This is too mild to be a real Pit rant, and I do like my mother-in-law (sick, I know, but true), but this sort of really puzzled and annoyed me.
My MIL is vegetarian because she just doesn’t like the taste and texture of meat. It’s not a moral or ethical or religious thing, just a taste preference. Given that she’s in her late 60’s I’d say she’s more than old enough to make these sorts of choices and we’re all cool with it.
Now, the husband and I eat meat. Not lots and lots of it - in fact, we might go a couple days without it and not miss it - but we enjoy it just as we enjoy many other foods. So, at MIL’s house a meal is typically several vegees and what is essentially a meat side dish (sort of the reverse of the typical American diet) and everyone just chooses what to put on their plate. This way, there are a couple choices for everyone, even if there is usually something on the table each person doesn’t care for.
However, the MIL, in an effort to be a good host, does cook meat. And I sort of wish she wouldn’t. I mean, I appreciate the love expressed there, but, well, it can be awkward.
Mind you, I did enjoy the polish sausage we had with the carrots, zuccini, and sauerkraut. And she’s good with eggs. And bacon. But the pork loins the first night…
First of all, I’m not a big fan of pork. I didn’t get much pork growing up (half the family is Jewish, which might explain that) so I never acquired a taste for it. It usually tastes a little too greasy for me. Except the pork loins she cooked the first night (just for us) weren’t greasy. I could have used them to re-sole my shoes. I think I would have preferred greasy. Yes, I know you’re supposed to cook pork well-done, but well done comes before “suitable for roofing material”.
I cut it into very very small pieces (I knew that portable minature chain saw would come in handy one day) and choked it down. Truth is, I’ve had far worse culinary experiences and I could manage this out of politeness.
There’s this weird equation of pork=meat, meat=pork in her mind. Well, weird to this Yankee. I don’t know if this is a cultural thing or not. They do seem to eat more pork in the South, but that could just be the family I married into. EVERYTHING gets flavored with bacon grease. Cooking eggs? Fry bacon in the pan first. Cooking vegetables? Fry bacon in the pan first. Making muffins? Where’s the bacone grease from yesterday? Don’t have bacon? Fry bologna in the pan. Or Spam. Or some other pig part.
Actually, as a flavoring element it’s not bad at all…
Well, mid-way through the week we went to the Food Lion to re-stock. I usually cook at least one meal/dinner while we’re there (this time it was rice, raw vegges - cucumbers, carrots, green peppers - sauteed mushrooms, and a side of beef-and-oninons in brown gravy). I’m looking for about a half pound of cubed beef, rummaging through the packages. While I’m doing this, MIL keeps coming to me with
“How about some pork loins? These are nice looking, aren’t they?”
:dubious: This from a woman who doesn’t like the taste, texture, or appearance of meat?
“How about a nice pork chop? You like pork chops, don’t you?”
Me: “Well, I thought beef might be a nice change”
“How about this?” Another package of pork products. When that didn’t convince me, she shared a rather lurid and colorful rumor involving the Food Lion meat packing plant, rats, animal waste, maggots, and worker injuries. Apparently there’s this disconnect, or she thinks the pork processing is done in a different building than the beef.
Look, it’s this weird thing with me - to me, raw pork smells entirely too much like dead human flesh (never mind how I know how that smells). I just can’t handle the smell of raw pork - which might be why it’s the only meat I prefer to eat well done. I can’t handle cooking with it. It makes me gag.
That’s the other thing - I prefer my meat very rare. Like, still bloody. I even eat fish raw (mmm… sushi…). The only pork I enjoy eating is bacon - which is so modified it doesn’t much taste like dead pig anymore and an occassional slice of ham. Frankly, I would have been much much happier with her offering me fried Spam for dinner the first night than pork loins. I realize that’s Food Heresy to a lot of people, but fried spam has this sort of ham/bacon flavor going, which is tasty in moderation.
Anyhow, in addition to the “Would you like me to fix you three tons of food? You haven’t eaten in almost an hour!” effect generated by the presence of parent and adult child, MIL keeps pushing the pork products.
She did that with the sandwhich meats, too. I picked out a small package of beef bologna - the husband prefers it, the regular pork-based bologna sometimes upsetting his stomach. She took it out of the cart and replaced it with pork bologna. “Here, isn’t this better?”
Me: “The husband prefers the beef bologna.”
Her: 
Waves pork bologna package “But this is bologna”
“So is this.”
Her:
While we were staying at her house I kept muttering how much I liked the poli sausage. Maybe we’ll get more of that next time, rather than shoe leath-- >cough< pork loins.
OK, it’s not the worst thing in the world, and as I said, I’ve had far worse food issues to deal with in the past, but it was just a little bizarre.
