I realize it has been awhile since I "blogged" anything... I'm an imperfect person in an imperfect world (lol) Anyway today I was perusing the Etsy forums boards and saw a posting in the ECT category that piqued my interest, it was Foods you HATE... well there are not to many foods I really hate, but I do have a few that get the old gag reflex going.. one is cumin the ground herb. Don't care for it.. urg.. but the worst offenders for me, starting at the bottom of the list and going up to the most hideous.... I Hate liver, of any kind ... organ meats in general are gross. I do like beef heart every once in awhile. But it has to be cooked properly to make it tender. But the ultimate grossest food on the planet for me is Fruit Cocktail. Yes this innocuous canned staple in many households is for me.. utter poison. One of my earliest memories is the huge looming head of my mother coming at me with a big spoon of fruit cocktail and a maniacal smile on her face... and there is just something insidiously icky about super sweet syrupy mushy canned fruit that chills me literally *to* *the* *bone.* And the WORST possible way to eat fruit cocktail is in Jell-o ... I cringe people, I have gooseflesh as I type, the stomach is churning even at the thought. BUT the KING of all time bad ideas for fruit cocktail and gelatin type side dishes or desserts ... Lime green jello with the fruit cocktail encased within,, some added crushed canned pineapple,, and WHY for the love of ALL that is Sacred.. COTTAGE CHEESE! My Mother used to make this.. a lot.. in fact it was kind of a delicacy in our household as I was growing up.. and everyone loved this abomination of so called foodstuff .. except me. sigh.. My Mother who by her own admission is not a fan of cooking, raised four kids and a husband on very strange concoctions ... her "Stew" was in reality a thin greasy soup afloat with half cooked carrots and mealy potatoes. Her soup, always had a grey cast to it, plus for some reason she would throw a few tablespoons of lentils into the pot and after the soup was done the empty lentil skins would float on top resembling baleful little eyes staring up at us.. We nick named this soup, Frogs Eye Soup which ticked Mother off greatly. Another of her signature dishes was a casserole that was basically boiled "baking" potatoes mixed with chunks of hot dogs ( the turkey and or chicken kind) doused with half a bottle of catsup. Ummmmm.. (not)
Now one dish she made that I did like was Meatloaf in bread... yes IN bread. She would get a huge loaf of Italian bread and carefully cut out a large oval from the top and scoop out the soft white bread leaving a large hollow. She would then mix hamburger, eggs, chopped onions and the few herbs and spices she used with the extracted bread crumbs and stuff it back in the hollowed out loaf.. baked in the oven for about an hour, replacing the "top" the last 15 minutes. Surprisingly this *IS* very delicious. Mom would let it cool for a few minutes and then sliced it. The outside bread is crisp and the meatloaf is moist.. slathered in catsup.. Now that was Good! And she made good deviled eggs.. So it's not like she didn't know how to cook at all.
This morning my dear daughter and I made Peach Banana Carrot Bread,, with lots of ginger and cinnamon.. oh it smelled so good baking! Still does,, and I took pictures... Enjoy!
