The "Brownie Points"

    Ricki's older sister and her husband live in a room on our roof at the present. So it is hardly surprising that my cooking has been influenced… not only by amounts, but by content. You see, my son-in-law is of Moroccan extraction, so gefilte fish and bland meat balls just don't make the grade. But since my husband grew up in Brazil, and is used to spicy foods, He is also amenable to the use of more spices, so I am gradually changing a lot about the way I cook. I still keep things pretty "cool" (bland), but sometimes throw in some fresh Kuzbarah (Coriander), and on occasion, even a touch of hot pepper.

   Yesterday (Wednesday) I made some Chili in a slow cooker, and threw in a nice bit of chili powder to satisfy the men.  I knew that it would be a smidgen spicy for me, but that's OK. HOWEVER I remembered a bit too late that I was surely out-classing Ricki's piquant-quotient. But I could solve that by mixing in some leftover rice to her portion. And that worked fine… at first.

  Ricki enjoyed her serving of Chili, and went to the kitchen for a second portion. [She had eaten enough, but she wanted more, and we have not yet put up a gate to keep the kitchen off limits.] She dished more chili onto her plate, but neglected to add rice, since there was no more. Sitting down in the dining room, she took a few bites, and then announced meritoriously:
   "I'm not going to eat this second portion. It's really too much for me…."

   I confess that her completely out-of-character passing up a second portion of food prompted my husband and I to erupt in a burst of laughter, much to Ricki's chagrin. My husband quickly noted, "Nebbach  (ie.,poor thing),she wants to at least earn "brownie points" if she can't eat the food."

 So we stifled our chuckles, and I praised her for 'curbing' her appetite…..