Poll: Are there foods that intimidate you?

I don’t mean intimidate in terms of “this may make me sick if I eat it." (Although a worthy subject in and of itself, for my purposes I need to narrow the definitions).

I’m talking about foods you walk up to in the grocery store, think maybe you should try them but either:

 

a)      You have no idea how to cook it

b)      You have no idea how to even cut it or open it

c)      You have no reference whatsoever for how it tastes

d)     You are missing some other piece of vital information that would make you comfortable taking said food item home and preparing it

For once I’ll tell you my exact purpose here. I’m going to start a series in late-spring on Bariatric Foodie called “What the hell do I do with…?" that will feature foods many folks are afraid to try for one of the above reasons.

I know early on I was gun shy about trying to cook: artichokes, pineapples (I kid you not…only in the last two years have I known how to cut a fresh pineapple), avocado (wasn’t sure I’d like the taste or what to do with it) and of course TVP (and there’s already a primer on that on BF).

 

So…are there any foods that intimidate you? If so, list them! They could show up on this new series!

I am pretty good about researching what I see and want to try and yet still find myself intimidated about somethings.  Quinoa was one.  Took me forever to decide to actually try that and find out how easy and versatile it was.  Now I like it for dinner but love it for breakfast. 

TVP I still have issues with.  Even with your ideas on your blog like TVP tuna salad and mixing it in with ground beef.  It's a bit of an intimidating product.   

Most seafood.  What can I say, I'm from East Texas. Catfish is the closest thing to seafood there.  

Leeks.  And that's all I have to say about those. 

I have others, just give me time. 

Oh and most often for me it's the reference for how something may taste that slows me down the most.  But when a food budget is tight I am sure that is an issue with a lot of folks. 

For me, nothing is as intimidating as Quinoa.  I have had it in my pantry for months with no idea what to do with it. 

Oh Jim...you are missing OUT!

The way I usually make it as a side is this:

1 c. quinoa
3 c. broth of some sort (I use my own homemade turkey broth I canned)
small onion, diced
a bit of garlic, salt and pepper

You just sautee up the onion (I do so in a pan sprayed with nonstick), add garlic salt and pepper. Then once softened, add quinoa and broth and allow to coo****il the little ring pops out of the quinoa.

Even my kids love this.

I have a gamillion more recipes for quinoa. I put it in LOTS of things. The most easy way to use it, frankly, is to put it in soup. It absorbs the flavor of the liquid and is yummy. I've also done the above with roasted and chopped veggies mixed in.

This sounds DELICIOUS! I can't wait to try it Nikī, you always give the best food-gasms. 

I found a recipe that is like a pilaf but instead of the rice used quinoa. That was my jumping off point.  Like Nik says with the broth. 

For breakfast I use milk instead of broth or water and then add dried cranberries, some chopped walnut and sugar free maple syrup.  Quite tasty. 

My biggest thing was whether or not to wa****  Apparently there was a time when it was hard to get Quinoa that didn't need to be washed first.  Now there is a lot out there that doesn't need to be washed.  My bag didn't tell me which it was.  So I thought must need to be washed.  I went back to the website where I had ordered it and found out it was pre-washed. 

You may have just explained why my efforts to cook quinoa magically succeeded in the last few years where they've failed so many times before...

Wait, you can eat this for breakfast? Like oatmeal?  That's great, THANK YOU!!! 

Escargot!
And any organ meat!

I think it is more of what it is than anything.

But if you find a yummy snail recipie I will eat 1

I was in Manhattan once and ordered escargots from a lovely french restaurant. They tasted really good--they tasted just like mushrooms, and were served in a wonderful garlic butter sauce. 

However, I couldn't eat more than two. My brain refused to shut up about WHAT I was eating, and I ended up gagging. As tasty as they were, I can't get over the ick factor.