Margret Sloan

In our house, when presented at the dinner table with a new or unfamiliar food, the household rule is that you are expected to (at the very least) try one bite. If you don’t like it, you force yourself to swallow it without a lot of drama or facial contortions and politely say, “I’m sorry, but I don’t care for that.” You are to always respect the fact that Mother made a huge effort to shop for, prepare, cook and serve a variety of wholesome and tasty foods, day after day after day just for our benefit and enjoyment. And Mother respected that fact that trying to please the tastebuds of seven people every night was a daunting task, especially when little sister announced out of the blue that from here forward she would be a vegetarian and refused to eat meat, poultry or fish. But I do appreciate the fact that my parents exposed us to a variety of foods at the family dinner table and it not only enriched our lives but taught us to appreciate and respect each other, as well.

I love the holiday every June that we have for Fathers. I think it’s great to honor the men who take their family responsibilities very seriously and make the effort to be good fathers.

I know I was very lucky to have two such men in my life as a child. Although my parents divorced when I was young, they both remarried very quickly and I had the benefit of two sets of loving and caring parents as I grew up. My father was a good man and a great father - I miss him very much. And my stepfather was a good man and was devoted to my mother and their children during his life.

If you have a good man in your life that deserves the recognition and thanks for being a good father to your children, don’t forget to celebrate this special day and coach your children on buying a nice gift, being together all day if you can and shower him with affection. A great gift that everyone will enjoy could be a chocolate Father’s Day gift from Fannie May Candies. That was a tradition in our home and it could be the start of great new tradition in yours. Our father would open the box of chocolates and then pass it around for everyone to share and enjoy with him. Oh, what great memories a box of chocolates from Fannie May Candies can bring!

Don’t you have something you used to LOVE and it’s not made anymore? I used to love the 5-flavor pound cake made in the grocery store bakery of the small chain of family run stores in the Nashville area, back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. When they sold their stores to a larger regional chain, they stopped baking in the stores and had the bakery items shipped in from a central commissary every day. That was the end of the 5-flavor pound cake that we used to love with fresh spring strawberries and vanilla ice cream for our Sunday afternoon treats.

Chocolate has always been a treat for me and we weren’t allowed many sweets as children, so perhaps I’ve over compensated as an adult. I used to be happy with just any kind of chocolate bar - something you grab at the drug store or convenience store for 25 cents. If it had extras, like almonds or coconut or caramel - that was a nice bonus. I loved Almond Joy, snickers, Baby Ruth and Heath bars.

Then our receptionist gave me a birthday present that changed my view on chocolate forever. She gave me a ballatine of chocolates from Godiva. Now there is not much that compete with Godiva. My favorite piece is the dark chocolate leaf with the rasberry filling. Heaven!

I wanted to grill some chicken breasts tonight instead of the usual hamburgers or steak, but I couldn’t find any chicken marinade in the pantry. So I got the idea to use regualr Italian dressing. I just poured the dressing straight from the bottle into the Ziploc bag and let it marinade the chicken for about 20 minutes before tossing them on the grill. Wowie! They turned out great!

I fixed my cold pasta salad that I call “Green and White Pasta” and some garlic toast and we were all set. The Green and White Pasta is really easy, too. Just toss some small cooked shells with a handful of frozen baby peas and some bottled ranch dressing. If you like, you can add a little diced Vidalia onion, green pepper and celery - any or all of the three make a nice crunchy addition and keep within the green and white theme.