[Sca-cooks] what's wierd-ish, what isn't

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Kai wrote:
>  Very German, especially Saurkraut.  Although I
>  have noticed that the average American likes
>  the milder red cabbage version more than the
>  stronger green cabbage version.

I served pickled red cabbage for aesthetic reasons at my German 
feast. It added color to the meal. Well, ok, so did the rice cooked 
with wine and cherries.

But so much food comes out beige or brown, with the occasional relief 
of saffron or cooked greens, but still mostly in the brown family, 
that i like to plan a little visual interest into my feasts, without 
being glaringly OOP.

I grew up in the midwest with lots of steaks, roast beef, chicken, 
and potatoes, spiked with Worchestershire or A1 Sauce... so i've had 
lots of brown and beige food in my life.

But i'm not going to comment on Jadwiga's list because i like weird 
food and won't be any help at all.

I LOVE bright green vegetables! Spinach (and other spinach-like 
greens), and mixed salad greens (get thee behind me, iceberg), and 
broccoli are among my favorites.

As a child among my favorite foods were spinach, Brussels sprouts, 
and Lima beans. You see, if you play with your food, Brussels sprouts 
offer lots of time to explore, eating one or two leaves at a time and 
then navigating the wrinkles in the center with your tongue. And with 
Lima beans, first you slip the skin off with your teeth, then you 
tenderly split the bean, eating one half at a time... Not a long an 
exploration as the Brussels sprouts, but taking each bean apart into 
three pieces - and sometimes four if they have a little sprouting 
tail...

I never understood why people hated Brussels sprouts and Lima beans. 
They were lots of fun to play with before eating.

Anahita