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!

Post-Race Adventure

About a year ago, Joey started running.  Yesterday, he completed his first 5K!  Obviously, this was a cause for celebration!  We decided to have a post-race brunch at Tre Kronor.

Tre Kronor always has quiche and egg specials during brunch and breakfast hours.  I was torn between a Red Pepper and Brie Quiche (since I now like bell peppers!) and Swedish Pancakes.  Swedish Pancakes are in my top ten all-time favorite foods, so I chose them over the quiche.  The famished Joey chose Eggs Benedict on Crab Cakes, one of the egg specials.  We also got two danishes, which were delicious.

Tre Kronor always makes delicious food.  Our brunch was no exception.  The Swedish Pancakes were amazing.  Joey loved his Eggs Benedict on Crab Cakes.

Don't let the potatoes fool you.  This meal does not look delicious.

Before he smothered his food in hot sauce (ultra "Do Not Eat" food), he let me have a bite of his celebratory meal.

Now, Eggs Benedict is served with Hollandaise Sauce.  According to Wikipedia, there was nothing too horrifying involved.  But I've never had Hollandaise Sauce before.  And it looks kind of gross.  And it has a scary name that might be French.  And French cuisine can be pretty scary.  They eat snails after all.

And Crab Cakes.  First of all, crab.  Do Not Eat food.  Second of all, one time I ordered Crab Cakes in Colonial Williamsburg when I was 12, and they were nasty.  I had to trade dinners with my grandmother.  They were dry and oceanic and a little bit spicy.  Gross.

But if Joey can run a 5K in single digit weather, I can have a bite of Eggs Benedict on Crab Cakes!  Besides, I had my Swedish Pancakes to wash the potentially horrible taste out of my mouth.  So I broke off a little piece with my fork.

Firstly, Hollandaise Sauce is delicious!  It is so buttery and lovely!  I want to make my own Hollandaise Sauce!  Well done, Tre Kronor!  Well done!

Secondly, these Crab Cakes (despite Chicago's lack of salt water) were also wonderful.  They were almost the exact opposite of the Crab Cakes from Colonial Williamsburg.  They were oceanic, though not overwhelmingly so.

The combination of Hollandaise Sauce and Crab Cakes blew my mind.  I guess that's why lobster and crab are served with big, old tubs of butter.

Tre Kronor really changed my opinion on both Hollandaise Sauce and Crab Cakes.  And I am grateful this adventure turned out so well!  I might even order Eggs Benedict on Crab Cakes for myself next time.