hey wpg....tks. I am sooo laffin....but I am grateful. Can those two things be combined?...Of course they can. I am only wondering though....when did I NOT make sense????...wait...don't answer that.

A brother in law with beer is a winner. Oh, if it were so simple....but, for the most part...it is. Enjoy life and annoy the relatives. Is there a better motto?

eddie.

 

[threepeat]

Food

There was a show on the Food Network a while back called "Jamie's School Dinners," which was all about celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's plan to revamp the British public school meal program (last I checked, you can still find the episodes on bit torrent). Anyway, I thought it was fascinating/shocking how little some children knew about food. He held up rhubarb and some girl guessed they were onions; no one could recognize celery, zucchini, and on and on. Then he switched his flash cards to fast food restaurant logos and the kids were practically tripping over themselves shouting out the answer.

I don't know if parents are cooking less for their kids than they used to, but if they are, that's quite sad. Aside from health reasons (which was the whole point of the Jamie Oliver program), I've found that food is really one of the great bonds that tie people together. Everyone's got to eat, right? And if you care about someone, expressing it by cooking a well-intentioned meals is one of the best ways to do it, IMHO.

As for myself, I learned how to cook when I moved out of home. I knew absolutely nothing when I started, and the first thing I ever made for myself was ramen noodles . Then I graduated to pasta, then soup, then stir fries, then the rest became quite easy. It's not as hard as some people think, and I'm surprised cooking actually intimidates some. I'm not an expert by any stretch, but just saying it doesn't take much too cook a half decent meal. I actually have my favourite SP over sometimes for dinner-and-sex nights

I became quite a Food Network junkie during the NHL lockout. I figured I may as well learn something besides watching NBA highlights. Anyway, I got quite into it, and now I probably make about half my meals. Even if I don't cook a full-blown thing, you just learn what you can try and what might work. For example, now I pan-fry my Kraft Dinner for five minutes on medium and give the cheese a nice little crust. Add some onion powder, garlic powder, bit of oregano, and...mmmm!

Anyway, to answer your question, if I'm cooking for myself, a good meal is whatever fills my stomach. If I'm cooking for others, it's more of a sharing experience and a bit of self-expression at the same time.

Fun question, Tianna. Thanks

 

[LonelyGhost]

for me its not the food, but the company ...

i got invited to dinner at a friend's place and got leftovers and
the food was great (something i wouldn't make for myself so it
was a treat) but it was great having someone cook for me and
they are such wonderful people that even if the food was lousy
it would still make for a great time.

 

[curvy_nympho]

Dinner Time

I grew up with a mother who was a fabulous, experimental cook. It definitely made us all open to trying new things. Dinner time was sacred in our home too. No TV and no phone calls. We talked about what happened during the day. With a large, busy family, it was great to have a chance to talk and connect.

With my own family, dinner times were often on the go in between lessons and sports activities, but we did make the effort to eat together a few times a week.

Now, it's just me and I tend to order take out or eat out a lot. Cooking for one just sucks!

Bella

 

[georgebushmoron]

Cooking is a way of life. It's a great way to bond with others. I think cooking and eating together is an integral part of intimacy, whether it be a couple or a whole family.

But as for children, thank God for people like you Tianna, who have the quality of caring for the young that I do not have. I could never put up with entertaining any number of small children for very long. They irritate the hell out of me, even when on their best behaviour. Perhaps this is why I don't have them, and I am thankful of that. Anyway, you are doing a great service to society by giving of yourself to children. It helps them become good adults later in life, and we need more of those.

 

[Walk Softly]

I agree with LG! The company is what makes a great meal. A decent glass of wine or a nice dark ale help as does good food but some of the best meals I can remember featured unexceptional food.

Cheers all! WS.

 

[CJ Tylers]

I grew up with family dinners as well, and it's something we've continued on with to an extent (all the kids come home to roost for a sunday evening dinner, then fly away). I usually manage to make it out for those dinners, though sometimes it's hard (and I do my laundry for free at the same time. Score!)

I don't understand the current generations fascination with junk/restraunt food. I mean, when I was growing up... there were a number of dishes I really disliked, or grew entirely bored of. My parents weren't very experimental...I, on the other hand, am. As far as I'm concerned, junk food and/or restraunts are either treats or things you grab when you're run down and have no time or energy to prepare or clean up after a proper dinner.