A Bean of a Different Color

April has proved to be a busy month.  About a week ago, I had an adventure that I haven't had time to write about until now.  Hopefully, my next adventure will make it on-line in a more timely fashion.

Joey's running cookbook has a recipe for Stir-Fry.  We were going to follow it pretty exactly, but then we got a little lazy.  So we basically made this Stir-Fry recipe from one of my Betty Crocker mini-cookbooks.  We've made this meal dozens of times because it's easy and delicious.

This time there was one major difference.  We were using the ingredients from the Runner's World Cookbook recipe.  And one of those ingredients was green beans.

Green beans are gross because they are like peas (gross) but with an even grosser pod.  If I'm not going to eat peas, I'm certainly not going to eat green beans.  At least I wouldn't eat them before I started adventuring.

The worst type of bean in the world!

I still don't like green beans.  I will not eat them by themselves.  They taste like pure vitamins, and that's gross.  But I can eat them in other things, I think.  For example, my mom makes delicious Chicken Pot Pie.  Sometimes it has green beans in it.  Maybe now I won't pick them out.

Lima Beans on the other hand....

Adventures in Dixie (Part Three)

There are actually a multiple types of picky eaters that exist in this world.  Some picky eaters avoid certain colors.  Conversely, some (usually only for a very short time) eat only certain colors.  Some picky eaters avoid certain textures.  Some have very sensitive taste buds.  Some turn out to be allergic to those foods they were avoiding, thus achieving what picky eaters rarely ever achieve: vindication.  Sometimes these different pickiness manifestations play out in a need to keep all food separate.

I do not like for my food to touch each other.  When we order Chinese food in, I get multiple small plates to avoid the sauce from the Bali Maki Steak from mixing with the Sweet and Sour Sauce for my Egg Rolls, which the eleventh commandment states shall not touch the Beef Fried Rice and Soy Sauce.  It's quite a spread.

Even though I like all these dishes and food is touching each other within the dishes, I freak out if the main dishes touch.  I do not like it, Sam I am.  Boundaries are important.

When Joey's dad said he was Spaghetti Carbonara, I (obviously) asked him what went into the dish.  "Bacon, eggs, and spaghetti.  You like all those things, right?"

What a loaded question!  Of course I like all those things!  But I wouldn't put them all together!  Not on one plate!  Certainly not in one pot!

But once you've committed to adventuring, there's no turning back.

Eggs, bacon, and spaghetti all in one pot.  Anarchy.  Pure anarchy.

Spaghetti Carbonara was not my favorite Dixieland adventure (which is not a ride in Disneyland surprisingly).  Luckily, the fresh black pepper was big enough that I could pick it out.  The bacon was delicious.  I still like eggs, and I still like pasta.

I just prefer for some of my foods not to touch.  While Spaghetti Carbonara was not the trauma that I thought it would be, I definitely enjoyed the outing to the Indian restaurant more.  In fact, the Indian restaurant might have been the best adventure of my vacation.

A side note about how far I've come: I ate a small bowl of baked beans!

OTC allergy medicine for scale?

Eight months ago, I was bragging about eating a tablespoon.  Now I can eat at least half a cup!  Truly a sign of progress!

Adventures in Dixie (Part Two)

Thursday, we went out for Indian food.  Yup, Indian food.  Talk about trial by fire, huh?  My only consolation was that it was a buffet, so I could pick and choose exactly what I wanted (or felt I could handle).

Joey's dad is a spicy food junkie.  It can never be too hot.  He loves Indian food.  The restaurant Joey's parents were taking us to (Bombay Palace) is one of their favorites.

And Joey's parents knew I was trying to adventure.  They also knew that I love naan.  And there was the sense of safety that only a buffet can provide.  So Indian didn't seem like a bad idea.

Since it was a buffet, I got a bunch of different things.  Some were awesome, some were fine, some were unbearably spicy.

Plate #1: (Starting at the bottom and moving clock-wise) White Rice, Egg Rice, Cabbage, Saag Spinach, Mutter Paneer.  To the side, in bowls, are Yogurt and Kheer.

White Rice is White Rice.  No judgement needed to be passed.

The Egg Rice had not only egg but also tomato and onion in it.  But I ate it anyway!  Major grown-up points awarded!

The Cabbage was pretty innocuous, and I already like Cabbage.  It tasted mildly vinegary.  Very yummy.

Ah, the Saag Spinach.  Much spicier than I thought it would be.  I had to mix it with a lot of rice to eat it.  Even after diluting it, I left more than half of it on my plate.  But two out of three ain't bad, am I right?

I thought the Mutter Paneer would be the spiciest, but it was much milder than the Saag Spinach.  Still not a huge fan of peas, but I ate most of the sauce mixed with the Egg Rice.

Off to the side, I had dishes of yogurt (to put out any fires) and something called Kheer.  Easily the best thing offered at the buffet.  I loved it.  It was like almond milk rice pudding with hints of cardamom and sugar.

Then I went back for Round Two.

Plate #2: More Egg Rice and a small helping of Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala.  Doesn't that sound terrifying? Well, it actually wasn't.  Aside from the fact that I'm still not a fan of chicken, the sauce was mild enough that I could eat it.  And it was creamy enough that I didn't taste much tomato.

All in all, highly successful outing.  I'm almost ready to head up to Devon and test my new-found ability to consume Indian food!

Almost.

(One more adventure in Dixie!  Check back tomorrow!)