For as long as I can remember, I've been drawing happy faces on buns with the nearest condiment. Mustard, ketchup, even relish: if it can be squeezed out of a bottle, I'll play with it at the dinner table.
Never mind that it inevitably ends up squished mere seconds after its hasty creation. Never mind the odd looks I'd receive while playing with my food. If I get even one smile from someone, it's worth it.
Life is, ultimately, too short to spend splattering the same patterns in the same places every time we pull up to the trough. A little variety makes it all taste just that much better.
Metaphorically speaking, of course.
Your turn: Do you play with your food? How? And why? What kind of reactions do you receive?
heh heh heh.... I actually remember seeing a calendar last year called "playing with food" (or something like that). It had hilarious photos of all these little creatures and things made out of food.
ReplyDeletelove the smiley face :)
I make my son's pancakes in different shapes he requests. Some are nearly impossible to keep in one piece when you turn them, though. And, of course, the happy mustard faces abound!
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time I ate a roast dinner with my in-laws. I had finished my roast beef and green veggies and had saved my potatoes to mash up into the gravy- the best way to eat them, if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteYou'd have thought I'd licked my plate in a posh restaurant from the reaction from my new family!
But I couldn't draw a smiley face with a condiment because that's just too much condiment for me!!!
When my children were young I did that sort of thing, but not lately. Maybe I should - it might shake mr. kenju up a bit....LOL
ReplyDeleteWow! First in line today! I can't think of any playing with food other than when I have a sandwich, the condiment has to be spread to the ends of the bread just right and not globbed in teh middle. Weird uh?
ReplyDeleteI make faces out of jam on toast & peanut butter for my daughter. If she's been good it is a happy face. Bad, a sad face, and so on. It's a good feedback tool and fun too.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's why they call 'em "open face" sandwiches. Hehehe sorry had to say it.
Other fun food... shaped pancakes come to mind.
--jsf
I must admit, I never dreamed that making the perfect indentation in a serving of mashed potatoes, so that I could add butter or gravy to that indentation would be considered playing! hahaha
ReplyDeleteThat being said, my boyfriend draws happy faces with condiments too!
I do that! I've drawn hearts, flowers, anything I feel like. Mustard is the best, in my opinion, for that.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoy cutting sammiches into shapes, like hearts, when people come over. Entertaining should be fun. :-)
i love to play with my food. my friends are all used to it but my coworkers to look at me oddly when i do the things i do.
ReplyDeleteFunny you should ask. I had a veggie corndog for lunch. When I was finished eating, I created an elaborate, modern design on my paper plate using the leftover mustard and my corndog stick. No worse than what I've seen in some museums! Fun post, Carmi.
ReplyDeleteI draw the smileys, hearts and whatever else I can think of with mustard and ketchup. Nobody ever seems to notice.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't say that I have ever drawn a happy face on a bun with condiments...but I will have to remember that one. :) I don't know that I play with my food, for me personally, but I do make happy faces with pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs for the kids.
ReplyDeleteI also use cookie cutters for their sandwiches, or just cut them into funny shapes.
I still think I am going to try the smiley face for myself though and see what kind of reaction I get.
I don't, but I love your smiley face. It's a memorable pasttime, remember the mashed potatoes in Close Encounters and the lovely waffle houses the girl made in 50 First Dates...
ReplyDeleteLoved both movies :)
Not usually, I don't... but I do vary the patterns when I mow the lawn. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteAnyone who eats a hamburger without a mustard-face is GROSS.
ReplyDeleteDang, you're creative! I've drawn smiley faces on pancakes, but that's about it. I guess I come from the don't-play-with-your-food generation.
ReplyDeleteHi Carmi! Stopping by to say hello!
I play with my espresso. I used to work as a part-time barista and I would work the latte up with a rosetta leaf. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't play with my food, but I just decided that I should. What a brilliant idea! (I love the mustard smiley.)
ReplyDelete