Monday, June 07, 2010

New Release! Food! Drawing!




I have a new release! CEO'S EXPECTANT SECRETARY from Silhouette Desire! It's a scandalicious kind of story, like a soap opera, or the kind of story a friend tells you where you gasp and say, "Then what happened?" I hope you'll check it out and if you do, please drop me a line at leannebbb @ aol.com (no spaces)

Now you may be wondering what food has to do with this book. The heroine in this book is pregnant and I may be stretching things here, but it occurred to me that there were foods I would and would not eat when I was pregnant. Along the same lines, there are foods I would eat as a child that I will not eat now... and foods that I will eat now that I wouldn't touch as a child.

For example, one of my favorite foods as a child was a fried bologna sandwich with cheese and mustard on white bread. I probably have not eaten bologna in more than twenty years. I also ate hot dogs... then I found out what they put in hot dogs... so I stopped. I ate a hot dog one month ago -- my first in at least ten years. It wasn't as wonderful as I remembered. Therefore it may be my last. RIP hot dogs. Pot-tarts. Remember them? I used to eat them nearly every day. My fave were the oreo-like flavor -- chocolate on the outside and vanilla creme on the inside. Alas, I've learned pop-tarts are more chemicals than anything else, so if I'm going to eat chemicals, I'll just go ahead and eat the oreo, thank you.

Foods I would not eat as a child that I enjoy now? Broccoli. When I was young, it always had to be topped with cheese. Now I prefer it without cheese. I also hated asparagus. Now I love it. The only fish I would eat was fried flounder or fried shrimp. Now I looooove lots of fish, especially salmon! Broiled, baked, sauteed. I just wish I could master cooking it. My biggest conversion experience. Tomatoes. As a child, I detested tomatoes. Would. Not. Eat. Them. Now I BET every gardener I know (or meet) for their cast-off tomatoes. I'm a major chocolate lover, but I would trade my favorite chocolate dessert for homegrown tomatoes.
One food I would not eat as a child and I still won't eat is liver. So you can have my share of liver, but don't you dare touch my tomatoes!

What about you? Which foods did you eat as a child that you won't eat now? Which foods that you would not eat as a child will you eat now? I'll draw one winner from the responses and send a book!






28 comments:

krisgils33 said...

I also loved the Pop-Tart as a kid. I really find them disgusting now. I didn't eat red meat when I was a kid, started eating it somewhere in my 20's. I used to eat fish (all kinds, especially raw!) as a kid, won't touch it now. My husband STILL (our 19th anniversary is tomorrow)tries to get me to eat fish. Never gonna happen. I think that makes me very warped!!!

Virginia C said...

Hey, Leanne! Congrats again on CEO'S EXPECTANT SECRETARY, your latest release from Silhouette Desire!

One version of a Southerner's favorite meal is a ripe, juicy slice of homegrown tomato on a fresh, hot homemade biscuit loaded with real butter. Must be served with a large glass of sweet iced tea : )

As a kid, I could not stand the smell or taste of peppers of any kind. Now, I love them and cook with them quite often! We have a small farmer's market here, and one year a lady was selling peppers of all kinds. I bought some of each variety. It was so good to use them in recipes that I already had, plus new ones I made up just for the peppers!

I absolutely won't eat liver, venison and other wild game, organ meats, clams, oysters, lobster, squid, snails, insects, snakes, brussels sprouts, artichokes and various other gross things : (

I used to eat potted meat and scrapple as a kid. That was before I knew what was in that stuff-EWWWW!!!!

Leanne said...

Helen, I had issues with smells too -- especially when I was pregnant with my son! I've mostly banished sugary cereals because I have to start the day with some form of protein. But I have been known to eat a small bowl of frosted flakes at night. Ooog....
Thanks for persisting in getting your comment posted!<3

Leanne said...

kris, wow, what made you turn away from fish? Did one bite you? About the pop tarts, should we form a secret society of former pop tart eaters? Thanks for joining in the discussion!

Leanne said...

Virginia, I think you and I share quite a few likes and dislikes, although I still don't eat tons of green pepper and I love artichokes!:) Thanks for commenting!

Leanne said...

Michele, guess what? I've never eaten a brat! I also tend to pick sausage out of breakfast casseroles and not eat it. I was such a picky eater as a child that it made my mother crazy. What goes around comes around. My son was even more picky than I was!

runner10 said...

Good morning LeeAnn.
I will not eat fried chicken anymore. I try to eat healthier now.
I wouldn't eat my veggies as a kid, but now I can't get enough.
Hope you have a great day.

Unknown said...

Hey Leanne, the new book sounds like tons of fun.

As for me--onions--couldn't stand them as a kid. Not so now. Must not have tried them fried and battered and loaded with calories. Nummmmy!

robynl said...

Liver was and still is one thing that I don't eat; also wild meat of any kind.
I used to love Brussel Sprouts but now can leave them and don't go looking for them, lol.

congrats on your book.

Cindy Gerard said...

Hi Leanne. Woo Woo on the new release. sounds like a great read - but then I always expect that from you!

I was a very picky eater as a kid - which accounted for my skinny little body. When I got pregnant, however, all that changed. I. Loved. Everything!! Unfortunately, having the baby didn't set my internal food critic back to picky mode - which accounts for my not so skinny self now :o(

Betina said...

Hey, Leanne! Great looking book! This goes straight to the top of my TBR pile!

