Missing the lack of foodies in my life

[cooking=love]

I don't have anyone to share the love of food with except my husband. At least he loves all kinds of foods too.
I feel lonely for other foodie friends alot. I live in a small retirement town and we are only in our 30s. It has been nearly impossible to find anyone to invite over. We have one couple friend who is not at all adventurous and seem to end up with more allergies and stomach problems all the time and they are slightly younger! (Also she actually likes potatoes from the box!)

I wish so much that someone near my age would move closeby and I could have at least one friend to share my love of food and cooking with! This forum is nice but you are all so far away... Even an e-penpal would be nice. Please let me know if anyone is interested.

 

[jkath]

Paint -
I totally agree with you on the whole "I'm on a diet, so I won't cook what you obviously spent hours/$ on...." nonsense. Like they don't sneak a piece of homemade bread...ever?!

2 answers to that one:

1. In the invitation, put a copy of your menu. That way, they know what will be served so they know they either have to eat it graciously, or they can make up a lame excuse as why not to come.

2. Don't invite the lo-carbers...they aren't as much fun as foodies anyway!

 

[Claire]

Paint, I really sympathise with you on this score. One doesn't eat lamb, another is allergic to some of the most obscure ingredients (I'm careful with the obvious nut and shellfish allergies and ask in advance when new guests are going to be in for dinner). When you get a vegan, an Atkins, a low-to-no-fat, and a diverticulitis guest all in one dinner, you are in deep kimchee. What am I saying? There's bound to be someone who won't eat hot food in there, so forget kimchee!!! That isn't so much a problem here .... at least all fussy eaters pretty much admit they're fussy eaters rather than make you out to be the villian who is undermining their diet, or worse yet trying to poison them! And at least they're all polite enough to push food around and not say anything rude. I've heard horror tales ....

 

[Paint]

Yup, my youngest daughter is severely allergic to peanuts - so I understand about the food allergies & intolerances, and don't mind that.....but because there is heart disease in my family, we try to eat a low cholesterol/saturated fat diet when we are at home, but out to dinner at a restaurant or at a friend's house? Well it's certainly NOT going to kill me or clog my arteries up instantly if I binge on butter and cheese once in a while LOL! I'm lucky in that, at 41 years old, I still seem to have a fairly high metabolic rate - I'm 5'6" and weigh around 115lbs, and I eat like a horse! - but when I occasionally go on a weight-reducing diet (like after Christmas!), I will still eat whatever is put in front of me if we are guests or eating out. Life wouldn't be worth living if I had to ban myself from eating the foods I love ALL the while

Paint.

 

[Pam Leavy]

I am lucky as far as knowing foodies goes. My husband has an Indonesian mother. He grew up eating both Dutch food and Indonesian. he likes just about everything (except macaroni and cheese).

The English people I know are all adventurous eaters. Perhaps the fact that they live here already makes them adventurous.

My mother was also an adventurous cook. With my own family the main problem is keeping up with the children and their likes and dislikes. It keeps changing. I've given up and now cook whatever I want to. If they don't like it they can have some soup or a sandwich.

Kraft dinner is not available here. When we were in Belgium at Christmas my eldest son had me buy 12 boxes to bring back with us. He loves it!!

It is with spaghetti or really thick pasta tubes with a hole in the middle (very strange). Otherwise it is as I remember it as a child. Same cheese powder, to be mixed with milk and a bit of butter.

We talk about food and cooking at work. I did have a neighbor that never used a recipe. It was meat, vegetable and potatoes every night there. She loved to eat here, but cooking was different.

Could I also point out the difference between getting dinner ready and cooking? If I have worked all day I get dinner ready. I really only cook in the weekend. I see it as a kind of meditation/relaxation thing.

Pam

 

[subfuscpersona]

I must say I disagree with the posters who feel that a dinner guest should be expected to break their diet or just eat what's put in front of them. A dinner party is about people enjoying eachother's company; food (and wine) may facilitate this but is not the end-goal. The responsibility of the host and hostess is to plan a setting and a meal that that their guests will enjoy. It's not an opportunity to showcase your cooking prowess in unfamiliar dishes if you know that it will make your guests uncomfortable.

