It is funny how things change over time.  Behavior that is normal in one decade may be deemed abnormal the next.  My grandparent’s generation had very definite roles for men and women.  Women were the caregivers and men were bringing home the bacon.

My parents generation started to change the roles with women fighting for equal rights as men in the work place and men learning that it was not unmanly to help out around the home and with the kids.  (Or was it my parents generation where the men learned they can go play golf after work because they knew that their spouse would take care of everything else?)

As for my generation, most women contribute to the household finances in some way and there are a lot of men who take on the “domestic” roles.  (My hubby is only a little domesticated but I like my man feral!)  Men have started to accept the fact that women can dominate everywhere from the workplace to the bedroom.  (I’m not talking about anything freaky here.  It is just nice not to wait for a guy to make the first move anymore!)

I started thinking about this when I made a quiche the other day.  In the 1980’s there was a book called “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche.”  It was sort of the man equivalent of the song “I am woman hear me roar.”  (The men would have written a song too but nothing rhymes with quiche.)

The book discussed the blurring of man rules with things that are effeminate.

Today’s generation of men like to cook, dress better and can relate their feelings.  They don’t order dinner for you; they cook it. Women don’t have to rely on girlfriends for shopping trips because boys want to look at clothes just as much as we do.  And don’t get me started on guys at the beauty spa.  (Seriously, I don’t want to think of what you are getting waxed.)

I would love to hear the author’s, Bruce Feirstein, thoughts on today’s man.  There really aren’t defined roles any more.  Mr. Feirstein’s humorous take on what and what wasn’t acceptable for the average man in the 1980’s would be a different story today.  Because I know one thing for sure….real men not only eat the quiche but they cook it and plate it on their prettiest china!

A Real Man’s Quiche

Ingredients

½ pound ground pork sausage

6 large sage leaves, chopped

1 pint of roasted grape tomatoes (roast the tomatoes in a tbsp. of olive oil for 20 minutes at 400 degrees)

3 large eggs

1 ½ cups cheddar cheese

Salt and pepper

One 9-inch unbaked frozen pie shells (set it out to thaw while preparing the other ingredients) (I used my extra duck fat pie crust I had from cooking March’s BA cover.)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large skillet, cook the sausage and fresh sage until browned and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.

Then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix tomatoes and eggs together gently. Add the cooked sausage and the cheese to the egg mixture and stir together with a large spoon. Add salt and pepper and add mixture to unbaked pie shell. Bake until the filling is set, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I think as the roles change we can look at the things we still would like to change and maybe a few we would like to change back.