If you're looking for my IMBB entry, sorry - I'm leaving on vacation in a few days and taking a break from IMBB, cookie baking, and the like. (Though I will have a couple more posts before I leave.) I'm using the weekend to get ready for my trip. In theory I'm cleaning the house (ha ha), doing the laundry, running last minute errands, etc. In actuality, I'm still spending an awful lot of time keeping tabs on all my favorite food blogs.
Anyway, my cooking this weekend and for the next few days is centered around using it up, which put me in mind of a story...
One summer many years ago my family spent a leisurely couple of weeks staying in a cottage on a lake. As the end of our stay neared, our supplies dwindled and my parents were naturally trying to use up the things we had left. I believe it was the day before our departure when my Dad for some reason took charge in the preparation of our lunch.
My Dad seldom cooks, though there are a few things he is quite adept at. He was known in our family as the one who cooked the fried rice (though my Mom did all the prep work), he often prepared breakfast, and he was a master at peanut butter pairings (peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches...mmmmmmm...try it!). My Dad is an electrical engineer. He is a logical, practical man. On this particular day, though, I think he checked his culinary common sense at the door.
We were all seated around the table and my Dad set down a platter heaped with sandwiches - salami and relish sandwiches. Grocery store salami (not even Hebrew National) and sweet pickle relish. Yuck. There were lots of them too - I think we were each expected to eat more than one. Even my Mom was whining.
So tell me dear readers, what has "using it up" driven you to do? What's the worst combination of foods you've ever eaten or the most atrocious thing your parents ever made you eat?
6 comments:
Funny story! My mom is famous for throwing stuff together...disastrously. She will just randomnly combine two boxes of cereal, so there's just one box in the pantry instead of two...that could sometimes be really interesting. One of the sandwiches she loves...and I always hated...peanut butter, mayo and lettuce. Yick!
Hi Alice - I've done the two cereal bit myself (in the bowl, though, not the box). Peanut butter and lettuce might not be too bad, but mayo...ew! My family at peanut butter in many ways - stuffed in celery was another good one!
Can't remember doing something really disgusting, but I remember one time, I was leaving on a sorta spur-of-the-moment trip to the big US with my friend. The night before we were to leave Denmark, we went out and got pretty plastered and was out until - well, late - or early, depending on how you see it! I came home, had no time to sleep, but needed to empty the fridge - in which was 6 eggs. Now, I like scrambled eggs a lot, but scrambled eggs out of 6 eggs, for one person, is just too, too much!
Hi Zarah - especially after a night on the town, stuffing down all those scrambled eggs would be asking for trouble I'd think!
Hi JourneyGirl - welcome! I had not come upon your blog before - I just spent some time reading a number of your posts and like it very much!
At first reading about your leftover casseroles, I thought they sounded very sensible, but Chinese take-out with cheese???? I'll pass, thanks! :-)
Hmm... I haven't had a horrid experience but I do regularly make "garbage soup" and some batches are definitely better than others.
Hi Ellen! You know I've never done that, but it's a good idea. Do you have a base recipe you usually use and just throw in whatever vegetables need to be used up?
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