Grammar

Shellfish

Preparing dinner for a family of five can be challenging. It's not always easy to create a meal which is both well-balanced, and also satisfies the picky palettes of each of my three children, as well as my husband and myself. Although I try to avoid it, tonight was one of those nights where there were two different entrees on our dinner menu: shrimp and scallops with roasted garlic over brown rice for the adults, and grilled burgers with sweet potato fries for the children. The reason for this is simple. Although all three of my children enjoy seafood, Sami is extremely allergic to shellfish, and has had severe reactions to both shrimp and scallops. I thought that by differentiating the adult menu from the childrens' menu I could get away with enjoying an occasional shellfish dinner for myself, but I was wrong. As I sat down to have my first bite, poor little Sami looked at me with her big brown eyes, and sadly said, "Why must you torture me when you know I love shellfish?" Next time it's burgers for everyone!

Vocabulary:
1. well-balanced: containing or including a good variety of items
2. palette: one's sense of taste, or preferences in food
3. entree: a main course for dinner
4. shellfish: includes seafood such as lobsters, crabs, shrimp, and scallops
5. differentiate: to change or make something different

Use the vocabulary words to complete the following sentences:
1. ________use their shells as a home, and as protection from other sea creatures.
2. We learned about the importance of a __________ diet when we studied the food pyramid.
3. If you're not hungry enough to eat an _________ you can just order an appetizer.
4. I color-coded my notebooks to _________ between each subject.
5. After the entree, I had a lemon sorbet to cleanse my ______.

Grammar Point: Non-Count Nouns

Many nouns in the English language are non-count nouns, meaning they do not have differentiated singular and plural forms, but rather one form which is used in all contexts. Examples of non-count nouns include grass, money, thunder, and seafood.

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