 

[buckytom]

i think there's a middle civil ground here. subfusc is right about how to host a party, and about enjoying each other's company. but guests should be willing to bend a little with their diets as well. a guest who puts you out is as bad as a host that doesn't care. it's all in the compromise.

 

[Pam Leavy]

I don't eat sweets. I am fat enough without them and don't miss them.

When eating at people's houses I usually eat what they have taken the trouble to prepare, including dessert. No seconds though.

Pam

 

[Claire]

Hey, sub, you have to realize that there are other people at the table besides you, and they do NOT have the same dietary restrictions you do. No, you don't have to eat everything put before you. But also, no, you have no right to think that everyone who is at the table SHOULD eat just as you do, and your host should cook only foods that you do. I am not kidding about spending a day trying to come up with a menu for a dozen folk with dietary restrictions. A vegan, a diverticulisis patient, and ... well I've given it to you. It is impossible. Let's see, we'll all have lettuce. Oooops, one guest can only eat soft lettuce, not romaine or iceberg. I've been there, I'm not exaggerating, and I am not going back. People who come to my table will at least be polite. That leads to a story ....

 

[Paint]

Yes, agree with Claire - I've been there too, and I've also been a guest at dinner parties where I've had to eat the most awful dessert because the host has catered completely for another guests dietary restrictions. It is also inconsiderate to expect your host to cook several different meals/desserts in order to cater for everyone's little food nuances - it's a dinner party, not a restaurant!

Food allergies/vegetarians/religious dietary restrictions are one thing, and should be catered for - but someone who won't even touch 70% of the meal just because they are on a diet is just being rude. If you are really worried about the calories/fat/carbs etc., then just ask for a small portion. One night isn't going to 'ruin' your diet! As Pam said - she will eat dessert at a dinner party, but not when she's at home.

Paint.

 

[buckytom]

i used to work with a guy, the kind of pushy, me me me kind of person that gives ny'ers a bad name, who did something once that is still talked about 15 years later as the height of improper behavior as a guest.
my current boss had a bbq at his home years ago, and invited everyone in my dept. out to his new house. (i had to work being the lowest in seniority) well, a few days before the party, this guy's wife called my boss's wife to inquire about what was going to be served. she said that she, her hubby, and their (annoying spoiled) kid were on restrictive diets, and she wanted to know if there was going to be something there for them to eat. my boss's wife told them it was mostly standard american bbq fare, but there were also some salads and other dishes that might be appropriate. the guy's wife then went on to whine about what they could eat, so after seemingly an hour of this, my boss's wife felt badly, and changed half of the dishes she was making in order to comply with this guy's diet.
the day of the party, while everyone was enjoying the modified menu and having a good time, the guy and his family were noticed to be scoffing down all of the snacks, junk food, and desserts that were put out. they totally avoided the dishes that were made specifically for them at their request, and made pigs out of themselves on the least healthy stuff offered. i mean like 2 or 3 slices of cake (each! even the kid), candies, chips, cookies, popcorn; all the crap you can think of at a bbq.
of course, no one said anything, but he will never live down just how badly mannered he and his family were, and are avoided at all parties at all costs.

 

[mudbug]

getting back to "lack of foodies" for just a minute...

There are now three houses for sale in my immediate neighborhood.

 

[PA Baker]

Wow! What's up with the mass exodus? Too bad some of us can't move in and start a DC neighborhood!

 

[mudbug]

Well, of course WE didn't drive them away!!!!

The couple next door wants more room and got an incredibly good deal on a new house in the next subdivision over. Their biggest regret is that they will not be OUR neighbors anymore.

The couple across the street pretty much kept to themselves and are homesick for Pennsylvania. Plus they are the proud parents of the only grandchild on both sides. Grandparents all in PA.

The couple on the other side want to move back home to Nebraska to be nearer to the wife's grown children.