So when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. So what happens
if life hands you squash?
You make squash casserole.
And that is exactly what I did. August 9, 2000 saw me working with
another co-worker as she went over a nutrition awareness program with
a class. I was there to observe her teaching methods and how she
worked wither students. She teaches a quick nutrition lesson to her
class, and then you go into the kitchen and whip up a dish. Today's dish
was squash casserole.
Growing up, squash was a vegetable you stayed away from. I thought I might have liked it better if they had marketed it with a better name. As a child, why would I want to eat a vegetable that describes what I do when I see an ant mound?
It wasn't until the summer of 1996, after picking squash for 30 days straight, I felt I had become one with this vegetable. After 30 days of blood, sweat, and tears, I felt it was time to try this vegetable. I had found with a little vinegar added to it, it could be a great side dish. Even eaten raw, it wasn't the greatest thing I ever ate, but it didn't taste bad.
I grew up a picky eater. Some of it to this day still sticks with me. I have gotten better at some things. I will eat collard greens, butter beans, black-eyed peas, relish, and sweetpotatoes now. There are still some things I will not touch.
You have often heard of stories of people saying how they knew when they found the right guy or girl. It could have been that glare in the eye on that cool October night. Perhaps, it could have been the way he got you a baker's dozen of red roses instead of the same ol' same ol' dozen roses. People have different stories, and I guess you can say I got my story too.
It will be a nice dinner. There may be candlelight, or not. All I know is that we will both order a garden salad. At the same time in slow motion, we will both pick off our diced tomatoes, green peppers, and onions one by one. We will then glance at our Christmas colored anti-vegetable pile, and then look at each other. Then we will smile.
I do have good reason for this though.
I don't like to be forced to eat anything I don't want to. At my parent's house, I don't have to worry about my mom making a dish I will not eat. But what happens when I am invited over to dinner with future in-laws and her mother makes a homogenous casserole dish with a wide array of vegetables inside it? How will I pick the ones I want out?
If my picky girlfriend is like me, then this situation will be probably not happen. Unless, she has grandparents.
Grandparents love any kind of food. I don't know if it is generational or if it is due to changing or dwindling taste buds, but they will fix a lot of mystery dishes. At this stage in the game you just roll with the punches. You just have to grin and eat it. If you don't, your girlfriend may dump you out of embarrassment.
If your lucky, you can always take a page out of the "All-American Kid" Larry Littleton's book and cover up any unwanted mystery dish with your neighboring mash potatoes.
If they ask you why your plate looks funny, just tell them you were served some lumpy mash potatoes. Then breathe in real deep and talk about out how full you are.
Until next time,
The ANTMAN
