I hated... until I...

[Mayhaw Man]

Growing up in the Deep South assured that the only fresh vegetables one would ever have would be corn on the cob or tomatoes in the summertime

Our experiences in growing up in the Deep South could not be more different. I could list what I saw on my plate, but it is too long of a list. We regularly saw a virtual farmers market moving through my mother's kitchen. In fact, come to think of it, we hardly ever ate corn on the cob except in July when it was just getting ready, and the varieties of corn that we ate were delicious but not nearly as sweet as many of the examples available for planting today. most of these vegetables were not overcooked and hardly ever boiled (with the exception of butterbeans and I still like 'em that way) to pulp. We had cucumbers in some form or fashion (often just in ice water with a little vinegar and sugar) virtually all summer and we ate squash, eggplants of various sorts, snap beans, peas of every description, butterbeans, all kinds of lettuce (until it got too hot, then it was iceberg from the market) and greens, roots of all sorts (I love turnips) cooked in a ton of different ways, and the ever present tomato. Except for my dad regularly claiming that "a meal without meat is just a snack" we might have been vegetarians and never noticed.

I do agree about squash casserole though. I love that stuff (quick, easy to make in small portions, and delicious) and yes, it probably was crunched up saltines on top. MMMMMMM

[Raynickben]

I have always loved blue cheese but strangely enough I could not get near Swiss cheese. The smell and taste were so strong to me. Gag inducing really.

Now, I eat Swiss and just about every kind of cheese out there. Except Head Cheese .

[Laughing Goddess]

I don't think I can ever try head cheese, not since I met a farmer from Oklahoma who described to me exactly how he makes it...

Edited: Typpos.

Edited January 10, 2004 by Laughing Goddess (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Carolyn, your story reminded me of something similar. I never liked coffee, yet my mother often said, "You really should learn to drink it because someday, you're going to be somewhere and that's all there will be to drink." Fast forward to purple-haired party waitress days at TGI Friday's in the early Eighties. Our heroine awakens, bedraggled and hungover, at the home of the tall waiter for whom she has lusted for months. What is there to drink? Nothing but coffee. Tall, sexy waiter brings a cup to the bedroom, steaming and sweet (the coffee wasn't bad, either). It was my first cup of coffee, and I loved it.

You go, girl! And it was great advice, but do you think that's what your mom had in mind?

Definitely makes my introduction to coffee story pale by comparison. I drank coffee so I could have "grown-up" breakfast with my dad. I had a great big cup that had a wee little bit of coffee, a whole lot of sugar and a whole lot of milk in it starting when I was about three or four years old. It was sort of like drinking heated melted coffee ice cream, but I loved it. Over the years I've cut down on the sugar, and if necessary can drink it black, but it must be sweetened just a bit or I can't do it.

[docsconz]

Carolyn, your story reminded me of something similar. I never liked coffee, yet my mother often said, "You really should learn to drink it because someday, you're going to be somewhere and that's all there will be to drink." Fast forward to purple-haired party waitress days at TGI Friday's in the early Eighties. Our heroine awakens, bedraggled and hungover, at the home of the tall waiter for whom she has lusted for months. What is there to drink? Nothing but coffee. Tall, sexy waiter brings a cup to the bedroom, steaming and sweet (the coffee wasn't bad, either). It was my first cup of coffee, and I loved it.

And they say chocolate is the stuff of love!

[docsconz]

I have always loved blue cheese but strangely enough I could not get near Swiss cheese. The smell and taste were so strong to me. Gag inducing really.

Now, I eat Swiss and just about every kind of cheese out there. Except Head Cheese .

When I was a kid in camp in the 1960's generally one had to eat what was served. I had such an aversion to Swiss Cheese, that I told the nuns running the camp that I couldn't eat it since I was allergic to it... and they believed me!

[tanabutler]

You go, girl! And it was great advice, but do you think that's what your mom had in mind?

Oh, sure. Her? Absolutely. "And always remember, sugah. Men date blondes, but they marry brunettes."

