Last year in Portugal, Ken made several discoveries….all food related. I mocked him, albeit lovingly, for these epiphanies. But mockery it was.
He discovered after seven decades of dislike, that pineapple was wonderful. And OMG cheesecake. And then there was gyoza. All these in the space of just two or three days.
Then we got home. And the discoveries continued. Sauces on food? Never! Especially, oh, say, an Alfredo sauce. Far too creamy. Pasta? Eaten rarely, and then only in spaghetti form.
But now, just take a look. Sauces didn’t exist before Ken discovered them. He is the inventor of several delicious sauces. He is very careful of my dietary needs, and is judicious with fats. But the sauces don’t know that, and are amazing. He makes his own aioli from scratch. Ditto mayonnaise and ketchup. Dinner is always a treat.
Me? I have no food dislikes. Well there’s liver, but that’s allowed. Most of the world hates liver, except the people who line up for it at places like Regina City Hall cafeteria, which many did those years I lived in Regina. The exception is foie gras. Onward with hatreds….parsnips. My mother hated parsnips, and she never served them, so you can see my dislike of this vegetable is rooted in truth and personal history. Right? And no one likes Brussels Sprouts.
So you can see I have no dislikes that aren’t pardonable.
But just the other day I did have my own personal epiphany. I wasn’t even in a fancy restaurant. I was on a plane. We were barely out of Edmonton air space when Porter Air cabin crew came around asking what I would like to have for breakfast. I chose to have the Greek Yogurt, granola and fruit, please and thank you. It came elegantly served in a lovely cardboard container complete with plastic spoon, and much to my horror when I opened the package, there smack in the middle of the bowl, unavoidable in all its orange glory, was a big blob of marmalade.
Now why would anyone eat and enjoy marmalade? I mean really, orange peels stirred in sugar… just ick. But it was hard to avoid, although I did manage several good mouths full from the outer edges of the bowl. Sadly, and typically, I was still hungry. We’d been up since 4:30 (yes, a.m.) and my body was demanding food. So I had a spoon full of yogurt and blackberries and granola, and a bit of marmalade crept its way onto my spoon. Oh well, I can’t scrape it off. Bite the bullet Cheryl. Put on your big girl teeth and eat it.
And I did. Then another spoonful and another until that huge ball of marmalade was gone. And it was delicious.
Paddington Bear!!! You were right, you were right all along. Marmalade is a wonder food.
I suppose this means I have to rethink parsnips.