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| Makins' for taco salad |
A friend once said that they would rather have a little bit
of something that tastes “real good” than a whole plate of “something that
tastes… okay”. I didn’t understand or
agree with that statement twenty years ago, but now that I’m more seasoned, it
makes perfect sense.
Back in the day, I was exercising heavily and when it was
time to eat, I wanted quantity and lots of it.
That sounds redundant and is, but for those of us who like to eat, it
just sounds right. Food! Give me lots of food. Food is fun and it’s more fun if there’s lots
of it. Think Thanksgiving and Christmas
dinner and after-dinner and snacks and desserts.
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| Ug-Lee's jambalaya |
I wanted “seconds” – or even thirds! I wanted that great big chicken-fried steak,
the one that over-lapped the platter and had the cream gravy slathered over
it. I wanted a heaping pile of buttery
corn on the side and a couple of those fist-sized rolls to go with it.
How about a side dish of fried okra to bump it up to just
the right place on the culinary scale and a huge glass of sweet tea? Talk about delicious!
I like boudin or boudain, whatever. I like it a lot. In fact, I eat boudin with onions and mustard
pretty much every morning. Not to worry,
my cholesterol and blood numbers are right down the middle. I just like it. I read one time that onions are so good for
your heart, that you should eat them with every meal. It’s probably the only healthy thing in that
breakfast meal, but who’s checking?
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| Cornish Game hens stuffed with boudin |
I used to eat a lot of food and still do, but when I say “a
lot of food” I’m talking variety, not quantity.
You see, what my friend told me is apparently true. In fact, I learned that it’s not what you eat
that contributes to a weight problem, but how much. I knew a guy once who in our times would be
considered morbidly obese (he used to just be fat) and came to work with a plan
to lose weight. He was going to eat
fish.
Come lunch time, he heated up 24 breaded fish sticks and
pulled out a pint of tarter sauce – and ate all of it while we watched. But forget all that talk about dieting and
stuff. Let’s talk about food and lots of
it!
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| Jalapeno poppers! |
My bride and I ate at a restaurant in the French Quarter of
Nawlin’s at a place called the Old Coffeepot.
She was openly aghast when I ordered a steaming hot plate of chicken
livers, mustard, and buttery grits for breakfast. Yea, I had eggs and a biscuit and black
chicory coffee with it, but it was a memorable breakfast and delicious. Speaking of that, name three memorable
breakfasts in the next thirty seconds. You can’t?
Try the grits and chicken livers then.
More than once I’ve heard friends object to this food or
that and blatantly announce “I would never eat that!” I always think the same thing. “You’ve never been hungry enough.” If you get hungry enough, you will boil
leather and try to eat it. Look in the
Old Testament at what people did who were starving to see how low we can go
when really hungry.
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| Jalapeno and cheese stuffed burger |
Years ago I read a book about a married couple whose yacht
sunk suddenly while out on the Pacific Ocean. They only had time to save themselves in a
canvas raft and floated for 120 plus days before being rescued. They lived off raw fish that jumped into the
raft and any tired bird that landed.
They stayed sane by planning elaborate meals for when they were rescued. What they wouldn’t have done for a chicken
fried steak, boudin, or chicken livers!
One time years ago in Thailand, I ordered pork chops at a
local restaurant. What I was served was
one pork chop and one black chunk of meat with a bone through the middle. My friends and I laughed and inquired what it
was to the server. “Poke chop!” I sliced a piece of it and ate it and to this
day, I attest I’ve tasted dog meat. Of
course I sent it back and in return got a second “poke chop”. I imagine the people in the back got a good
laugh out of it and I got a memory to recall.
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| Homemade oatmeal and raisin cookies! |
What’s the bottom line on all of this you ask? Don’t believe all that bunk about what you
can eat and what you can’t. Whatever the
experts say today, they’ll say something else tomorrow. Eat whatever you want, just eat in
moderation. Try something new and you
might just get a meal worth repeating.
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