A Persian Apology

Wow.  It's been too long.  Some of it is laziness.  Some of it is being busy.  Some of it is trying to save money.  But I'm going to say that most of it is not wanting to leave my comfort zone.

As I mentioned before, I no longer live with my parents.  My first attempt at living alone (but with roommates) has really dulled my self-proclaimed adventurous streak.  When I'm done paying bills and taking my cats to emergency vet appointments, I just want to eat mac and cheese.  And when I get home from work, I just want to play video games or binge a show on Netflix until it's time to make dinner.

But a few weeks ago, Joey and I braved the cold and treated ourselves to dinner.  I felt better about paying for an adventure because we walked to and from the restaurant.  We went to a restaurant that we have passed countless times on our way to one of our favorite bars, a Persian restaurant called Noon O Kabab.

I ordered the Noon O Two.  Two giant kabobs and some grilled veggies and cucumber salad in a giant pita.

I was not exaggerating the size.  The pita even obscures the second kabob!

I was nervous waiting for it to come out.  The Noon O Kabab menus were rather vague when describing their seasonings.  They simply say "Persian seasonings," as if that covers all the possible spices that could be used.  There are so many spices in this world, many of them originating near Persia!  Many of them dreadful!

My serving platter was set before me.  I cut off a small corner and tasted it, ready to douse any fires with moosir.  But I must say I was pleasantly surprised! "Persian seasonings" are apparently subtle, complimenting the meat instead of transforming it entirely.  Truly delicious.

And it lasted for two meals!

Long Overdue (Just Like My Library Books)

Wow.  It's been quite a while.  In my defense, Joey and I did move this month.  And we're on a shoestring budget right now.  Whatever we make for dinner is pretty much the only option that night.  So I can't really afford to adventure.

Unless it's for free.  This is where political campaign fundraisers come in.

My father has long been a supporter of a local state politician.  He actually goes out and campaigns the old-fashioned, Chicago way: walking door to door and handing people political flyers.  I kid you not, he has almost been vehicularly manslaughtered by the footmen of the competition.  Chicago politics are intense.  When my sister and I were younger, we would get bundled up and go with him (Chicagoans spend about half the year bundled up).

This dedication has paid off in the form of free bowling and food once a year.  Other people pay upwards of $500 for this event.  Our invite always comes stamped "COMPLIMENTARY" right over all the three- and four-digit dinner options.

For years, I have avoided the salad at this event.  It's a pre-mixed Caesar salad.  I'm all for salad.  I think salad is wonderful...with the right dressing.  Caesar dressing is spicy!  There's way too much pepper in it!

But the meal was free.  And it might be my last adventure for at least a couple weeks.  So I grabbed a plate.

Exactly what it says on the tin: a plate full of salad.

And I started eating.  And it was spicy!  And I accidentally got a crouton, which Miriah was generous enough to eat for me.  Still, I adventured.  I have to take advantage of every adventurous opportunity that I can nowadays.

It was spicy.  But I ate it all anyway.  Just call me the Merriweather Lewis of political campaign fundraising dinners.

All of that salad was consumed by me!  I'm amazing!

I rewarded myself for having such an adventurous spirit with a hot dog.  Hot dogs are the best.

A Year of Adventures

One year ago, I decided to actively eat disgusting foods.  But I had (and still have) a very skewed view of what qualified as "disgusting."

My views were not affected by morals.  I do not categorically avoid foods because I am vegetarian, pescatarian, vegan, fruitarian, or any other type of eater restricted by ethical or religious qualms about eating certain things.

(Uh oh, cue minor rant about privilege....) Yes, when possible, I try to get meat and produce from companies that I know treat their animals well or better yet from farmers' markets.  I prefer Heartland meat over anything I can get in Jewel.  But I can afford to prefer that.  Other people cannot afford to buy grass-fed beef over industrial beef.  I respect that and do not judge what people eat based on how it came to be on their plate.  I judge it based on if it's gross.  (End rant.  Thanks for sticking it out!)

But my views on what makes a food gross are also not tied up with cultural norms.  I understand why people eat grasshoppers, squid, livers, testicles, you name it.  While I would not seek out a testicle as part of my meal, I might feel differently if I hadn't grown up in a very specific part of the world.  I also find culturally "normal" foods for my region to be disgusting.  Pickles, for example.  In the Midwest especially, people eat pickles off of sticks like popsicles.  They are disgusting.

 

Pictured above: Nightmare fuel.  Photo from http://jschumacher.typepad.com/joe/

But a lot has changed in a year.  I have had many adventures, with varying degrees of success.  There are foods that were securely on my "Do Not Eat" list that are now very securely on my "Do Eat" list.  And I have come to terms with the fact that I may occasionally have to eat birds.

