Fish Are Friends, Not Food

To say that we are multi-cultural family would be an understatement.  I am Mexican, but raised very Americana - 4th of July barbecues, Labor Day camping trips, Veterans Day parades; hot dogs, hamburgers, pork and beans, chicken broccoli casserole, with the occasional beans, rice and enchiladas to keep it real.  My husband is a mix of Lebanese, Italian, Irish, and German.  He was raised in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn where he went to The Feast every year and ate sausage and pepper sandwiches.  He grew up on pizza, chicken parmesean, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, and fresh mozzarella.  Family barbecues consisted of hummus, kefta, Syrian cheese, labne, and pita bread.  

With the immense food experience between the two of us and my love of cooking, we've concluded that Italian is our dish of choice with Middle Eastern following a close second.  At least when my husband isn't eating egg whites and protein shakes, being the gym rat that he is.  

Since Kid 5 has had such an exposure to various types of food, her taste is rather eclectic.  Some of her favorites: cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, garbanzo beans, mozzarella cheese, kefta, chicken lula, and lamb kabobs.  She loves pita but doesn't care for sandwich bread, preferring to eat the meat from the sandwich by itself, which is pretty funny when she eats a chili dog.  There on the plate lies the hot dog and chili, sans bun.  She loves "white cheese" and sometimes "yellow cheese" but never ever mixed together.  She also does not like cheese on burgers or sandwiches, and does not like melted cheese unless it's pizza, macaroni and cheese, or lasagna.  

I once caught Kid 5 watching television eating a snack she made her herself: a tub of turkey slices, a jar of  kalamata olives, and a stick of butter that she was eating like and ice cream cone.  She is nothing if not resourceful.  

Because of our love of food, we love watching food channels as a family.  Our favorites are Man vs. Food and Drive Ins, Diners, and Dives.  The kids love it, and I sometimes get some good cooking tips.  We were watching Drive Ins, Diners, and Dives the other night and the show was filmed in Hawaii.  The cook was demonstrating how to make a dish with an octopus that he caught himself with a Hawaiian sling while freediving.  We got to see the octopus from the sea to serving dish.  After "Gross!" and "Ewww!" Kid 5 looked at us with contempt and said, "I think all animals should be freed, not dead."  My husband responded, "Really?  Then what should we eat?"

Without missing a beat, Kid 5 said quite emphatically, "chicken."