FOOD

I have always had a marvelous relationship with food. Except for the hot cereals (oatmeal, farina, cream of wheat , etc. I was force fed as a child. Double yuck on those! I love Japanese, Indian, Thai, German and especially Italian food.  Leland and I have had a running dispute on who has the better food; Norway (his heritage) or England. Hands down, England wins. Everything is boiled in Norway and unseasoned. Who doesn't love fish and chips, steak and kidney pie, shortbread cookies etc. When Leland flew out of Bangkok and was on a trip, Laura and I dined together in the dining room. She had her mushed up stuff and formula and I methodically tried almost everything on the menu. It was all quite delicious until I ordered the most expensive item. It arrived in a covered fish server. I removed the lid and lo and behold there was an entire fish floating in what can only be described as sewage. It smelled awful! I simply couldn't eat it. From then on I stuck to the known.

On one occasion we flew to Changmai, Thailand, the artisan part of the country. We rented a marvelous guide. We also bought a hand carved bar and had it shipped home. The shipping cost as much as this huge piece of furniture. We have it to this day stocked with years old liquors. Neither of us drink! Back in Bangkok I bought "Louis Vuitton" purses. The seller asked so many bahts. I kept bidding him UP in price. He was shocked as was Leland. Here I thought I was getting a bargain until Leland explained to me that this was not an auction. We walked away and went to another vendor. I learn very quickly. I bargained quite well this time.

In Tokyo we bought a stroller in a department store and we found out later it didn't pivot. We donated it!  We would point to a picture when we ordered food in Tokyo.  I am a big fan of sushi!

In Mexico we bought a green marble coffee table the day after the huge earthquake there. Jennifer and Bud now have what we call the"earthquake" table. I came home very sick! Even that didn't make me dislike Mexican food. Every once in a while I crave it.

We loved the food in Germany. Especially at the "Gas Station" in Frankfurt. In Berlin there was a Yugoslavian restaurant that we frequented many times. It was inexpensive and delicious. The best little sausages I've ever had.

In China we ate bok choy with EVERY meal and other stuff we couldn't identify. I don't even want to think about it.

In Rome I had the same exact pizza three nights in a row. I liked it so much and haven't found anything comparable since. But it's been fun and fattening searching.

Now the sad part! A lot of the ladies and some men that we go out with now in our retirement community will look at their plate of food and comment that they couldn't possibly eat everything on their plate. I, on the other hand, am quite happy to clean my plate. Some couples share. Leland and I  have hardy appetites so we each get our own meal. Most of our friends always take half their food home in a box. Apparently when one gets older their appetite lessens. I'm older than a lot of them and apparently my stomach hasn't gotten that message yet. I keep waiting for my appetite to decrease. It's depressing!

I am so happy that they produce vegetables in a steam bag. It's easy to just pop them in the microwave. I recommend them if you haven't tried them.  The simpler the better is my motto now. I used to experiment but Leland is a meat and potatoes man and before I thought how boring. Now I am thankful. In fact, he is content with grilled cheese sandwiches on some nights. So am I!

I think y'all get the message that food is quite a factor in my life. I even like to grocery shop. When I came home from the hospital our darling daughter cleaned out our refrigerator and pantry. I was totally chagrined when she said, "Mama you have 16 jars of mustard in the refrigerator" (okay so I get carried away with different kinds). I had three bottles of the same kind of maple syrup in the pantry. Some things were out of date and had to be thrown out. Lesson learned! Anyway, speaking of food -

RECIPE FOR "CHICKEN SURPRISE"

7 to 8 chicken breast halved (boned)
1 box butter crackers crushed
1 stick butter, melted
10 3/4 oz can of cream of chicken soup
10 3/4 cream of celery soup
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1 onion chopped or 1 1/2 teaspoon of roasted garlic (in jar)
16 oz sour cream

Cook chicken and shred. Combine crackers with butter, reserve one cup for topping. Pat remaining cracker crumbs into a 9 X 13 baking dish. Combine chicken, soups, water chestnuts, onion and sour cream and spread evenly over crust. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top. Cover and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake 8 - 10 minutes longer.

READING IDEAS: One of my most favorite authors is ROSAMUNDE PILCHER. I have read all of her books. Now her son, ROBIN has become a great author. Also an old friend of mine, Faith Morrow reminded me of three mystery writers that I have enjoyed reading: Elizabeth George, Ruth Rendell and Anne Perry. Thanks Faith for refreshing my memory and for the recipe.

Perhaps I am too enamored with food and should think about dieting AGAIN! I don't think so! Have a great weekend. Arlene

P.S. Leland drove me to renew my driver's license today. We debated about Norwegian versus English food on the way to the DMV. We agreed to disagree!