All right, my friend Nitasha is taking me to task on this one. This little blog of mine used to deviate far more frequently toward food, but alas I've been working my butt off these days and my cooking has been suffering, so I've digressed more toward music and those brief and blissful moments between electronic devices.
But Nitasha has caught the bug and passed it on to me... perhaps you foodies have seen it going around. It's a challenge to identify the "five foods you hate to love" and pass it along, ala the sock exchange chain letter, to another desperate, food-obsessed soul to write about in her blog - a meme. So I'll spare you the ginger-beer-soaked sagas of Dark and Stormy nights, and keep it to the tangibles here today.
While cake is actually not one of the weaknesses I'd like to write about, I recently learned that the phrase, "let them eat cake" was originally coined from a Maria Theresa of Spain comment, quite literally meaning "let the peasants eat garbage." And what more appropriate segue to take us to the five foods I hate to love...
1. Bread, glorious bread.
Bread is not a brunt to bear, but a body - and what a body it is. I love the different textures of daily bread... the fresh, astronomical, eggy challah; the soft, doughy, spicy tandoor naan (how do they do it?); the molten, sweet, dark, dense, steamed Boston bread; the twiggy, salty, brittle pretzel; the rough-edged, thick-skinned, soft-middled baguette... need I go on?
2. Cheese and the evil empire.
I recently read in one online food fascinator about a debate that was held between the chocolate and cheese camps to determine which vice was easier to kick. Surprisingly, the argument seemed fruitless (hee hee!). Chocolate lovers are as stubborn as cheese lovers are willful and both held their ground against the clear allure of the other. But I fall, perhaps squarely, on the cheesy side of that fence. Feed me cheese over chocolate any day... if chocolate is seduction then cheese is utter destruction.
3. Thai iced tea.
Have you seen the condensed milk they put in this stuff? It's shameful, and oh-so-delicious. And I never hesitate to order it when enjoying a nice Thai meal. It's a good thing I don't often splurge on Thai restaurants, or I'd really be in trouble. Can't replicate the stuff to save my life, but my friend Christine can and has promised to teach me. That will be a dark day, friends, but you can be sure to read all about it on the blog.
4. Tongue-twisters.
Truth: last week, I got super-sized. I bought the bag that I think Hershey's marketing department only put out on the Walgreens rack as a joke. I think I hurt my back carrying them home. It took us a week and a couple of house guests, but we got through it. And I can never look at another Twizzler again. Until next week anyway.
5. "Guinness is good for you."
And so are lima beans and Brussels sprouts, but I'll tell you why they double up to be my final entry for foods I hate to love. Nobody believes me! Yes, this is for you, Jill. These delicious vegetable miracles make the meal for me, but many people - still scarred by force-feeding experiments of youth - are still traumatized. I beseech you disbelievers out there... give them another try! And cook them in butter. Hey, it's no coincidence they're named after mouth-watering cities in Europe.
And, with that, I pass along this task of endurance to Emily, who I'll soon be collaborating with on her latest blogging adventure, We Smell Food. Emily, do your worst.
