Pondering Friday Lunch

Today is Friday which means that my Schwiegermutter (mother-in-law) is coming to lunch.
Childish, I know, but I still take great glee in referring to her as my "Schwierig-mutter" (difficult mother). I am sure that she puts this down to my atrocious pronunciation but given our tempestuous history I feel it is fitting.

So once again I am pondering what to make that will satisfy all our dietary needs AND palates.

This never used to be a problem as we all have a fondness for GREAT foods such as potatoes roasted in goose fat, crispy-skinned chicken, fish dripping in buttery sauces, and the like. But the Schwierig-mutter has recently be diagnosed with liver problems & high cholesterol (to compliment her high blood pressure). It would appear she has become a frois-grais goose.

Historically she has eschewed all raw vegetables, salads, and noticeably "healthy" foods. She loves rich cheeses, sauces based on animal fats, and would only consider greens if sauteed to mush in fatty speck.

Once, early on, I presented her with a selection of sushi that she refused point blank to even to try. She just shook her head and said "Was der Bauer nicht kennt, isst er nicht" (what the farmer doesn't know he will not eat).

So great has been her disdain for vegetables that I have, for the last few years, taken to disguising them in dishes (eg. spinach hidden in a lasagna, broccoli pureed into invisibility in a creamy soup etc) as one might for a picky-toddler.

But now, under doctor's orders, healthy eating is on the open agenda and no longer needs to be furtive. The challenge is to make it palatable for taste-buds that have over the last 60+ years become accustomed to fat-soaked mush.

But at least my Schwierig mother will most likely be bringing us all the chocolates her generous neighbours often bestow on her (& goose eggs for Sunday breakfast). Lecker!