As for foods-- I hated all pasta as a kid. Probably because the only pasta we ever had was Mac&Cheese and Chef Boyardee spaghetti from a can. Ewwwww. When my older sister married a military guy and lived on base, she learned to cook a whole new way. I didn't eat pasta until my early twenties, but I made such a complete turn-around that my boys honestly thought they were part Italian. . . they ate so much and so many different pasta dishes.

And hey-- ate bologna then, still eat bologna-- though it's the "light" version and on occasion rather than regularly. Something about it says "home" to me. Is that warped, or what?

Also mustard. I HATED mustard as a kid. (My older sister taunted me with it.) Didn't really like it until I was 40!!!! Now I LOVE it. My mom used to tell her first graders: "Your taste buds grow your whole life long." I think she was right. Score another one for you Mom!

Christie Ridgway said...

Congrats on the new release, Leanne! I love boss/secretary stories!

Like you, I wouldn't eat asparagus as a kid. Well, I was never served asparagus until my mother-in-law introduced me. I love it. My mother does not like any green vegetables except lettuce and the occasional green bean, so my education was lacking. And yeah, ate white bread as a kid and I would never eat it now (unless it was sourdough).

Kathleen Eagle said...

Ah, food nostalgia. Favorite sandwiches: cream cheese and (green) olive--yummy still; pickle (dill) and cheese (cheddar); fluffer nutter; peanut butter and banana; hot dogs Coney Island style.

Kathleen Eagle said...

Those were favorite *kid* sandwiches. I tried pickle and cheese not too long ago. Not as I remembered.

I was an Air Force brat. When we moved to MA (I was going on 11) we ate lots of stuff New Englanders hadn't heard of, like tacos and sukiyaki. We added New England Boiled Dinner and Fin 'n Haddie to our rotation. I wasn't a Fin 'n Haddie fan (pretty bland) but I still make Galumpkis (Polish stuffed cabbage) once in a while--picked that up in Western MA along with Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Paddy's Day.

Oh, and Mama's Southern Fried Chicken. Nothing like it.

krisgils33 said...

I don't know what made me become a fish hater, but there's no turning back now! As for a secret reformed pop-tart club, count me in. I need some new hobbies! PS - forgot to wish you congrats on the new book!

Jane said...

I can't think of any foods I don't eat anymore from my childhood. There are a lot of foods that I avoided, but now love like peppers, green beans and fish.

Leanne said...

runner10 thanks for joining in!:) I'm with you. I looooooove veggies. I don't eat fried chicken very much anymore either, but I eat the fried chicken tenderloins every once in a while.

Leanne said...

LOIS, I love fried onion rings too. My fave? An onion ring loaf. And the nutritional value? gotta be zip!:)

Leanne said...

robyn, cool on the brussel sprouts. I wonder how you cooked them so that you liked them? Funny, I like cabbage, but not brussel sprouts so much!

Leanne said...

Karyn, my son LOVED canned spaghettios. I thought it was disgusting, but since it was one of about five foods he would eat, I didn't fight it!:) Thanks for your comment!:)

Leanne said...

Cindy, you are gorgeous, so stop your belly achin'!:)

Leanne said...

Chey, I wasn't big on sauces except for my mama's homemade gravy and spaghetti sauce.:)

Leanne said...

Betina, your taste buds actually DIE! Did you know that? I figure that's the reason I can eat asparagus now.lol Too cool that your boys thought they were Italian because you fixed all those great dishes. Great memories for them.:) Oh, and mustard. I LOOOOOOOVED mustard from the get-go. Used to eat mustard sandwiches. THAT was a comfort food. Bologna must be a comfort food for you.:)

Leanne said...

Christie, amazing that your mom didn't eat veggies. That means she could never say "Eat your vegetables. They're good for you."

Leanne said...

Kathleen, I'm working on your childhood sandwiches...cream cheese and olive. New one for me. I totally get the pb and banana. I used to add potato chips for a little salt and crunch. Cool about the expansion into mexican and chinese food. We NEVER ate Chinese food while I was growing up and it's still not my fave. People from New York do NOT understand!:)

Leanne said...

Jane, good for you expanding your palate in a healthy way.:) Thanks for joining in!;)

Virginia C said...

I am so glad that cream cheese and olive sandwiches have been mentioned. They are an all-time favorite in our family. Mom used to make them for me, and sometimes she would add either crumbled cooked bacon or chopped pecans. Usually served on white bread toast! Boy, I really want one now : )

Laurie G said...

As a child I disliked: pizza,pasta,rice, casseroles, tomatoes, liver, brussel sprouts, sauerkraut and dumplings.

I will now eat a pizza without the red sauce, a spinach pizza is great.

I grew up with everything doused in ketchup. Now I prefer hamburgers with onions, lettuce & tomatoes, french fries with a little salt.
I loved steak now I eat it maybe once a year. I like chicken. I love vegetables, as a child not so much.

When I was pregnant I always wanted ice cream... still do! I can't think of any thing else I craved. I stopped having drinks with whiskey or brandy and I really don't miss them.

I eat a little chocolate every morning.

I never liked hot dogs, sloppy joes, bologna or other types of cold cuts like salami. I didn't like peanut butter. My favorite sandwich was bacon and lettuce.

I never realized that I was such a fussy eater!

I just tried sweet plantains and liked them.

I don't like sweet tea. LOVE coffee.

I rarely drink a diet 7 UP. I used to devour them.

I'm from Wisconsin I do like an occasional brat especially at picnic parties!