Taste buds are mystifying things.  How is it possible that I could gobble up fresh steamed beets like candy, while they disgust my colleague Jeanne (and a lot of other people I know)?  Or that for many food lovers mushrooms are a delicacy, while for others like my colleague Betsy, they are repulsive? 

Sure, we all have certain foods that we love or hate with a passion, but in my 12 years of creating and sharing recipes, I have found that certain foods really send seemingly calm and rational people scurrying to the other side of the table. 

 Here is my list of the Top 10 Divisive Foods and Polarizing Herbs: 

1. Beets
2. Brussels Sprouts
3. Eggplant
4. Tofu
5. Okra
6. Mushrooms
7. Peppers
8. Gorgonzola/Blue Cheese
9. Cilantro
10. Fennel

Strangely, I enjoy all of the above foods (well, maybe not okra, but I tolerate it).  I’d love to hear from you Scramblers about what foods you hate with a passion.  Please add your comments about what foods you loathe or you have noticed are very divisive here!

When I exhanged messages a couple of months ago with a Scramble subscriber named Heidi Woehl, I noticed that she was the Vice-President of Au Pair Care Live in Childcare.  I’ve heard from some subscribers over the years that they had effectively used The Scramble’s simple recipes to teach their au pairs to cook and to help them make decisions at the grocery stores.  Heidi and I decided that we would try to let each other’s customers know what great resources our companies can be for each others customers. 

This week’s newsletter has a very special offer from Au Pair Care, to waive the $350 application fee.  In my neighborhood, most families have au pairs rather than nannies because they are an affordable child care option and because their children can learn so much from the cultural exchange that having an au pair provides.  I love meeting the young women who come to Chevy Chase, Maryland from all over the world, and they seem very interested in learning more about American customers, particularly around food. 

Later this summer Au Pair care will be showing their host families an easy way to teach au pairs how to make healthy family dinners by sending them some Scramble recipes and more information about weekly menu planning. 

If you are interested in learning more about hosting an au pair, make sure and take the short quiz in this week’s newsletter and call 800-427-7427 or visit www.aupaircare.com.

I’d like to start making more short videos to share with Six O’Clock Scramblers.  Here’s my first attempt, with my son Solomon as “cinematographer”.  Please let me know what you think, and if you’d like to see more videos (I’ll get the camera in my kitchen after I clean off the counter!).  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6LpzqYI5vQ.  As you can see, we’re true amateurs, so your honest feedback and suggestions are welcome.

If you try this new recipe, please let me know how you like it! 

Buttermilk Bathed Chicken Nuggets

Prep (20 minutes) + Cook (20 minutes)

6 servings, 5 – 6 nuggets each

Scramble subscriber Eileen Wali asked if I could lighten up her family’s favorite chicken nugget recipe, which was drenched in butter.  My family loved my healthy homemade version (which bolsters the theory that we’re never too old to enjoy kid-food).  For vegetarian family members, you can also serve this with some meatless nuggets (we think Morningstar Farms Chik’n Nuggets are the most reminiscent of the real thing). 

½ cup reduced fat buttermilk                                      

¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

¼ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Barbecue sauce and/or ketchup for dipping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and garlic powder.  In another shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. 

Cut the chicken into nugget size pieces, the dip each piece in the buttermilk mixture, then coat it well in the bread crumb mixture, and put it on the baking sheet. 

Bake the nuggets for 15 – 20 minutes until they are just cooked through and very lightly browned, flipping once after about 10 minutes.  Serve them immediately, or refrigerate them for up to 3 days, or freeze them for up to 3 months. 

Tip:  For easily flipping small items like chicken nuggets, I like to use a pair of kitchen tongs. 

I want to share this article by New York Times food writer Amanda Hesser (who wrote about The Scramble in the NYT magazine several years ago) about why it’s also important for Michelle Obama to advocate and model simple cooking to the American public and their family. Actually, I wish Amanda H. would have also included President Obama in her suggestion, because it would make such a statement if he rolled up his sleeves, put on an apron, and cooked a meal with his daughters once in a while. 

President and First Lady Obama, I’m available to demonstrate how to cook a simple and healthy meal anytime you need me!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/31/opinion/31hesser.html?_r=1