Okay, so for Christmas, most people opt to treat their moms to a special gift. Jewelry, a nice sweater, warm fuzzy slippers, you know the drill. Well, for some reason, I usually end up nearly poisoning my mom on most holidays.
Let me elaborate. This Christmas, I made broccoli casserole, as I normally do, for Christmas dinner at my Grandma's house. I should mention that I've made this casserole at Thanksgiving for YEARS, and several Christmases.
Anyways, after dinner, we're all sitting around in comatose states, when my mom approaches and asked, "Amanda- what was in the broccoli casserole?" I immediately know that she must be feeling sick, and is hinting that I might've used something with beta carotene in it. See, my mom is HIGHLY allergic to beta carotene. This is a pretty rare allergy, and one that has presented me with many challenges when trying to prepare food she can eat. She hasn't always had this allergy, and developed it as an adult. I remember a couple years ago, happily bringing my appetizer veggie tray- complete with carrots. My dad had a cow, and couldn't believe I'd even bring carrots into the house. It just took some getting used to- I wasn't used to her allergy, and kept forgetting. I've unknowingly made dips with seasonings that contain beta carotene; and served cake lovingly covered with Cool Whip, which also contains beta carotene.
This year, I was determined NOT to poison my mom, so I stuck with safe bets when preparing my dishes- the standby broccoli casserole, a dip without any beta carotene, and a spinach dip. So when my Mom approached me about the food, I instantly bristled- "It wasn't me------ I didn't do it. The only things in the broccoli casserole are broccoli, rice, butter, flour, cheese and mustard. It wasn't me, this time, I was careful." Mom was feeling worse by the minute, and about 10 minutes went by before my dad approached me about what beta carotene I'd served my mom this time. I stared at the broccoli casserole- stirring it around, and racking my brain to figure out in what form I'd served the beta carotene. At this point, everyone knew it HAD to have been me. I'm notorious for it. Then I remembered another ingredient- Cream of Chicken soup. I turned to Dad "Unless.... well, does cream of chicken........" Everyone looked at each other. Apparently, everyone else knew that Cream of Chicken soup has beta carotene in it. I'd done it again- unwittingly tried to poison my mom. I was so embarrassed, and ran to the bathroom to hide. Of course, they all tried to make me feel better, but I'm sure I'll be the butt of many jokes as time goes by.
Apparently, mom doesn't normally eat the broccoli casserole at most holidays, but I didn't know that...
When I got home, I dug the Cream of Chicken soup can out of the trash- just to see if it REALLY was my fault. Sure enough... there it was- "contains beta carotene for coloring".
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