My mother, the strategist.

[nessa]

For me it was lasagne. My mother, bless her heart, had this strange idea of what constituted lasagne. Hers contained no noodles.

Sliced zuccini was the substitute. No meat either that I recall. No ricotta, she used cottage cheese. She did use tomato sauce, but I don't recall any mozz. I could be mistaken. Needless to say I was not wild about lasagne. I just thought it was a watery combo of cheese and veggies. Nothing revolting, but certainly nothing I'd ask for! As I grew up, I understood that other people used noodles, but had no desire to order lasagne. Then I got married. The ex's favorite dish was lasagne. So, I found a recipe. I was amazed at what went into it. Italian sausage? Ricotta? What WAS that anyway.... found it at the store, apparently it was a common item. All I has was this big old turkey roasting pan, what was a lasagne pan? I layered and layered until it was full, and topped with cheese. I rather liked it! I was shocked at how different it was. That was the first Debunking the Mother Myth for me. But I gotta hand it to Ma, she did cook healthily for her family. Her meals were always nutritous. Don't get me started on her version of Chile Rellenos. She loves it and so my sister and I fork it down instead of telling her we don't like it. My mother never fried anything, to the best of my knowledge. I learned how to fry from another girl's mom in highschool. In my mother's defense, because she is the Queen of unintentional guilt trips and I'd feel rotten if I didn't defend her dear sweet heart, she is a much better and more adventerous cook now.

[hillvalley]

I've never liked snails, but homemade gefilte fish can be good. Tell me the truth, though, when you were a kid, did you use to think that there was a type of fish swimming around somewhere that was called a "gefilte fish"? I did. 

I can tell you with absolute belief that it used to swim in my grandmother's bathtub. Nowadays -- ??? I suppose it must have migrated.

Grandma always had a carp in the bathtub twice a year, Passover and Rosh Hashanah. I bring in my copy of the book into school every spring and read it to my class. Then we draw pictures of the carp in the bathtub.

[nessa]

Growing up in the Deep South assured that the only fresh vegetables one would ever have would be corn on the cob or tomatoes in the summertime.

Man. I grew up in a small town in Texas and my mother still managed to torture us with all varities of fresh veggies. Squashes were her favorite. Yellow crook neck was my fav, along with zukes. But the spaghetti squash, sans butter and pretty much any other flavoring..... dear god. I won't eat it today. Well, I might. But our of rebellion I'd have to have it swimming in a lake of butter and herbs.

[Mudpuppie]

Grandma always had a carp in the bathtub twice a year, Passover and Rosh Hashanah. I bring in my copy of the book into school every spring and read it to my class. Then we draw pictures of the carp in the bathtub.

Forgive me, I grew up Methodist.

What's all this about fish in the bathtub??

[bloviatrix]

Grandma always had a carp in the bathtub twice a year, Passover and Rosh Hashanah.  I bring in my copy of the book into school every spring and read it to my class.  Then we draw pictures of the carp in the bathtub.

Forgive me, I grew up Methodist.

What's all this about fish in the bathtub??

First, I must say that one of my favorite books as a kid was The Carp in The Bathtub.

To explain the fish in the bathtub....as my mom tells it, every year before Rosh Hashana and Passover my great-grandmother (who lived with my mom's family) would make gefilte fish. A dead fish wouldn't do. Rather, Bubbe went to the fish market and selected a live fish which she brought home and dumped into the bathtub where she would proceed to fatten it up further. Once she was satisfied with the fish's weight gain, she would kill and gut it. And then turn it into gefilte fish.

Now, since the fish would reside in the tub for a week or two, my mom and her sisters would develop an attachment to the fish (they didn't have pets), so the slaughter was quite traumatic.

My father tells a similar story about his mom.

Nowadays people either buy fish filets and grind it themselves, or cheat at buy pre-made frozen loaves which are boiled with aromatics. If they're really lazy, they buy it in a jar.

