I have never liked mushrooms. Even now that I have grown out of my bland teenage tastes, I still don't like mushrooms. While I can usually handle eating a few, too many of those slimy, squishy objects do not make my mouth happy. However, a few weeks ago, I ate a fresh salad with mushrooms in it. They were fresh, white, and thinly sliced mushrooms, and guess what? I liked them! I'm not going to go nearly as far as saying they're my favorite food or start adding them to salad on my own, but this in itself is a victory for me. I ate a mushroom and liked it! Since then, I've eaten a pasta with fresh mushrooms, and a chicken carbonara sandwich from Quiznos with mushrooms. Each time, the mushrooms did not bother me (and maybe I even half enjoyed them). I've figured out the reason I've never liked them: the texture. All of the mushrooms I've eaten in the past have been slimy and squishy---a terrible texture. These fresh mushrooms have a much better texture. I think I prefer thinly sliced.
Also, I bought green and yellow peppers for the first time ever a couple of days ago. I've never liked those either, but I think I'm getting used to them. I had some fajitas last week, and I quite enjoyed them. I've discovered that after you cook the peppers, they actually have quite a nice flavor. Verdict: mushrooms should always be fresh, peppers should always be cooked. Tomorrow, I'm planning to make up my own recipe: pasta with ground turkey in a white grape juice garlic sauce with peppers, artichokes, and sun-dried tomatoes. Wish me luck that the combination isn't terrible.
2 comments:
What and adventurous cook you have become! Let us know how it tastes.
That's very progressive of you, I'm impressed! I also grew up "not liking" most vegetables like that, including mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, but in the last few years I've come to enjoy most of them - Nature provides an abundance of flavor and enjoyment, does it not! And it's healthy stuff, so you can't lose. Mode of preparation certainly matters - I also like cooked bell peppers, but I've found that they can be great raw when mixed with other things on a salad, sandwich, or even say a taco. Like chemistry, it's all about the combinations.
I mostly agree with your take on mushrooms. They're pretty good but sometimes they get too slimy. I read though that when raw they have a few potential carcinogens, so I wouldn't recommend any megadoses. ;)
More info here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushrooms#Edible_mushrooms
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