On Sun 15 Jan 2006 01:37:58p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it D.Currie?

>
> "Julia Altshuler" > wrote in message
> . ..
>> I've thought more about the question of what makes a fussy adult and
>> how to deal with them. I've decided that the definition of fussy is
>> someone who can't find anything to eat in a restaurant or social
>> gathering or someone who can't be polite in those situations.
>>
>
> Thinking even more about this, If you have to change the way you cook to
> accommodate someone's list of banned foods (barring medical or religious
> reasons) then they might be considered fussy. Unless of course your own
> cooking is quirky to begin with.
>
> But consider this list of foods that one couple has, at one time or
> another, said they don't like/can't eat: onion, black pepper, celery
> seed/celery salt, oregano, marjoram, basil, mint, rosemary, Mexican
> food, Italian food, spicy food of any sort, olive oil, winter squash,
> chocolate, cucumber, corn, garlic, chicken gizzards, liver, anything in
> the cabbage family, dressing on salad, raw tomato, cumin, most ethnic
> foods, and most spices/herbs/seasonings, asparagus, radishes, spinach,
> sourdough bread, rye bread...and I've never seen them eat any sort of
> fish or seafood. Oh, I'm sure I'm missing a few things; I'm still
> compiling the list.
>
> And, they've commented on other dinners they've had pointing out fatal
> flaws in the cooking. For example, one time they were served baked
> potato with a ham dinner and that "ruined the meal." Okay, baked potato
> with ham wouldn't be my first choice, but it wouldn't ruin the meal for
> me. There have been similar comments, criticizing other meals they've
> been served and each time I've thought that the comment was overly
> critical.
>
> When we dine at their house, the vegetable is invariably green beans
> (frozen, never fresh) with fake bacon bits on top, and there are no
> spices or seasonings used on anything. Not even salt. No butter, either.
> Anywhere. If there is butter on the table, it is actually margarine
> mixed with some sort of oil and either sugar or corn syrup as she
> doesn't like hard butter, and it's too much trouble to take it out of
> the fridge ahead of time. I'll tell ya, it's a shock when you butter a
> roll and the "butter" is sweet. And this is the same person who makes
> "gravy" from flour and water, and I once saw her dress a salad with
> watered-down ketchup. And the many times we've eaten ham there (one of
> their favorites) it's not cooked, it's microwaved, and then she pours
> maple-flavored pancake syrup on top.
>
> When they've dined with us, they've eaten a number of things on their
> "banned" list, particularly the spices/herbs/seasonings/flavorings. And
> they rave about how good it is, and take second and third and fourth
> helpings. But if you ask them if they like oregano or rosemary or sage,
> for example, they'll say no. Which makes cooking for them somewhat of a
> challenge because I'm never sure if they really don't like something, or
> if it's just something they say they don't like because they don't have
> it at home.
>
> And the list is getting longer. It seems like each time we eat with
> them, they tell us about more foods they don't like. It not as bad as it
> seems, though, as there are some things I know I can cook for them. But
> I wouldn't want to eat with them on a daily basis.

People like that would never darken my door again, nor would I eat with
them in a restaurant. Geesh!

--
Wayne Boatwright տլ
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"One man's meat is another man's poison"
- Oswald Dykes, English writer, 1709.