Quick question in hopes of appeasing mom (89 years old)

[cwydro]

She wants something tasty for snacking this evening.

Smoked oysters, hearts of palms kind of thing. Nothing really filling.

Any suggestions? Now I have to walk over to the store again, sigh, but she's worth it.

Cheese stuffed olives came into mind, but if anyone has any ideas, please post.

[elleng]

1. Hummus on ? crackers, celery?

if she likes hummus. Lots of varieties available now at grocery stores.

[cwydro]

4. She does like hummus! Thanks!

Great idea. I used to buy that all the time and somehow forgot about it.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. something very flavorful. we lose taste buds as we age so eating can get a bit boring

Citrus or something spicy maybe?

[cwydro]

3. Exactly, that's waht she wants.

I just don't want to float around the durn store lol.

Heck, I'll buy everything.

She loves spicy. (She'll be 90 in June).

[Warpy]

5. simple stuffed mushrooms

Stem mushrooms and chop finely. Chop celery and onion finely, saute in butter (no substitute) with musrhoom stems. Add bread crumbs and saute until butter has been absorbed. Stuff mixture into mushroom caps and bake in a moderate oven until stuffing is lightly browned.

This is as simple as it gets and packs a flavor punch without salt. You can, of course, get fancy and add crabmeat or even some of your smoked oysters to the stuffing.

[cwydro]

6. OOh, I like this.

More work than I had planned lol, but YES!

I agree no substitute for butter.

[Snarkoleptic]

7. Here's some good stuff on flavor and taste.

http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/wellness/pleasing-your-palate-aging%E2%80%99s-effects-taste-buds

Papillae and Pickiness
Adults’ mouths contain about ten thousand taste buds that perceive five flavors—sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami, a “savory” flavor associated with foods containing MSG and other glutamate derivatives. Contrary to what people think of when they imagine taste buds, they’re not the tiny raised bumps we see on our tongues; those are called papillae and they house clusters of taste buds. They’re also what give so-called supertasters, people with a heightened sense of taste, their sensitivity—their papillae are packed more densely than the average person’s.

Taste buds are found mostly on our tongues, but not exclusively; some live in the back of our throats, on the sides of our mouths, and so forth. That’s not the case for kids, though—from birth, we start out with thousands of taste buds all over our mouths. As a result, flavors are much more intense for children than for adults. Childhood is often associated with periods of picky eating, but kids don’t think of themselves that way, at least not according to a University of Copenhagen study in 2008. It’s just that their taste buds require less stimulation than those of adults.

The Ravages of Age
When food enters the mouth, it activates the receptor cells that live on taste buds. Food particles hitting the cells are turned into messages carried to the brain via nerves. There, the brain decodes the message into whatever flavor’s being tasted. Receptor cells in the nose do the same thing once food aromas hit them. (That’s why sense of smell is such an important part of tasting: smell and taste work together to give the brain an accurate picture of what we’re eating.) These receptor cells need a certain amount of stimulation—in this case, food tastes or smells—to get the most flavor out of food. As we get older, the more stimulation we need.

It also doesn’t help that we lose taste buds as the years go on. Adults may have ten thousand to work with, but we were born with many more than that. Like all cells, the ones in the mouth eventually wear out and die, only to be replaced every one to two weeks. But one consequence of aging is that some cells aren’t ever replaced, which could explain why our sense of taste seems to change over time. However, a 1997 study at Tohoku University School of Dentistry didn’t find enough of a difference between the number of taste buds among various age groups to pinpoint that theory as the reason. After analyzing 241 cadavers between the ages of zero and ninety-seven, the Tohoku researchers found that taste receptor (another word for taste bud) and receptor cell densities did vary significantly: younger bodies contained higher densities than older ones.

[Snarkoleptic]

8. So maybe some

peppered salami with asiago.
Asparagus with parm and vinaigrette.
etc.

[cwydro]

11. Lol, that's one of my favorites!

Good idea for her.

[cwydro]

12. She's actually lost her sense of smell.

Shes very sad about that, but she can still taste!

Right now, she's tasting a martini.

[flamin lib]

9. Do a search on amuse bouche.

They're like a canape but the flavors are designed to be intense to waken the mouth before an expensive meal.

Things like smoked salmon on a toast point with a dab of sour cream and jalapeno jelly. The salmon is expensive but you get the idea. Use smoked ham deli meat instead of salmon. The combination of protein and sweet/hot jelly is almost jolting but gooooood.

[cwydro]

10. We love salmon!

Thanks!

[japple]

13. I make a spread with creamed cheese, green onions,

toasted pecans and chopped green olives. It is great as a sandwich filling or spread on crackers or celery sticks. Also, bleu cheese dip with celery or carrots is quite flavorful.

[cwydro]

14. I'm bookmarking this thread for all the great suggestions.

Tonight I made her a pizza. She loved it.

90 in June.

[grasswire]

15. hasty hots

they take just a few moments to make, and are delicious

Party rye, or quartered slices of rye, sourdough, or other bread

grated parm

thin sliced green onion

mayo


Under the broiler, toast the bread. Remove from oven, spread the parm-scallion-mayo mixture on the untoasted side. Broil until bubbly and beginning to brown.

Mmmm the aroma. And delicious.