At our inaugural Sew Day I darned and hemmed, and altered Mr. Bennet’s dress pants. (I won’t say which way I took them.) Mom and I shared the comfortable confidences that women have long shared over needles and thread. (I’ll remind you here that I refused to learn to sew when I had the chance of living full-time with the woman who could craft a barge for those LOST people from the scraps in her fabric pile; Martha Stewart I am not, but I am exploring my girl-Thoreau impulse to self-sufficiency, or maybe a resurgent terrible-twos need to do everything all by myself.)
I mentioned how yummy my compost is looking, from the point of view of next year’s seedlings. It’s dark and earthy and rich. Except for the golden zucchini plants I haphazardly chopped up into it. They’re resilient buggers. When I ripped them from the earth, I discovered my poor, stunted cantaloupe* vines cowering beneath. One of them has an runty melon on it, about two inches in diameter, rind withering prematurely. I mourned the loss, after tasting the magnificent fruit my mom’s ministrations produced.
But, said my mother, I thought you didn’t like cantaloupe?
Well, I do like cantaloupe now, actually, though it was Susan who picked those plants.
I like a lot of foods I hated as a child.
Foods I hated as a child that I now love
avocados
onions
nuts
garlic
bell peppers
olives, black, canned
shrimp
most all other seafood, though I think I used to choke down fish sticks
mushrooms (still hate canned mushrooms, ick)
cantaloupe, honeydew melon
pickles
asparagus, brussels sprouts
eggs over-easy
ginger, sparingly
crunchy peanut butter
celery (used to make the inside of my ears itch. I don’t really love it now, but it gives a crunch, doesn’t it? Kind of a necessary evil, like water chestnuts).
Foods I still don’t like despite pretensions to a sophisticated palate
corn tortillas
sesame seeds, except in awesome Asian-style sauces
stinky cheese
octopus, squid (I do like a good fried calamari)
kimchi, except in very small amounts as a prelude to awesome Korean barbecue
wasabi, no exceptions
gourmet olives (you know who you are)
poppy seeds, unless drenched in glaze atop lemon muffins
malt, even disguised by chocolate
I think there are a couple lessons to be learned here. 1) If you have a picky eater, don’t despair. 2) You can take the girl out of Utah and introduce her to the best cheese and olives Zabar’s has to offer, but you can’t make her like it.
I wonder if I like as many more non-food things as food things now?
What foods do you now like that you used to hate?
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What an interesting topic. I’ve thought about it as well. Here’s my own list.
Foods (mainly from your list) that I never liked and still don’t:
avocados
onions (unless used for flavoring and cooked through and through)
nuts
green olives
shrimp
lobster
octopus
squid
salad
mushrooms
any kind of melon
asparagus
eggs, no matter how you prepare them (in my opinion, they are only good for baking)
celery
corn tortillas (are those the hard ones? Yeah, I don’t like those)
beans in chili (I like refried beans in tacos)
Things I’ve grown to like:
bell peppers
fresh ginger
tomatoes
stir-fried vegetables
Things I have liked at one point and now don’t:
normal olives
cucumbers
candy
And I really like:
stinky cheese
wasabi, no exceptions
sushi
any kind of sweet baked good that doesn’t have nuts and isn’t crispy
yogurt on soft, warm bread
And one last thing: there are still several things that make my tongue go numb and my ears itch, but if I like them enough, I eat them anyway. Plums, nectarines, and apples fit in this category, but I only tell people that I’m allergic to apples because I don’t like them and have a reaction. (This reaction is common in people who have springtime allergies, by the way, and you can resolve it by microwaving the fruit for 10-15 seconds before eating it.)
Oh, wait, one more thing: I grew giant pumpkins one year and though I learned a lot about the art and really cared for those plants, the largest pumpkin, at 140 pounds (or something like that), never turned orange. I felt bad. Though people were impressed at its size, I knew that it hadn’t made it. I knew that cutting it open would reveal slush. Someday I will try again. And the last two years I’ve tried to grow tomato plants. This year they got a lot farther, but it’s now cold outside and they have yet to see any fruit at all. They’ll die soon. Next year I’m going to succeed!
Jane Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Now I’m trying to remember if calamari is squid (I think it is, but am too lazy to look up — ok, yes it is). So I like squid after all, if it’s fried well.
My tomatoes plants this year turned into a jungle, from itty-bitty seeds. Quite amazing. And the tomatoes taste great, but they’re much smaller than the packet promised, and they were ready a month later than it said, too. My corn was just blah. But I’m excited to try again next year.
Oh, and I get itchy from peaches and nectarines, etc, too. I’m truly allergic, though, to the oils of the skin of the mango (related to poison ivy). I love mangoes, but if I peel them myself I turn into Elephant Man. So I order a lot of mango lassis and also get Tom to cut them for me.
Finally — European yogurt was a revelation unto me. Bears almost no resemblance to this American crap. Enjoy it!
