It Tastes Just Like Chicken, or Pizza, or...

Well, 'tis the season.  Most religions are already in the Lenten season.  For the Orthodox Church, Lent begins next week.  Technically, we fast every Wednesday and Friday.  For us, that means no meat, no dairy products, sometimes no oil and sometimes even no fish.  That last one....not a heartbreaker for my kids.  About half of them would not eat fish if their lives depended on it.  In their minds, it is largely my fault.

Okay, I admit that sometimes I didn't always put a lot of effort into the meals I prepared when they were little.  Convenience was more important than presentation.  Taste may or may not have been sacrificed.  Sometimes I really didn't care.  There is not a mom out there who has not worked like a fiend to prepare a beautiful, tasty and healthy meal for her family only to have them look at it and grimace, gag and/or complain.  It is particularly wounding to the soul when they don't even try it, or worse yet (and yes this happens!) throw it up after one bite.

When the kids were little, I often bought frozen pre-packaged meat items like chicken breasts and orange roughy.  I would thaw the orange roughy, season it, butter it and place it on the baking sheet.  I served it with fruit cocktail and tater tots.  What kid would not think this is a dream meal?  Well, they didn't recognize the orange roughy.  It wasn't a hamburger, it wasn't peanut butter and jelly!  What cruel joke is mom playing on us now!?  And they would boldly ask in an accusatory manner as if I were trying to poison them!
"Why my dear children, it is a delicious fish.  You will love it!  It tastes just like chicken!"

To this day they insist that any item cooked on those baking sheets after the orange roughy tasted like fish.  I am suspicious that a few of my baking sheets found their way mysteriously to the trash.  No admissions of guilt on that, and certainly no evidence after 20 - some years.  So a couple of weeks ago we were out to dinner with friends and Mini-me and the Admiral.  Orange roughy was a special for the evening.  I chuckled.  Mini-me looked up in horror and I believe insulted the menu.  The Admiral, bless him, ordered the orange roughy.  He loved it, but he didn't mention the chicken flavor.  Hmmm?

Have a beautiful day.  Keep working on a healthy, happy and humerous family.