Things I’m Surprised I Like Now

As a kid, I was VERY picky about food. There were certain things I would NOT eat, no matter what. No dessert? Fine! Not gonna eat them peas!!! And I pretty much got away with it. There were other things served with the meal that I would eat. I will eat peas now, and beans. But I will STILL not eat sauerkraut or coleslaw. And don’t even mention liver!!!

Over time, my tastes have changed. Things I wouldn’t put near my mouth before, I gladly consume. Here are some of them.

Tuna

I’ve never liked the smell of fish, nor any that tasted fishy. Still don’t. For church potlucks, my mom would always make tuna casserole. Very simple. Cooked noodles, tuna from a can, butter and parmesan sprinkled over it all. Wouldn’t touch it. One time, coming home from church, I was sitting in the back seat with the leftover pan of casserole in my lap. For some reason I took a bit with my fingers and ate it. It was good! I ate a bit more. It didn’t taste fishy at all! Probably because my mom got the solid white tuna packed in water, not oil. After that, I loved tuna casserole and even the occasional tuna sandwich. But it has to be the kind packed in water and it had to be solid white tune.

Catsup or mustard

Never had them in any way, shape or form. Didn’t like tomatoes at all, either. Don’t remember the first time I had catsup on French fries, but once I did, I never looked back. And of course it MUST be spread on top of a meatloaf…

Don’t remember the first time I had mustard, either. Somewhere along the line I found that it was good on hotdogs, corndogs, ham sandwiches etc. But it has to be spread VERY thinly. Just a hint.

Chow Mein

Chung King was the brand of chow mein that was served when I was growing up. Nope. Nope. Nope. My mom would add hamburger to it. Still wouldn’t eat it. Don’t know when I started, but I really came to love it. Now it’s La Choy brand that I eat. I add either hamburger or a can of chicken, a can or two of mushrooms and rice. Sometimes I might add a can of water chestnuts. Makes it very hearty and will last at least 3 meals for me, as Marv won’t come near it.

“Real” fish

As stated before, I hate fishy tasting fish. I’d eat fish sticks, but even then, some would taste fishy. Yuk. Sometimes we’d have real fish and it wouldn’t taste bad, but I hated having to worry about choking on the bones. I was absolutely phobic about it. I’d take my piece of fish and smash it on my plate to make sure there weren’t any bones. I’m still not fond of it. The best fish I ever had was H. Salt Fish & Chips. There was one here in Oroville, and I truly mourned when it went out of business.