Gravy's Cooking Thread

BrutulTM said:

That sort of thing can backfire too though. My brother was super impressed with his friend's kid who would eat literally anything and he was determined to do the same thing with his kid and even read up about having him taste all kinds of food while he's a baby which they did. Despite their best efforts his kid refuses to try almost anything and when he was younger he would throw up on his dinner plate if you forced him to take a bite. I'll tell you watching a small child blow chunks next to you while you're eating dinner is a good way to ruin your meal as well. He's 6 now and he's a little better but there's still super basic things like eggs and mashed potatoes that he just refuses to eat and if you want him to try something new you have a fight on your hands and he's pretty much guaranteed to say it's disgusting when he does try it. He's not really oppositional and defiant about other things but when it comes to food he's very determined. I had always assumed that kids like that were just the product of indulgent parents who let them live on macaroni and cheese and hot dogs but apparently it has to do with the kid as well.

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It's probably mostly a modern problem of abundance and toxic feminity. As a kid we were getting 99% of our meals at home or school. Our options were eat what is provided, or don't. Next meal wasn't going to be fancy, but it also wasn't going to be that far away.

I'd refuse to eat okra, corned beef hash, rice Chex and a few other random things, but that was my decision with the above understanding. My mom never made a big deal about it in either direction, especially not making it a focus at the table. Especially not when company is over.

I mean, fuck sake you mention he read up on stuff and had a plan and sometimes kids just speak at the dinner table to say something is disgusting and then barf in front of family. Totally normal, guys, sometimes it's just kids are kids. Nope, sorry, your brother is deficient and the kid is being raised soft.

BrutulTM said:

So your mom just let you eat whatever you want but it's other kids that are being "raised soft". Painfully obvious that you aren't a parent.

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No. Feel free to try reading again. She would provide dinner. If we didn't want to eat it that was our problem and we could wait until the next meal. Her job was to provide, not appeass. She wasn't going to make a fucking scene begging or bribing us to eat. And she certainly wasn't going to let us make a scene and throw a fit to get our way.

That said, she wasn't callous either, just matter of fact about things. Which was a great life lesson. Here's how things are, learn to manage. Three boys, so we were far from perfect, but we could at least eat a fucking meal, even out or at family or an event, without a bunch of drama.

I love the argument someone can't know something or question anothers obvious failures if they aren't in the exact same position. Not surprised you provided the argument of a woman. You aren't a parent so you just don't understand muh struggles! Until you're a parent my brother obviously can't be wrong! He read up on parenting!!!

What were your childhoods like? What is your sage parental guidance regarding something as basic as feeding a family? Be honest: How pussy whipped is your brother in other areas?

BrutulTM said:

He doesn't get his way. He goes to bed if he won't eat. He eats all his meals at home because we live 50 miles from town. You don't know what you're talking about.

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So the father who read up on parenting and artificially gave a bunch of different food to his kid to try to reproduce the habits of a friend's kid your brother was "super" impressed with who will "literally" eat anything, himself ended up with a kid that would throw up at the table if "forced" to try something and now, when made the center of attention, will get defiant and say everything (including mashed potatoes?????) is disgusting, and if he doesn't eat will get sent to bed as punishment, solidifying food as the best arena to challenge his parents.

Yep, I really don't seem to know anything. Totally normal behavior!

Keep in mind I'm criticizing your brother for being deficient and you for typing all that shit out without an "oh dang" moment of realization of how dumb and flawed it is, much less as some kind of notion exposing kids to varied cuisine can back fire. No, shit parenting leads to shit results.

Hell, even just trying to sort of shift responsibility for all that on the kid by saying "but apparently it has to do with the kid as well" is some fucked up shit. That kid has very little fault and seems to be trying to cope in what seems like a poor environment.

BrutulTM said:

Dude. You are a clown. Seriously.

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What was inaccurate in my summary of events? Feel free to correct the facts if I got anything wrong, or update the facts if I don't have all the information. Then, perhaps, make an argument that counters my conclusions. I'm thinking you won't, though, because you also seem a bit deficient.

Our society really seems to have a wisdom gap. People with so much information at the finger tips and so much presumption we've got it all figured out because of it, but lacking the wisdom to see when things aren't working or perhaps having information doesn't automatically mean the intelligence to employ it.

Ever read the book Ishmael? There's some sociopolitical and philosophical gobblygoop, but it's a fascinating book if you're interested in thinking about how we think.

Fuckin A:

Lanx said:

you're welcome

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You do good work helping me Asian up my cooking. Woking outside over actual fire... I bet if I put it on the ground and squat in front of it my fried rice will taste even more authentic!

Speaking of, found some liquid tamarind concentrate. Much better flavor than the gross powders and far easier to deal with than soaking and straining chunks of the hard paste. My quick and inauthentic pad Thai has never been better.

It's kinda sad but I think I make better Asian food than most of the local restaurants. Same with Mexican. Need a new cuisine to start exploring.

Dr.Retarded said:

Guess the grate tabs are holding it in place nice and secure. Right on.

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It's just sitting there. Flat bottom wok sitting on the bottom grate. Felt secure enough and just enough room for a ring two/three wide of coals around it. Was easy enough arranging it with cold charcoal. Might be able to get a layer of coals under it, which might be preferred. That shitty grill has a side vent, which has been terrible, and I imagine bottom vent would be much preferred. Need the weather to warm up some to try it hot.

BrutulTM said:

He doesn't get his way. He goes to bed if he won't eat. He eats all his meals at home because we live 50 miles from town. You don't know what you're talking about.

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There is always the possibility, and I know adults don't want to consider this, that the parents are terrible cooks with terrible taste and the kid is a gourmand and smarter than his parents.

I mean, probably not, but maybe!

Khane said:

There is always the possibility, and I know adults don't want to consider this, that the parents are terrible cooks with terrible taste and the kid is a gourmand and smarter than his parents.

I mean, probably not, but maybe!

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My mother is a horrible cook, my mother in law, too. Vegetables, for example - I hated them until I started cooking for myself. My mother cooked everything until it was snot. My mother in law only ever used canned vegetables. I discovered a love for certain veggies in my 20s as I started experimenting.

lurkingdirk said:

My mother is a horrible cook, my mother in law, too. Vegetables, for example - I hated them until I started cooking for myself. My mother cooked everything until it was snot. My mother in law only ever used canned vegetables. I discovered a love for certain veggies in my 20s as I started experimenting.

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I think a lot of us in this thread had similar experiences with food growing up.

How many people here had a "Wait... what?" moment later in life with a goddamn pork chop?

Yes, pork chops in my house were better suited for a game played on ice with sticks than they were for eating.

My mother overcooked the shit out of everything