I prefer Tex-Mex food; kids want FFB food. WWYD?

rosehill

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 7:07 pm

zaq wrote:

I don't. Not at all. Depending on their age, most children prefer to blend in and don't want to be different from their friends, not even to the point of having a different kind of lunch. I can totally see how a child whose mom sends him to school with cheese enchiladas would feel like a fish out of water and beg for American cheese on white bread with mayonnaise if that's what all the other kids are bringing. It's a rare child who has such a strong sense of self that he relishes being odd man out. It usually takes many years for a person to develop that kind of self confidence.

Reminds me of that scene from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"!

I work in a very multi cultural office, and of course, we exchange recipes all day long! Lately, I've been making lots of different curries, and my Trini co-worker now has stuffed cabbage as a staple on her X-mas table!

amother

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 10:02 pm

well, I find p&j sandwiches very boring. I love food that is FULL of flavor. When I make schnitzel it is not bland at all! I use lots of spices (sometimes mayo.) to get the flavor that I like. Sometimes I go to weddings and get served a piece of very bland schnitzel and wonder how they can get away with that. FFB foods do not have to be bland at all. I dislike bland foods very much and learned how to make all the ffb dishes full of flavor and delicious.

33055

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 10:40 pm

PAMOM wrote:

Can you post the Peruvian chicken recipe ? Does it have that green sauce ?

No green sauce. I will delighted to post it when I get to my computer probably tomorrow.

amother

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 10:49 pm

I would never change my manner of cooking because my kids wanted to be more like their friends. especially since it sounds like they totally want to downgrade your cooking.

You can just say "It's nice that Moishele's mom cooks kugel and sugar sauce, but we don't eat that in our house. Enjoy it at his house, and I'm sure he'll get a kick out of Shabbos burritos here".

There's a cultural aspect to this. You're not FFB and you're not used to cooking those types of ashkenazi foods. And, plus, a lot of them are really unhealthy (sorry, they are), so other than the occasional birthday kishka, I'd say stick with what you're doing and assert your authority as the parent and chef in the house.

33055

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 10:58 pm

amother wrote:

It is a taste. I don't happen to like that type of food at all. Mayo on schnitzel doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I only like shabbos food when it is fresh. I only like potato kugel fresh out of the oven - not when it is reheated after sitting around. The same goes for farfelle. Many times I am invited for Shabbos and the food is cooked Thursday. By the time it has been reheated and kept warm, it doesn't appeal to me. It is overcooked and spices don't cure that. Dips don't cure fish that is cooked 48 hours before it is served.

I compromise by cooking as close to Shabbos as possible. IMO it makes a difference.

Blue jay

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 11:01 pm

Squishy wrote:

I also dont like blech heated food on Shabbos afternoon! I opt for crockpot recipes and cold salads! If I heat chicken on the blech I do it for only 30 minutes just to warm up a little bit.

33055

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 11:10 pm

QueenBee3 wrote:

I also dont like blech heated food on Shabbos afternoon! I opt for crockpot recipes and cold salads! If I heat chicken on the blech I do it for only 30 minutes just to warm up a little bit.

I don't have that option to only warm it for 30 minutes. It must be on the blech before Shabbos. I also do crockpot recipes, fish, cold salads and cold cuts.

DrMom

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 11:24 pm

octopus wrote:

yeah, I agree, my opinion is not very scientific. In my mind the countries that are hungary or very close to it= hungarian. Lithuania, poland, russia's borders were constantly changing so you can call it what you want, but really they are all the same.

Well if you define "Hungarian" to mean "Eastern European" then I suppose you are correct. Confused

But nobody else (including the vast majority of people from Lithuania, Poland, and Russia) defines themselves as "Hungarian" just because they share a continent with Hungary. (Why not "Romanian" or "Slovakian"?)

If anything, there is a tendency to lump together Lithuania, Poland, and Russia as "Russian" (or for Lithuania & Poland, "White Russian") because they were part of Russian in the past. But Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which never included Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. Austro-Hungary and Russia were on opposite sides in WWI. Two totally different entities, different cultures, etc.

octopus

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 11:27 pm

DrMom wrote:

Well if you define "Hungarian" to mean "Eastern European" then I suppose you are correct. Confused

no, no, no. I wasn't clear. I lump lithuania, poland and russia under the title of "litvish." Hungary and surrounding countries (eastern european is a good title) as "hungarian."

Barbara

Sun, Jul 13 2014, 11:52 pm

octopus wrote:

no, no, no. I wasn't clear. I lump lithuania, poland and russia under the title of "litvish." Hungary and surrounding countries (eastern european is a good title) as "hungarian."

Huh? My maternal family is from Russia, albeit a ways back, via Germany and Canada. We are not "Litvish."

My husband's family is from Hungary, just before WW2. I've cured him of that sweet gefilte fish thing. But he never heard of cooking in duck sauce or any of that other stuff. Nor would he eat it.

We cook and eat a variety of cuisines. Not everything needs to be hot.

As to kids, I am reminded of the scene in Pat Conroy's Beach Music, where Shyla's parents invite the kids for a special lunch, and serve borscht. Kids want to fit in. It's their nature. OTOH, except for very cloistered kids, who in America is not familiar with tacos and burritos?

octopus

Mon, Jul 14 2014, 5:31 am

Barbara wrote:

my family (way back) came from lithuania and white russia. and we consider ourselves litvish. again the borders were constantly changing.

PinkFridge

Mon, Jul 14 2014, 8:29 am

My daily All Recipes recipe is...Mexican chicken. AAAAAAHHHHH.

I find this thread interesting because I get the impression that people are really cooking a wide variety of foods. Sure, many of the new cookbooks or weekly food articles seem to have the SOSO (same old same old) of chicken with sweeteners, but so many people seem to be trying different cuisines. And it's not because they want to recapture tastes of their youth from communities they're no longer in. At least that's the impression I get from my kids.

Chayalle

Mon, Jul 14 2014, 10:08 am

glutenless wrote:

Litvishe people are definitely mostly not from Hungary. And most Chasidim are not either from Hungary.

But my very Litvishe grandmother adds sugar to everything, so I can't tell you where that comes from.

Polish-Galicianer cooking, actually - not Hungarian cooking.

Hungarian cooking is actually more spicy/savory than sweet. (Except for the Kokosh cake - and that's baking, not cooking.)

My Hungarian grandmother, for example, would make her gefilte kraut (I never heard the word holopche till I got married, by the way....) in a salty-spicy sauce (yummm.......). When I got married, my MIL, whose roots are Polish/Lithuanian, served sweet/sour holopches. I couldn't eat it if you paid me (though I liked some of her other dishes). Similarly, I was always served tongue as spicy/savory, while DH got it sweet and sour.

Signed, a Hungarian grandaughter who married a boy with Polish roots (which they say is very successful in shidduchim....and the reverse - Polish girl to Hungarian boy - is disastrous.)

Ruchel

Mon, Jul 14 2014, 11:59 am

I grew up liiiiite, but in my house it was my dad who cooked. As a Shoah survivor, who learned cooking with his own dad and mainly his grandmother, you can bet the cooking (when Jewish) was very old school heimishe. It's not nec. about having been raised charedi. We also settled one or two months a year at my grandparents in Israel were the cooking was a mix of old school heimish and old school Judeo spanish. The "modern" stuff my grandma makes is 60's style.

My grandfather (maternal) is Galitzianer, my dad is Polish, don't ever tell them this is "Russian" or "Litvish" (omg lol). They already have their diffs in food Wink

but Litvish is another velt!

I also don't change my manner of cooking. I can incorporate recipes and all, but I'm who Iam.