Pasta Carbonara

11/15/09 - I know it is only pasta, white sauce, pepper and bacon, but I still had never had it before and I figure I should have a post about something I like by now, so it looks like I'm making some progress. Anything with bacon is good (even scallops) so this was an easy food to try, especially when the bacon is real, thick, and in plenty. Oh, there was also freshly grated real parmesan to top it with, so I had no hesitation to try this.

As much as I enjoyed the bacon, I also enjoyed the white sauce. The creamy, garlickiness was a delight. I have gone from fear, to trying it and finding it not bad, to be able to now say definitively, "White sauce: I like it!" Pasta Carbonara is good to eat!

Not only have I learned of another food I like, but, when it was served,  I also heard a story about how it got its name. The pasta part is pretty obvious, but why carbonara? Pasta carbonara is topped with freshly ground pepper, but in Italy, where it originates, it isn't just topped with pepper, but literally covered in pepper. So much so that it looks black, like charcoal, or carbon. I don't know how well I'd do with that much pepper, but I definitely like the North American version.

VERDICT: Make

photo borrowed from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1052/ultimate-spaghetti-carbonara

Hard Boiled Egg

11/08/09 - So, I'm a little picky when it comes to eggs. I prefer scrambled or fried and like the yolk to be thouroughly mixed with the whites. Going to extremes with eggs is frightening for me. Cut into it and the yolk starts leaking everywhere? No way, José! Boil it to the point of retaining its shape? No, thanks. I've always associated hard boiled eggs more with bouncy balls than with food.
However, I have now tried them. I had supper/a crepe party with the family we practice our French with and they were a topping. I figured they were inside of a crepe so why not? I was a little bit hesitant, but I had melted cheese on my crepe so that gave me extra confidence. Surprisingly hard boiled eggs taste just like eggs. Who knew?
Now, I probably won't start buying egg dishes and boilers anytime soon. The whole yolk still freaks me out and I really enjoy fried eggs, but I could have a hardboiled egg if I wanted to. So many more salads are available to me now and I'm one step closer to deviled eggs.
VERDICT: Polite, Owen List (I don't mind them and I just love eggs Owen-style too much!)

picture borrowed from http://monsterguide.net/files/2009/04/hard-boiled-egg-with-yellow-yolk-150x150.jpg

Fish Sticks

10/??/09 - I haven't had fish since I was a young kid. We mainly had breaded fish and once in a while some regular fish. As a kid it wasn't a good experience. I have avoided it passionately since. However, In honour of living on the east coast we bought some breaded fish (from the fresh fish section of Superstore) and cooked it up with some fries for some good ol' fish 'n' chips.
When I tried it I wasn't surprised by the taste, I was surprised that I remembered what the taste was like. It wasn't horrendous, but familiar. Not a taste I enjoy though. I would say I probably wouldn't want fish sticks again, but I'm willing to try fresh or fancy fish now, so that's growth right?
VERDICT: Polite

Prickly Pear

11/03/09 - My only knowledge of prickly pears comes from Balu's song in the Jungle Book and he only mentions them in passing. So when one of the teachers I work with brought some fruit in for me to try and told me one was a Cactus Pear I didn't think twice­. Only later did I make the connection.
Prickly pears grow on the Prickly Pear Cactus and outside of grocery stores have needles just like the cactus. There are none of those cacti growing around here, so the one I had was no longer prickly.
The outside is nothing special, but the inside is very pretty to look at. My pear had a bright pink/purple hue best described as magenta. I have no idea how to eat a fruit like this. I cut it open and took slices. In hindsight I would have halved it and spooned out the flesh. However, since a prickly pear tastes like eating a mixture of sugar, sand, water and rocks, I'll never get the chance. I plan on never entering a desert for the rest of my life just to avoid the possibility I may get lost and have to live on a prickly pear diet.
VERDICT: Gross

picture borrowed from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Prickly_pear_CDC.jpg

Shrimp

10/??/09 - I first tried shrimp shortly after I met Kristin, if I can recall correctly. I have always had a strong irrational fear of shrimp. The ridiculous amount of legs. The inedible tail that isn't taken off. The fact that it was seafood. All scary stuff. It was seriously like fear factor the first time. It was just a shrimpy shrimp from a shrimp ring, but I was scared. I tried it anyway and found out I had reason to be afraid. Shrimp are like pulverized, bad tasting rubberbands. In any concoction, in any configuration, in any incarnation I have not liked shrimp.
However, I lived most of my life in Manitoba, and there are no shrimp anywhere near here. Living in New Brunswick now, I figured I may as well try shrimp again, just to see if there is some reason people like it. Say, perhaps it is actually good when its fresh. My opportunity arrived when we went for sushi in Caraquet. I ordered a sweet shrimp nigiri roll.
VERDICT: Shrimp is still gross!

picture borrowed from http://www.jura-sushis.ch/Sushis/Nigiri

Pumpkin Pie

10/12/09 - I have always shied away from pumpkin pie. It's pumpkin! In my mind pumpkins are solely for decoration and I blanche at the thought of eating one. Mix this attitude with pie and it's no wonder that it took my wife's intervention for me to try a slice.
I just can't get over the mushiness. The last time I tried it, it was one of the desserts for Manitoba Thanksgiving in PEI. I haven't made a habit of eating it so I still get nervous. It's okay, I guess. I never remember the spice and am always pleasantly surprised by that. However, the pie mush will keep it on my Owen List: I don't mind pumpkin pies, they just don't agree with me.
VERDICT: Polite

pictured borrowed from http://img.foodnetwork.com/FOOD/2006/10/17/Pumpkin_Pie_lg.jpg