These are the foods that have made the jump to the other side:

• Bell peppers
• Beans
• Cooked tomatoes
• Cooked onions
• Squash
• Small amounts of pepper
• Larger amounts of mustard
• Ketchup
• Hollandaise sauce
• Worcestershire sauce

If I can make that much progress in my first year adventuring, imagine what I can accomplish in my second!

Excuses, Excuses

Here's the part where I make excuses for my lack of posts.

Firstly, I've been watching a lot of Netflix.  A lot of Idiot Abroad, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, and some D- and C-list horror movies.  But that's not my only excuse!

Secondly, I've been eating a lot of salads and stir-fries.  Not super adventurous.  Especially now that I kind of love green peppers.  (In fact, they were in every meal I had yesterday!  Talk about progress!)

Thirdly, it has been outrageously humid this whole week.  Chicago has been itching for a giant thunderstorm since at least Monday.  The forecasts have predicted rain every day.  We've had about two itty-bitty little rainstorms.  Nothing to really break the humidity.  Last night, it finally stormed.

What we've all been waiting for.

Humidity doesn't sound like it should be such big deal.  But in a house with a gas stove and no central air conditioning, it means you're not going to be doing a lot of cooking.  Most adventurous meals happen to be hot meals.

Next week, it should be less humid.  Hopefully I'll be able to adventure then.  And less lazy....

Adventures in Etiquette

I work with two very lovely people.  We share an office and a love of eating.  Recently, one of my coworkers made pasta salad for our little office.  I was super excited because I love mozzarella cheese.  But I was also nervous because her pasta salad had olives and grape tomatoes as well.

Raw grape tomatoes.  I've come around to cooked tomatoes, but raw is an entirely different story.

So colorful!  But I only eat half of the foods pictured.

I figured I could get away with not eating the olives.  Olives are a controversial food.  It's pretty acceptable to dislike them.  However, most people like tomatoes.

So I ate maybe a third of the tomatoes.  And I hated them.  But the big old hunks of mozzarella made up for the grossness of the tomatoes.  And the fact that I even ate that many tomatoes is a testament to my need to be polite.  I didn't want my coworker to see me eating her pasta salad and think that I didn't like it.

I'll give raw tomatoes another chance sometime in the future.  I'll try them in a salad filled with other things.  Maybe I'll try them again this summer.

I think I'm going to need at least a year to work up to olives.

But What Happens When You Grow Up?

Last week, the Chicago Tribune ran a short article about picky eaters.  While I can't find a link at the moment, the article suggests making dinner into a game.  Children receive stickers when they eat very small amounts of the "Do Not Eat" food.  The idea is if they can stomach small amounts and get a reward, they are more likely to accept larger portions of the food without a reward after about three months of the game.

That might work.  But what if your dad is a picky eater?  He didn't encourage you to eat Brussels sprouts because he didn't want to eat Brussels sprouts.  He decided to make mac and cheese instead.  What if he unknowingly passes some of his food prejudices on to you?

Now, I want to be very clear.  I love my father.  He is wonderful, and loving, and a great father.  But he didn't really make it his top priority to encourage adventurous eating habits.  My mother is nowhere near as picky as the rest of us, but she was overwhelmed by a family of picky eaters.  How was she supposed to encourage my father to eat foods on his "Do Not Eat" list?  He's a grown man!  Is she supposed to give him stickers??

This brings me to my point.  How do you encourage a picky adult to eat gross food?  My father had a Pakistani friend growing up, so he's always liked (very) mild curries.  Now, he's eating curries that are more spicy.  While this doesn't seem like a huge progression, talk to my mother.  She can finally cook more recipes from her beloved Indian cookbooks.  Is my dad going to head up to Devon Avenue any time soon and sling back some Aloo Gosht?  No, almost certainly not.  But he's making progress.

I think picky adults change their habits more gradually (if at all).  My father created a baseline of curry tolerance as a child, and now he pushes that tolerance the very slightest bit 2 or 3 times a month.  He's not really looking to branch out much further than curry.  When we went to a Mexican restaurant, he ordered a hamburger.

Stickers probably aren't going to work for me either.  But I really want to expand my culinary horizons.  Am I doomed to the kids' menu forever?  Clearly not.  Since August, I have discovered that I like beans, green peppers, and Worcestershire sauce.  I've come to terms with the fact that I might have to eat chicken some time, although it will never be as delicious as pork.

My "Do Not Eat" list is very long and won't be conquered in three months or probably even three years.  Stickers are not going to motivate me to change.  Only I can do that.  Wish me luck!