I come from a family who loves great food. My maternal grandmother made the most magnificent pasta sauces, handmade meat tortellini and mouthwatering veal parmesan. My paternal grandmother made succulent lamb and beef roasts and the best pies on the planet. Today, at the age of 80, my mom is still making linguini with shrimp and sun-dried tomatoes, baked haddock with a cracker topping and homemade apple crisp. Over the past few years, however, my mother has begun altering her recipes to allow my dad to enjoy them more. My dad has dysphagia, a condition that causes him to have difficulty chewing and swallowing. He began to have trouble swallowing 30 years ago. In his 50s, he was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), caused by stomach acid backing up into the esophagus. This reflux caused inflammation and a narrowing of the esophagus and sometimes made it hard for him to swallow solid foods. At the time none of us thought about altering his diet. His physician...