Liver and Onions

The lunch menu provided a choice between fried chicken livers with cream gravy and roast pork. The four of us at the table all chose the pork.

Which led to a discussion of liver and other foods. I said I did not like plain grits (too bland) but liked them when cheese was added. John said plain grits were fine, but cheese grits were unfit for human consumption.

Which only proves that different people have different tastes. Literally. When food touches the tongue, what is agreeable to some is disagreeable to others. “There is no accounting for tastes.”

Norman does not like chocolate. To me that seems weird. A psychiatrist might suspect that he suffered a chocolate trauma when he was a baby. Maybe. Or maybe he gets a different sensation in his mouth when he eats chocolate than I do when I purr with delight over Hershey’s Special Dark.

None of us wanted fried chicken livers with cream gravy. All four agreed that we liked liver and onions.

Which reminded me of my Mother.

When I was 55 years old I moved back to Fort Worth to live with Mother. I needed a place to live, and Mother needed help. She refused to admit that often she was confused. It was difficult for both of us. We tried for almost a year before I gave up and moved to New Mexico. During those months when we were polite and kind to each other, we went out to eat every week, usually at Denny’s.

Mother always ordered liver and onions.

After this happened five or six times, I said, “Mother, I did not know you liked liver and onions so much.”

Mother said, “I don’t like it at all. I won’t cook it, so I order it when we go out. I eat it because it is healthy.”

That was my Mother.

Today I thoroughly enjoyed the roast pork with sweet potatoes and fresh asparagus. Italian cream cake for dessert. Yummy!