Let Me Elaborate..

I’m not going to lie to you. This post is mostly for my mom. It kind of relates back to some things I said two posts ago.. kind of.

The three of us were pretty picky eaters as I have mentioned before. I maintained my pickiness for quite a while, only occasionally introducing new elements to my diet. While this was disappointing for Ian when we got married, being the sacrificially loving person that he is, he would just spice his meal of bland (yummy) Midwestern food (starch) separately post-cooking.

When we moved to Scotland, cooking was not so easy. The prepackaged food we were used to was either nonexistent or very expensive and small, and very odd combinations of things to our Midwestern palates, so I had to learn how to cook from scratch. You’ll remember we started with things like CPP and cooking whole chickens, but I’ve got to say, in the past few months, I think my taste buds have gone through puberty. They are CHANGING!!

I always assumed adults (ok ok, and my peers) would eat such a wide variety of things because their taste buds were just dull and I had VERY sensitive buds. I think I’m a super taster. I don’t really know why adults eat such a wide variety of things compared to kids (or at least me when I was a kid) but I’m not afraid, as Ian will confirm, to hold on to illogical and/or disproved theories to answer all of my questions. (That was a nod to you dad. Such a good question answerer. Ian gets that joy now :)

Anyway, I want to mention (again this is mostly for my mom but you can use it as an opportunity to feel better about how un-picky you are), the many things I will now eat that I used to adamantly refuse…

Pepper. I hated pepper. While I still don’t pepper my food, I LOVE the taste of it in a dish.

Peppers. Another item I would pick out or complain about. My mouth now waters just thinking about them. MMMMMMMMM. I drool when I chop them.

Spicy food. Always a no no for me. Just didn’t like it. Now one of our favorites (chicken enchiladas) is super spicy and deeeeeelicious!

Enchiladas. No thank you in so many ways. Not anymore! I love them.. chicken, cheese, whatever. Yummy.

Mushrooms. I am going to, once again, give my mother a moment to climb back into her chair. I won’t eat them plain, but in something, in moderation, I will consume mushrooms.

Squash. Now squash is a little too squishy to enjoy on it’s own, but if you go with the squishiness and enhance it by squashing the squash into a butternut squash and red pepper bisque, it’s pretty darn good. Squash. Squish squash.

Peas. My mom, dad, Ian, and my grandma would be proud of me for my delayed love of peas.

Hold on to your hats for this one.. curry. The word alone made me want to gag. We have my coworkers to thank for introducing me to the wonders of a spicy curry.

Lamb. If my mom had ever offered me lamb to eat, I would have laughed at her I think. And then said, ‘no seriously, what’s for dinner.’ I don’t enjoy a lamb meatball or anything, but I love Shepherd’s Pie.

Onions, of any variety. My motto was just say no on this one. I still don’t love the texture, but I am willing to endure it for the amazing flavour (OH MY, a UK spelling just snuck in!).

Meatloaf. Sure to get significant whining from us. I won’t refuse it anymore. And I will admit that I enjoy eating it.

Gravy. Please serve me everything as dry as possible. While I won’t slather anything, I love our dishes that involve gravy as a main ingredient.

Cheese. I liked cheese, but I would usually want whatever it was without it. No cheeseburgers, no cheese on any sandwich for that matter, no cheese sauce on my broccoli, etc. I’ve moved passed my fear and embrace many-a-cheesy meal, and also my cheese-loving husband.

Sour Cream and Cream Cheese. EW! Ok, so I'm notting putting a dollop of daisy on my Mexican meals or anything, but I will definitely not refuse a dish that involves sour cream anymore. And.. HELLO! Cream cheese makes many-a-yummy dessert! What was I thinking?

Plums.

Crunchy Peanut Butter. Once you switch, you just can't go back.

Any spice not wearing the label ‘salt’ or ‘cinnamon’. Yes, we spice our food together now, while cooking, and I have found a whole array of flavors I enjoy that I had previously shunned.

Dark chocolate. Not joking. I ate a digestive biscuit the other day with dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate on it. I can’t lie. I fell in love. I don’t think I can stand the bitterness of dark chocolate on its own, but a new world of items involving dark chocolate has just been discovered in my tasting realm.

Coffee. Stop. You can’t be serious. CORRIE DRINKING COFFEE??? Gotcha! :) I don’t drink coffee, but I have started craving it and enjoying the smell. This one is huge for me because I usually hate the taste and smell of coffee. I haven’t tried it yet. I don’t know if I can bring myself to do it. It’s such a gross flavor.

Wine. I still can’t stand the flavor, but I enjoy smelling it. Ian is hopeful.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. I also eat lots of combinations of things that I used to avoid, but it would take forever to list them and you might judge me for my former pickiness. To which I would say – I couldn’t help it!! :) I wouldn’t force you to eat brussel sprouts in my house, so don’t look down on me if I ask for a plain hamburger. I just don’t like condiments, ok?

Now I’ll leave you to wonder what in the world we DID eat growing up in the Goshert household.