Monday, March 21, 2016

Family Food Favorites

Hi Everyone, Sandra Orchard here.

Was there a food you hated as a child, but your parents made you eat anyway?

For me--and the heroine of my new release, A Fool and His Monet--it was Brussels sprouts. I tolerate them well enough now and oddly, they are my youngest daughter's favourite vegetable!

Of course, she has zero sense of smell, which probably helps.

Then again...when I was little, my older sister told me that if I plugged my nose as I ate the sprouts I wouldn't taste them, but it didn't work!

I had lots of fun sprinkling such anecdotes into this art crime whodunit.



Like me, my heroine has British parents so she grew up with such foods as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, bubble 'n squeak and toad-in-the-hole.

Mmm, doesn't that last one sound appetizing?

It was actually sausages baked in a square pan of Yorkshire pudding, which is also a bit of a misnomer too, since Yorkshire pudding is more of a bread than a pudding. But it wasn't bad with a good dollop of HP sauce on top.

On the other hand, bubble 'n squeak sounds like a super fun meal for a kid, don't you think?

In reality, it was a cutesy name for heated-up leftovers. And since leftovers inevitably included--yes, you guessed it--Brussels sprouts, bubble 'n squeak didn't make me all that bubbly.

Now...I did love Mom's shortbread. And I would've loved scones with Devonshire cream, but for some reason that famous British dish never made it onto our table.

Your Turn: How about you? What fond and not-so-fond memories do you have of the home cooked foods your were served? 



Multi-award-winning author Sandra Orchard leaps off the garden trails of her herbal-researcher-turned-amateur-sleuth (Port Aster Secrets) series, to the museum corridors of her plucky FBI art crime agent Serena Jones, in A Fool and His Monet. When not plotting crimes, Sandra plays make-believe with her grandchildren or hikes with her hubby along the escarpment, near their home in Niagara, Canada. To learn more visit www.sandraorchard.com 


Check out novel-related recipes and other cool bonus features at: http://sandraorchard.com/extras/bonus-book-features/


13 comments:

  1. Just wanted to mention that there is also a Character Spotlight of my heroine and the men in her life at Relz Reviews and she's hosting a giveaway of A Fool and His Monet: http://relzreviewz.com/character-spotlight-serena-chases-serena-tanner-nate-with-a-giveaway/

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  2. Hi Sandra, I think the first time I tried brussel sprouts was at a sleepover at a friend's house when I was about 10. They too were English. I didn't enjoy them at all (too salty) and I don't think i tried them again until I was an adult. They're still not a vegetable that I would choose to eat but if there is a gravy or a sauce that you can soak them into, then I'm a happy camper.

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  3. I.will.not.eat.brussel.sprouts. Sorry. :-) When I was about 8 I came to the table one night and sitting in the middle was a bowl of cooked dried apples. You know, the kind that didn't have the sulfuric acid in them like now. I love them, so I heaped my plate full. My parents really only had one rule at the dinner table--you can have as much of anything as you want, but you have to eat what you take out...

    Unfortunately, the dried apples turned out to be rutabaga turnips...which I did not like. :-)

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  4. Porridge -- every day of my life from the time I could eat solids until 18 when I left home and swore I'd never eat it again! I haven't, much to the chagrin of my husband who actually likes the stuff.

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    1. LOL, my hubby likes cream of wheat, but he never could convince me. ;)

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  5. I'm another one who can't stand Brussels sprouts - but I have a son who loves them!

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  6. All British children hate brussel sprouts and do everything they can to avoid them at Christmas. However, recent research has shown that adults gain a liking for brussels as they get older. I used to hate them but love them now. Also you don't have to steam them and serve them plain. My daughter shreds them and uses them in stir-frys.

    Thanks also, Sandra, for mentioning all those traditional British dishes. We Brits have a bad name in the cookery department (I blame the French!) but, actually, British food, cooked well, is mouth-watering, and British cakes and puddings are legendary.

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    1. Ducking my head, since my heroine does make a negative comment about British cuisine being famous...never. But I blame her quick wit and distaste for brussel sprouts. ;)

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  7. My brother-in-law served Brussel sprouts as apetizer at a dinner party last weekend. They were fabulous! Fresh (not frozen), halved, seasoned with olive oil, garlic and onion powder and sautéed in an iron skillet. Wow! couldn't get enough of them.

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  8. Frozen Brussels sprouts? I should think not! Especially when the real thing is so inexpensive and so tasty!

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  9. I can't stand Brussels sprouts and I'm afraid it's one thing that hasn't grown on me as I've got older. But my pet hate as a child was spinach. How I loathed it, especially after I was forced to eat it by a bullying nurse in hospital when I had my appendix out! I've grown to love it now, especially creamed or cooked with potato and onion.

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