Are You Sweet, or Savoury?

If someone offered you a choice of chocolate, or pizza, which would you choose?

I have to say, I would choose the Pizza every time.

GOM would choose the chocolate.

If I have the choice of more vegetables, or a desert, I would rather have the vegetables, usually.

I do love fresh fruit though, so if there was fresh mango or tropical fruits available, perhaps I would forgo the vegetables or salad.

When we were growing up, my Grandmother did most of the cooking, as our mother was often away at work.

And our Grandmother was a really good cook. She had come from Yorkshire, & she could make Yorkshire pudding to make you weep, it was so delicious.

And there was almost always a desert, or pudding. She made quite a few steamed puddings in the winter, or Jam Roly Poly, or Treacle pudding.

And we had Feijoas aplenty, & in the summer we would have them fresh or stewed. I never liked them as much cooked.

And I loathed junket, & semolina, or rice pudding, which my Grandmother loved. I guess it was my dislike for dairy, that made me feel vegies were nicer! And I always enjoyed boiled rice, though we didnt have that very often.

And she often made a Ginger cake, that she served with stewed fruit of the season, and cream. Perhaps that is why I never liked rhubarb, the horrible tartness with the awful curdly cream....


She told us that a lot of poor families in England used to have their sweets course first, to fill up, as the meat was too expensive for them to be able to afford it often.

My Grandmother's family were tennant farmers, in Yorkshire, & they were probably quite a lot more comfortable than many people, & I dont think they had their pudding for first course.

We had a lovely large vegetable garden, that our Grandfather used to tend, when he was alive. After he died it was a lot smaller, & was cared for mostly by our Grandmother.

She told us that in England, when she was growing up, pumpkin was not considered fit for humans to eat. They grew it for their animals, to eat.

This seemed incredible to me, as I have always loved pumpkin. However, my poor brother loathed it, & I am sure he wished it was only fed to the animals in his childhood! I can remember our Grandmother making him sit at the table until he ate the pumpkin. I felt very sorry for him, & tried to get him to pretend it was egg yolk, mixed with his mashed potato, so he wouldnt get into trouble.

I am of the school of not forcing children to eat things they loathe. What is the point. Sure, offer it to them, and encourage them to taste, but if they genuinely dont like it, forcing them, to my way of thinking, only sets up a resistance that is likely to last a lifetime.

I speak from some experience here, as GOM was forced to eat Broad beans as a child, & he wont touch them now. It took me years to get him to eat many vegetables at all. He only ate peas & potatoes when I first met him. All as a result of being 'force-fed' his vegetables.

His mother told us that when he was sick in bed, she would take his meals in to him. She was always amazed that he always ate his vegetables when he was sick. Later she found a suitcase she had stored under his bed, was full of rotting vegies!! I always laughed at the story, & couldnt help but think it served her right!

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Here is a pic of a cat I knitted for SG when he was a baby. It had a nice face, of felt with green eyes. He told us Oscar, the Granddog, ripped the face off the cat. Hmmmm, I wonder if it might have been SG in a fit of rage?
He has asked me to make another face for the poor cat.

And here is a sensible little girl. Sweet Honey, all curled up on the lounge, among the cushions & the crochet rug.

It is another cold day, & I need to make some more thick & rich vegie soup, to keep warm, or I could cook a pizza for lunch.

And I could curl up with a good book, to keep warm under a quilt. Mmmm, pass me a piece of pizza, while you enjoy your chocolate.