I never thought I'd be grateful to computer games

[olmue]

So I have this son. He's almost 12 and is the most food-suspicious person I've ever met. We'll make exciting, delicious, different food every night. But he is suspicious of sauces, loath to mix foods of different species, and petrified of cheese. He has been this way his entire life. So while the rest of us are having green curry, or scalloped potatoes, or chicken cordon bleu, he is eating plain rice and plain noodles. He'll eat meat, but only plain (salt and pepper okay), and he'll eat tons of fruit and fresh raw vegetables. But regular, cooked dinner food--not so much.

Well. He also likes computer games. So he found this chicken recipe (http://facepunch.com/threads/1140649) on the Garry's Mod forums for ginger-garlic marinaded curry-honey chicken, and asked me to make it. It's marinaded, cooked chicken that sits on a bed of salad. I mean, the thing has curry powder and shallots in it, and not a speck of rice. I made it. He ATE it. HE LOVED IT!

Moral: Maybe Mom is right when she says food with flavor is good, and maybe son is right when he says not everything about computer games is bad.

Comments

[wordsrmylife.livejournal.com]

Your son and my dad would get along fine. My father likes meat and potatoes and cooked vegetables and raw vegetables, but the only real mixing that happens is when salad is tossed. Oh, and chicken and biscuits are fine. Ditto spaghetti with meat sauce, but only for lunch. This past weekend when we were visiting, we somehow got talking about ham, and he said, "And some people put cloves in it. But I don't see why. I want ham to taste like ham." Spices?? Salt and potato only. Sauces? Gravy, occasionally cheese sauce. That's it.

So, good for your son for finding that one exotic dish! It does sound very tasty.

[olmue.livejournal.com]

Maybe I can somehow infiltrate that board and post a bunch of other things we normally eat that I think he'd like--if only he'd let it touch his mouth. :)

[patty1943.livejournal.com]

I printed out the recipe and am going to try it too.
Got any others?

[olmue.livejournal.com]

That's the first one so far. But yanno--I have high hopes! (And this was pretty tasty!)

[carey fletcher (from livejournal.com)]

I like your thought of infiltrating the board. Do they take submissions like other recipe sights? You might have to come up with an alter-ego for that site that he won't recognize. Ryan is picky too. He'll tell me he doesn't like something that is cooking that I've NEVER made before. Good Luck!

[carey fletcher (from livejournal.com)]

oops sites not sights

[olmue.livejournal.com]

Heh--then I'd have to actually figure out the game, too.

And yes, my son does that--protests loudly that he doesn't like something I'm making that has never once touched his taste buds. So frustrating! Especially when I know it's something he'd like if he'd only try it. But there is hope, if you can just find the right person/thing to present the food. Like my husband. When he was 14, he tried some salad in hopes of impressing a girl he met at a big youth conference. The girl, alas, did not realize what a monumental sacrifice he was making in her behalf, and that didn't go anywhere. But he still eats salad. :)

[olmue.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hope so! Sometimes we make things that I really do think would appeal to him (not just because I'm The Mom, but because there are flavors in there he's known to love), but he's just soooo suspicious of things he's never tried before. But maybe this will open up his world a bit. :)