Saturday 1 October 2011

Impressing with food - with caution!


I just read this post by Athol Kaye who suggests men impress their wives / families / vast groups of guests with a dish consisting of waffle chips (potato bought pre-prepared soaked in oil and oven cook), cheese sauce (make self), bacon and sour cream (plus a few incidental garnishes). DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME without careful consideration!  

Adam and his wife are approximately 40 years old with young children and they are not restricted by their religion re eating pork. I can understand how the instinctual craving for easy calories and fat might motivate consumption and appreciation of such a dish. Also I believe such dishes are part of US culture. I might have tried it minus bacon 20 years ago – however these days I would NOT be impressed if a suitor prepared this with the expectation of making a good impression!  I felt sick just reading about it!

One thing that my ex never recognised was that my dietary preferences changed as I aged. He on the other hand seemed to retain his youthful preferences. He became very frustrated and angry when he tried to please by cooking dishes loaded with cream and other fats. He tried emotional blackmail to get me to eat what he made and sometimes I hid it before disposing of it thoughtfully! Many times I ate it and suffered indigestion and / or nausea.

I think the main point is dietary preferences and requirements change with age and one has to be sensitive to these matters.

As ladies age they may wish to eat healthier lower calorie foods, heavy fatty foods might make them feel sick and more easily digested, lighter foods might be preferred. Mature ladies may prefer smaller portions of high quality, nutrient dense food – forget cheap nutrient-poor refined carbohydrates dressed up with sugar, fat and flavours.  

Given that people differ, the best approach may be to discuss dietary preferences before preparing a surprise meal! 

Flowering pear is an excellent food choice for the European honey bee ...

2 comments:

  1. Hahahaha!

    Jennifer was the one baking the cheesy fries. We all ate like pigs lol.

    It was a fun meal that had all of us gathered around the table as a family. It's actually a dish that defined a recent family vacation, so we all remembered a good time together again.

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  2. Thank you for having a sense of humour! I hope you were not otherwise offended. Also, thank you for sharing a family memory / tradition. Numerous foster children have similar memories of my ex's calorie and fat laden dishes and request them as young adults returning to their old home. It's all to do with age, instincts and fond memories of better times! :-)

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