Edited January 11, 2004 by bloviatrix (log)

[Mudpuppie]

Wow, I had no idea!

[hillvalley]

Grandma always had a carp in the bathtub twice a year, Passover and Rosh Hashanah.  I bring in my copy of the book into school every spring and read it to my class.  Then we draw pictures of the carp in the bathtub.

Forgive me, I grew up Methodist.

What's all this about fish in the bathtub??

First, I must say that one of my favorite books as a kid was The Carp in The Bathtub.

To explain the fish in the bathtub....as my mom tells it, every year before Rosh Hashana and Passover my great-grandmother (who lived with my mom's family) would make gefilte fish. A dead fish wouldn't do. Rather, Bubbe went to the fish market and selected a live fish which she brought home and dumped into the bathtub where she would proceed to fatten it up further. Once she was satisfied with the fish's weight gain, she would kill and gut it. And then turn it into gefilte fish.

Now, since the fish would reside in the tub for a week or two, my mom and her sisters would develop an attachment to the fish (they didn't have pets), so the slaughter was quite traumatic.

My father tells a similar story about his mom.

Nowadays people either buy fish filets and grind it themselves, or cheat at buy pre-made frozen loaves which are boiled with aromatics. If they're really lazy, they buy it in a jar.

Same story in my house, just a generation later. They also loved the fish because it lived in the only bathtub in the house, so bath's that week.

Now Grandma makes a special trip to a fishmonger she has gone to for years. She picks out a whole fish, but he cleans and guts it for her. She also picks up extra fish heads to simmer in the pot.

You can check out the book here.

[Alex]

I hated mushrooms until I was 20 and fell madly in love. About three months into the relationship my girlfriend was making dinner for us and two friends, featuring steak with sautéed onions and mushrooms. I was way too embarrassed to admit my distaste, so I asked myself, WWJD? (What would Julia do?) (Actually I didn't, but I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that line. Sorry.) I decided to take the plunge, and -- lo and behold -- the stuff was pretty good.

I also hated beets until about 12 years ago, when some friends put together a beet-bacon-mushroom salad (out of Larousse, if I remember correctly -- Salade Forestière?) Mmm, bacon. Guajolote's beet and gorgonzola salad, from last October's Heartland Gathering, was pretty wonderful, too. Mmm, cheese.

[fifi]

I have always hated turnips. Still do, actually. But I was at a friend's house in Delaware one cold night and my friend was fixing us a simple beef stew. When she got out the turnips and started peeling them I said... "Uh oh." (I didn't know them well enough to go ick.) Resigned to my fate of having to choke down a small portion and plead my usual (and true) small appetite, I sat down to the table.

Well... That was the single most delicious stew I have ever eaten... EVER. I had three servings.

I have since tried to duplicate it and failed. I even confessed the situation to my friend and she has no idea why I can't duplicate it.

[hillvalley]

I was way too embarrassed to admit my distaste, so I asked myself, WWJD? (What would Julia do?) (Actually I didn't, but I've been waiting for an opportunity to use that line.

I love it!!!!!

[Naomi]

Grandma always had a carp in the bathtub twice a year, Passover and Rosh Hashanah.  I bring in my copy of the book into school every spring and read it to my class.  Then we draw pictures of the carp in the bathtub.

Forgive me, I grew up Methodist.

What's all this about fish in the bathtub??

I've seen Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall do this on his TV show.

It cleaned the fish and took any "muddiness" out of it, making it taste fresher too.

[Huevos del Toro]

Now, I eat Swiss and just about every kind of cheese out there.    Except Head Cheese  .

When it was hog slaughtering time I would trade my school brown bag lunch to anyone who had head cheese sandwiches. I was around 15 years old (I think). I haven't had any REAL head cheese since those days. Stay away, far far away, from the junk they sell in supermarkets as head cheese. It isn't!

[srhcb]

Several months later, we dropped acid .... I got a horrible case of the munchies and the only thing in the house to eat were his olives.

