Yesterday I had made Pierre a bologna and cheese sandwich for his sacklunch at Bible school. Due to the heat, I picked them up early to eat their lunches at home. He was picking at his sandwich and looked queasy in his chair. Unless Pierre is getting one of his migraines, we never see him NOT dive in to his meals. I said, "What is the matter? Do you not like bologna and cheese?" He said, "Oh Mom. It is terrible. I'm sorry but I just hate it." Ange-Laurette does the same with any cold and mushy types of foods: applesauce, pudding, cantaloupe, canned pears. So we talked about which foods they really do and do not like here. Jokingly, I said, "I could make you some of that dish you were eating when we first met you? The corn mash one with black gravy on top?" They both gagged and laughed..."We all hated that! We liked the rice, but no one liked THAT stuff!" Ange-Laurette added, "I am a little too American for that, Mom!"
So, I have prepared their favorite Chicken Creole. Their special meal favorites in Haiti are still their favorites in a similar recipe here: any kind of grilled or baked chicken, spicy pastas, any rice blends, and cheesy potatoes ("graten"). If we could find someone to fish more often with Pierre, that might be his real love. He made his own fishing pole and line out camping with his grandparents recently. But the all time daily treat, each night at bedtime, is still ice cream! They love that their big sister has her first job at our local Zesto ice cream shop.
