Food Weirdness

I mentioned in my previous post that I simply didn’t like certain foods, and that got me to thinking about food preferences in general. I concluded that when it comes to food, I’m simply weird. There’s a whole list of foods that I don’t care to eat, and there’s no reason at all for these negativities (which are only preferences, by the way, as when I’m hungry, I’ll eat anything).

First, I’m a vegetarian. Like most Americans, I’ve always eaten meat, and after over a decade of not eating it, I still crave it. But I won’t eat it, except in extreme circumstances. I used to feel less guilty about eating seafood, but nowadays I don’t want to touch either fish or shellfish, and I’m working on eliminating dairy and eggs from my diet and leather from my wardrobe.

So here’s the list of non-meat foods that I don’t care to eat:

  • jams and jellies (peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches: total yuck)
  • any kind of candy other than chocolate, which means no to caramels, licorice, jelly beans, tootsie rolls, lollipops, candy canes, marshmallows, gumdrops
  • applesauce, jello, any kind of pudding or custard
  • any kind of pie other than pumpkin, key lime, or pecan, which means no to blueberry, cherry, Boston cream, lemon meringue
  • fruitcake (if I have to eat it, I spit out the green, yellow, and red citron bits)
  • mint (if I’m making a recipe that calls for it, I leave it out, and I don’t like peppermint patties or thin mints, or mint-flavored toothpaste)
  • hot cereal like oatmeal or cream of wheat, or even polenta
  • filled doughnuts

I generally don’t like squishy desserts — I have no idea why, as there are three major exceptions to this rule: cheesecake, chocolate mousse, and ice cream. I also generally don’t like sweet main dishes, which means I prefer main dishes which don’t include fruit, though I’m working on expanding my tastes to include different flavorings for the bean dishes which are a staple for anyone on a vegetarian diet.

Next post: food that I do like!

Comfort Food

Recently, I came across a discussion of comfort food on the Web and was forced to admit to myself that I had no idea what these people were talking about. The phrase conjured up no images for me, so obviously it had no meaning whatsoever. I looked for a definition on the usual sites, and most of them listed the usual suspects, which for Americans might include such dishes as baked apples, bread or rice pudding, brownies, chicken noodle soup, macaroni and cheese, meat loaf, casseroles, and fried chicken (most of these I shudder at). The emphasis did seem to be on foods that are inexpensive, uncomplicated, and easy to prepare.

The underlying assumption seems to be that comfort food is food that you enjoyed as a child, which now “evokes memories of being warm and cozy and cared for by someone special.” I suppose that might explain why I don’t really understand the concept: my mom was the world’s worst cook. We used to joke that she couldn’t even make instant coffee. Well, it’s not that she couldn’t — it’s that she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t even boil water to make something instant because she didn’t want to be bothered. To tell the truth, I don’t think I ever cared, and I certainly don’t believe that everyone ought to enjoy cooking. Some people do, and some people don’t; my mother didn’t, and perhaps for that reason I’m hard-pressed to come up with my own list of comfort food. The closest is probably cinnamon toast, which I made myself.