I now LOVE olives of all kinds...

Carolyn!

We apparently share something besides our fondness for Gastronomica magazine? (I doubt there is any connection though.)

Although this is also Off-Topic, it does have to do with food. Perhaps if any other Posters would like to share their experiences with food and psychedelic drugs we could start a new Thread.

Anyway, this is one of my Blatz (beer) and acid stories:

My friends Burke, "QO" and I found ourselves stranded in what was then billed as "The Blizzard of the Century" on Superbowl Weekend somewhere back in the mid 70's (I think?). We had begun our adventure Friday night at an old rural hangout known as the Phunny Pharm when the storm began. Early Saturday evening we finally realized that there had been no traffic on the highway all day, we couldn't even see the roof of the car in the driveway, and we had virtually no food!

Since the firewood was buried under the snow outside we moved all necessary furniture (ie: couch and stereo) into the kitchen in order to utilize the oven for heat. Luckily the electric power remained on the whole time, because while we could have survived by burning furniture in the wood stove, we really would have missed listening to the stereo. Still, taking into account our physically and mentally depleted state, things weren't looking all that great.

Around 7:00 Saturday evening, to our amazement, there was a knock on the door! QO's brother had been stranded at another friend's farm about 5 miles up the road. They had come down on cross country skis to see if they could trade us surplus food for any extra alcohol we might have. As luck would have it we were still well supplied with Canadian Club whiskey and Blatz beer, plus, should worse come to worst, our last hit of windowpane (if you have to ask...).

We managed to prepare oatmeal crusted perch filets with canned creamed corn and crackers for dinner that night, and then fell asleep on the kitchen floor. By Sunday morning the snow had stopped. A road grader came by about 11AM opening up one driving lane and we were able to hitch a ride to town to watch the football game.

PS: This was the time the forementioned "QO" got that nickname. He had fallen asleep on the couch, and Burke and I noticed that he bore an odd resemblance to the fellow on the Quaker Oat box.

SB (as Carolyn said, this was looooong ago)

[chezlamere]

i always hated mushrooms, and raisans, still do. I eat stuffed mushrooms - don't know why that's the only way. I grew up on russian cabbage borsch, vereniki, perahi. All that stuff. Hated it with a passion. Can't get enough of it now, my mother always make a batch for all of us once or twice a year. The strawberry perahi are to die for. I actually make borsch at work (the right kind that is) and it wouldn't put my ancestors to shame, but mother's is always the one I look forward to.

[cheesecakegoddess]

my mother is a great, if unadventurous cook. but growing up in Alaska years ago, fresh produce (unless it was red delicious apples, iceberg lettuce, or mandarin oranges at Christmas time) was limited, and usually not particularly good. fruit and vegetables came in cans or freezer bags.

So when I visited Europe the summer after high school graduation, I was introduced to all kinds of wonderful things, like tomatoes that didn't look (and taste) like oversized pink golfballs, and figs that didn't come in Newtons, and plums that didn't resemble superballs. even had my first fresh pear, and was amazed at how much better they tasted without the heavy syrup...

[Raynickben]

Now, I eat Swiss and just about every kind of cheese out there.    Except Head Cheese  .

When it was hog slaughtering time I would trade my school brown bag lunch to anyone who had head cheese sandwiches. I was around 15 years old (I think). I haven't had any REAL head cheese since those days. Stay away, far far away, from the junk they sell in supermarkets as head cheese. It isn't!

Don't worry. I'm not eating it.

[Suzanne F]

Blatz beer!!! Haven't thought about that crap, er, stuff in ages!

Drunk by the case upon case.

(signed) Suzanne F, Beloit College (Wisconsin), class of 1970.

In spite of that, I like beer.

[Geebs]

I never knew that asparagus could taste good until I moved out of my parents house. My mom was a great cook, but her asparagus was always cooked to the point of utter mush. I just recently discovered the joys of steamed asparagus and could (and have) eaten pound after pound at one sitting.