Funny summer food

I know I do a lot of food blogs. But food is necessary, and if it's done right, it can be tasty and enjoyable. But alas, today's food was not.

Today's menu was: Salsbury steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetable blend, a dinner roll, and lemon Jell-O with fruit.

Normally I would have just eaten it. But the last few times we have had Salsberry steak it tasted very processed. The gravy on it is highly seasoned with sodium, MSG, and some other gravy  seasoning. Whatever the seasoning is, it gives the meat and the gravy a metallic taste. In fact, the MSG doesn't make the flavor better.

The weather has been hot and humid for days. When it rains, it cools off and I might have more of an appetite. But on the hot days I would just like to have a salad or something light. Salsberry steak did not sound like a good fit on this July Sunday.

So I asked what the backup menu was. I was told it was barbecued chicken and Mexican rice. That didn't sound great either. But it sounded better, so I ordered it.

Then, I remembered that the barbecued chicken from the other day, was not wonderful. We have some new dietary staff, and I'm sure they are still learning. So, the barbecued chicken they made the other day was dried out and slightly burned on the top. They gave us a hind quarter, a leg and a thigh I wonder if there there was even three ounces of meat on it. Nevertheless, the other day I ate what I could, since there wasn't anything else.

I really do like chicken. But I like it cooked right – and that doesn't always happen here. So I wondered what today would bring.

When I received my tray, the chicken didn't look half bad. But when my aide cut into it, the smell gave it away. For some reason, it smelled old to me. The drumstick meat had a lot of blood vessels and the meat was darker. I also noticed a taste of blood. The only blood I've ever tasted was my own, but the taste resembled it.

It was quite a struggle with my stomach to get the chicken down. The Mexican rice was okay, but it had been watered before it was reheated. If they'd added tomato sauce, tomato juice, or a few canned, puréed tomatoes which would have perked it right back up. Nevertheless I ate it.

The one thing I hated about the chicken was that the aide who cut it up did not get the small bones and gristle out of the meat. So, a few bones ended up in my mouth and I had to spit them out into napkins or tissues. I felt terrible about other residents seeing me getting rid of bones from my mouth.

At least I know the chicken will digest easier than the mystery  Salsbury steak.

Sometimes I think that going vegetarian would not be that difficult. I would just need to find some good recipes.

Nursing home meat in 2017 is definitely not the same as I remember.