As young children, my mom never wanted us to use the word “hate,” because of its strong and negative meaning that, as youngsters, we probably wouldn’t fully understand. So my siblings and I learned to say that we “didn’t like” something instead. That worked for a little bit, until I realized there were things that I could truly hate.
One of those things is casseroles. I absolutely hate casseroles.
When we were growing up, my parents had this philosophy where each of us kids had to try everything set before us—twice. Yes, not one bite, but two. This mild form of torture was supposed to ensure that we weren’t letting our mind say we didn’t like something before our taste buds told our brain it really was okay. That was probably a good rule to establish, and I’m not a picky eater today thanks to this philosophy, but everyone in my family knows when it comes to casseroles, I really struggle to get my fork up to my mouth.
My mom is one amazing and talented cook, so thankfully, casseroles do not make it onto our dinner table very often. Most of my experiences with casseroles have been either at potlucks or friends’ houses.
It’s always amusing to see the variety of casseroles—chicken and rice casserole, chicken and pasta casserole, green bean casserole, tuna casserole, broccoli and cheese casserole—the list could go on and on about all these one-dish-mix-it-all-together-mystery-meals.
You may be wondering exactly what types of casseroles I hate. Basically, any combination of creamed soup, meat, veggies, cheese or bread crumbs that is then assembled into a Pyrex pan and left to bake itself to death in the oven, or “until the top is golden brown and the cheese is melted.”
I never understood why one would concoct such a meal. I’ve heard it’s a good way to use up all those leftovers from the week. In my family, we still eat leftovers, but never in the form of casseroles. I’ve also heard it’s economical. Well, I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but I think there are plenty of other food choices that would be just as appealing to the checkbook as they are to the palate. And then finally, I’ve heard it’s quick. However, zapping something in the microwave for a minute sounds much quicker to me than waiting for a casserole to bake an hour at 350 degrees.
But before you conclude that I’m simply and ungratefully rambling on about food I don’t like, believe me when I say that I’m thankful for all the food that is set before me—I’m just trying to find a way to be thankful for something that I hate so much.
Kalyn Kinomoto
Column
Spring 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
What was that again?
My entire family is indecisive. The end. All my friends know just how indecisive I am. I've written a column about it. I've written a blog about it. This is my SECOND blog about it. This plagues me and my family everyday. Someone, please help!
Latest instance . . .
Day: Friday
Topic: Mini family vacation
Issue: To go or not to go.
Who would think a mini vacation would be so hard to discuss! It was Friday night after all (yes, make that 10 p.m.) and we only have until Sunday morning for this little vacay. My response from the very start was this: "I don't care, just make a choice and tell me to get in the car." Now, I had to argue this point in my column too, but this "I don't care" statement is not said in any attitudinal way, but clearly I-DO-NOT-CARE!
So sitting on the couch with this little family discussion. Where should we go? Do we get one bedroom at the hotel or do we get one bedroom studio at the hotel (is there that much of a difference)? Do we go to Portland, Seattle or Bellevue? Do we want to just chill in the hotel or go do something in the city? By this point, I was on Facebook chatting with friends.
Verdict made! Finally. Except now it is 11:30 p.m. I run upstairs to pack up, and because I didn't know what I wanted to wear for the next two days, I pack a week's worth of clothes. Great. Anyway, done packing and went to the car. Sat there for a good bit. I guess my family is a bit slow at packing, too.
We decided on a hotel in Bellevue (midway from my house to Seattle). Very nice hotel and very nice that our stay is free. Nice room, one bed, one pull-out, a kitchen, flatscreen, views, etc.
Next problem: battle of the snorers. This room is nice but kinda small (studio, remember?) so the parents' bed is directly across from the pull-out, only baracaded by the TV. Both parents and the little sister snore. I finally fell asleep after spending the night planning my road trip for later this month. Thankfully I was tired enough to stay somewhat asleep throughout the snoring.
Anyway, so this mini vacation with half the family has been fun so far. Well, I guess except for the fire alarms going off in the entire hotel this morning due to someone's ignorance of learning how to properly toast bread. Yep, burnt toast sent the entire hotel in an evacuation mode. Fun times!
Latest instance . . .
Day: Friday
Topic: Mini family vacation
Issue: To go or not to go.
Who would think a mini vacation would be so hard to discuss! It was Friday night after all (yes, make that 10 p.m.) and we only have until Sunday morning for this little vacay. My response from the very start was this: "I don't care, just make a choice and tell me to get in the car." Now, I had to argue this point in my column too, but this "I don't care" statement is not said in any attitudinal way, but clearly I-DO-NOT-CARE!
So sitting on the couch with this little family discussion. Where should we go? Do we get one bedroom at the hotel or do we get one bedroom studio at the hotel (is there that much of a difference)? Do we go to Portland, Seattle or Bellevue? Do we want to just chill in the hotel or go do something in the city? By this point, I was on Facebook chatting with friends.
Verdict made! Finally. Except now it is 11:30 p.m. I run upstairs to pack up, and because I didn't know what I wanted to wear for the next two days, I pack a week's worth of clothes. Great. Anyway, done packing and went to the car. Sat there for a good bit. I guess my family is a bit slow at packing, too.
We decided on a hotel in Bellevue (midway from my house to Seattle). Very nice hotel and very nice that our stay is free. Nice room, one bed, one pull-out, a kitchen, flatscreen, views, etc.
Next problem: battle of the snorers. This room is nice but kinda small (studio, remember?) so the parents' bed is directly across from the pull-out, only baracaded by the TV. Both parents and the little sister snore. I finally fell asleep after spending the night planning my road trip for later this month. Thankfully I was tired enough to stay somewhat asleep throughout the snoring.
Anyway, so this mini vacation with half the family has been fun so far. Well, I guess except for the fire alarms going off in the entire hotel this morning due to someone's ignorance of learning how to properly toast bread. Yep, burnt toast sent the entire hotel in an evacuation mode. Fun times!
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