Creative Cooking

Over the past few days, Alexa has been spouting off recipes of things she would like me to cook....it took a few requests before I realized she was making up these dishes and concocting the recipes entirely in her mind.  Mint seems to be a popular ingredient - I'm sure attributable to the holiday season - as she's proposed everything from mint pie (pie crust, mint and whipped cream) to mint with porkchops.  I'm not quite sure how edible some of her creations would be, but I have to give her credit for creativity.

I've learned Alexa is very intrigued by stories about my childhood, so during dinner on Sunday night, I was recalling incidents from my childhood to encourage her to eat her zucchini.  She was captivated by some of the Niehoff rules - i.e. I had to eat one pea (or lima bean, brussel sprout, etc...) for each year I was old, I wasn't allowed to leave the table until I finished my meal, etc...  As I relayed the stories to Alexa, I started to have flashbacks of some of the meals I used to despise.  I distinctly remember a few meals that led to hours of standoff at the dinner table.  Before I knew it, Damon and I were laughing hysterically, and I had to make two calls to my parents' house for verification of some of my recollections.

Damon was convinced I was making up recipes (probably thinking Alexa was rubbing off on me), but thank goodness for Google.  As I explained the meals to him, supported by the back-up of Gene and Kathy (my parents), he began to Google the recipe names and was shocked at the search engine results.  Sure enough, for every 'nightmare' dish I mentioned, Damon was able to find the recipe, coupled with pictures, on the Internet.  He was incredulous at some of the Niehoff meals of the 80's - Chipped Beef on Toast, Tuna Noodle Casserole, Corned Beef Hash (canned!), Western Rice Skillet, and, Damon's personal favorite (based upon the name alone)....Turkey Divan.  I think these must have been Midwest classics that never quite made it to California.

For the record, my mom no longer makes any of those meals; I'm convinced that she thought the recipes were as bad as I did but had to force us to eat them on principle alone.  Needless to say, I don't think we'll be having a Chipped Beef on Toast night at the Hovannisian house anytime soon. :)

Always up to the task in the kitchen....