April 26, 2011

Just because you didn’t like it as a child, doesn’t mean you won’t like it now.

Filed under: Uncategorized — pwaugh@motherearthmeals.com @ 11:54 am

Folks, how many times have we turned our noses up at a certain food that is on our “absolutely no way in Hell” list.  I bet most of us cannot even remember why we don’t like said foods.  I suspect the reason may lie in our childhood memories.  Vegetables cooked until they are the consistency of baby food, meat grilled to a charred mess, pale insipid salads…and the list goes on.

Over the past few years I have had occasion to rethink my food biases.  The first opportunity came in the form of my friend Julie.  She and her family were joining us for Christmas Eve dinner, as is our tradition.  She offered to bring several dishes, including Brussels sprouts.  Really?  I don’t think so!  She kept pushing and I kept stalling.  I eventually won that battle.  About a month later, during a beautiful snowstorm, we all gathered at her house for an impromptu potluck dinner.  Of course she had to get her sprouts in the mix.  Julie likes to roast them in high heat with a little olive oil and kosher salt.  I knew there was no delaying the inevitable – I was going to try my first sprout.  Guess what Sam-I-Am, I do like sprouts.  In fact, I love them.  Who knew?  It’s like eating potato chips.  You simply cannot put them down.

My second revelation occurred when I was passing through Norfolk, VA, on my way to the OBX.  My family wanted to lunch at Pasha Mezze.  They raved about the Mediterranean menu, particularly the kale salad.  I gotta tell ya, I was sick of hearing about this dish.  Kale conjures up memories of corned beef and collards, not one of my favs.  Little did I know what treat was in store for me.  Their kale and carrot salad is sublime.  My daughter and I are now obsessed with kale.  We particularly like it sautéed with a little garlic and pancetta.  Yum!  BTW, if you are ever in Norfolk, you must stop by this wonderful restaurant.

Working on Mother Earth Meals has inspired me to return to some of those good-for-you foods that I had shied away from for so many years.  I have found that I truly love  the taste and texture of kale and Brussels sprouts, the earthiness of root veggies and the pungent aroma of a good curry powder.   So dear readers, please take an opportunity to expand your culinary repertoire.  There is a bountiful supply of gorgeous foods waiting for you.

Tell us about your nutritional revelations.

April 6, 2011

Momma always said…

Filed under: Uncategorized — pwaugh@motherearthmeals.com @ 3:47 am

It’s more than just “Eat your vegetables or you won’t grow,” and “Eat your carrots, it will give you good eyesight.” My momma, bless her soul, pretty much always had something to say that usually related to food. Eating was what life revolved around back in the good ole’ days. The kitchen table was where all the action took place. So I decided to share with you some of my favorite mom-ism’s that you may or may not have heard growing up. Unbelievably, some of these gems come out of my mouth today.

“If you don’t gain 10 lbs. while you are on vacation, you didn’t have a good time.” Unfortunately, I still live by this saying!

“Plant a potato, get a potato.” Thrown out there every time I had to live with the consequences of my actions.

The infamous, “Finish your dinner, there’s people starving in China/India/Africa… (insert whatever country)” to which in my sassy mind I was responding “Then I will happily send them my stupid brussel sprouts.”

“Eat those onions (or whatever food I wouldn’t eat at the time), it will put hair on your chest.” Being one of three girls in the family, this should not have been motivational to us.  It did however work really well on all the grandsons.

“Eating your bread crusts will give you curly hair.” I bought that one for a while but gave up when the only time my hair curled was when it was wrapped in brush or sponge rollers.

Lastly, one of my all time favorites, if I was wearing something momma deemed too tight she’d tell me I “look like a sausage in that outfit.” Oh dear.  Probably could have worded that a little softer, don’t you think?  Ironically, to this day, if I don’t like how I look in a piece of clothing I will look in the mirror and say, “I think I look like a sausage”.  You get the picture.

I could go on and on with things momma always said. But momma always said not to dwell on the past too much.