Hated salad and stirfry. Love it now.
Hated mushrooms, raisins, coconut, cooked carrots, & broccoli and still do.
Do you watch the Amazing Race? One of the challenges last week involved wasabi and a Japanese game show environment. Would 1 million dollars be an exception to no exceptions?
Jane Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Since I’ve eaten wasabi stuff several times for free, I’d definitely do it for a million dollars.
All those foods on my still hate list, I’ve tried many, many times, especially when at a restaurant or special occasion. One thing I learned to do was have whatever it was the best possible way, and then if I still don’t like it, then I give up. We had a coworker in Japan who would eat wasabi paste straight from a tube. Nasty.
Charlotte Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Me, not so much. Let’s just say I have a very healthy gag reflex. Even at 33.
Jane Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 8:10 am
I don’t. Sometimes I wish I did. I think I’ve thrown up a total of 5 times in my life, and that’s with 3 full pregnancies. Not that I want to be sick all the time, but even when I had giardia, I gained weight.h
I think most of your list that you used to hate and now love doubles for me, except seafood. I loved it until I was four and it, like other meats I can’t stand.
So when did you start sewing? Was it just recently and you’re already able to alter clothing? I’m writing this comment to put off heading upstairs and patching my husband’s work pants. This comment is much more in line with the domestic goddess I’d like to be!
Jane Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 8:20 am
I sewed shorts when I was 12, only one pocket went forward and the other pointed back. When I was in middle school, everyone had to take both shop and home ec, so we learned a bit there. I sewed an apron as my first project a couple months ago — need to take pictures.
The way I like to sew is — with my mom’s undivided attention. That way, I do all the actual stuff myself, but she is like a personal consultant. Maybe someday I will graduate to being able to turn on the machine without her reminding me.
(So you’re a vegetarian? Because you don’t like the taste? I keep waiting for my soft-hearted daughters to reject meat once they learn it comes from cute animals, but so far hotdogs are they absolute favorite.)
Lori Z. Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 9:28 am
I’m a vegetarian purely by taste, though I love the smell of bacon, even if it isn’t made much around here since my husband’s been trying harder to keep kosher. I’m waiting for my daughter to realize that “chicken” really is “chicken” but I don’t care if she doesn’t… Hot dogs are way too easy to make for them.
blue cheese. or is it bleu?
I don’t know if I’m just lame but I still don’t get the title. Hmm. Anyway, I was never very picky but a few things I like now are bell peppers and…. well, that’s the only thing I didn’t like then that I like now that I can think of. I still don’t like onions or liver but that’s about it.
Jane Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 8:21 am
I think liver may be one thing I’ve never knowingly tried, so I can’t say. (Although I do like fois gras, in small amounts.)
The title. Movie trivia.
(Airplane)
Sharla Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Ah yes, see, I am just lame.
I’m a vegetarian purely by taste, though I love the smell of bacon, even if it isn’t made much around here since my husband’s been trying harder to keep kosher. I’m waiting for my daughter to realize that “chicken” really is “chicken” but I don’t care if she doesn’t… Hot dogs are way too easy to make for them.
P.S. – Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!
Raw onions-Still Dislike
Peas-Hated as a child but I can tolerate them now.
I know there are many others that I just can’t think of. I am on day 4 of drug induced haze and can’t remember my own name. LOL
Raisins. I hate them. I allways have. Always will. They are from Satan. If you notice – the word “sins” is in the word. I want nothing to do with that. When I die and I dont have a body for awhile – I will actually be happy – because then the possibility that I may accidently consume such a beastly thing will not exsist. I am sure Hilter ate them, and the single-handedly caused the begininng of the war. All wars in fact. Yes, every bad thing that can possibly happen on the earth somehow comes down to a very humilated, insulted, and wronged grape. I am sure of it.
Jane Reply:
September 30th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
As long as you don’t feel that strongly about it.
how interesting this post came today. we are having a massive food issue this weekend that i am sure might even get worse. my mil is an ok cook but old fashioned stuff like brown beans and rice.
now my kids will eat pretty good but the 6 y/o is not a tryer. he wants the same 10 meals rotated and thats it.
daddy and i are at war because daddy told him if he didnt eat those brown beans he couldnt have anything else all weekend. i fixed him a hot dog. those stupid beans are nasty and i dont care if chris and the other boys like them i am not going to force him to eat something he doesnt like.
when i fix at home my rule is I am not a short order cook. they can eat from what is fixed or they can fix themself a bowl of cereal.
there is no cereal here to offer them, and very little of what i consider “kid” food.
apparently i am the most awful mother on the planet today.
sorry to hijack the comments shannon.
foods i dont like and wont ever
beans black eye peas liver brown gravy
foods i never thought i would like but do
calamari sushi
alligator catfish
calf fries
foods i dont like but eat anyway to keep the peace
cornbread gumbo(sometimes better than others)
rice
steff