[Sca-cooks] Perioid versus period

[Phlip]

Ene bichizh ogsen baina shuu...

> I have never understood the lemming-like quality of
> today's foodies. Cilantro is a perfectly good herb,
> but like dill and tarragon a little can go a long way.
> UNFORTUNATELY, too many people think that if a little
> is good, a LOT is better. With me, too much cilantro
> makes a dish taste like diesel fuel.

Or soap ;-)

AND the
> difference btween a little and a lot depends on the
> dish.
> YIS
> Lothar

Hear, hear ;-)

There is, according to my mother, a very good reason for my dislike of bell
peppers, or at least, this is her theory.

Long ago and in a galaxy far away (1955, and Florida) when she was doing her
time to get her first divorce, there was another lady her age in the
apartments, waiting for the same reason (the attorney had quite a thing
going- hire him for the divirce, he'd rent you an apartment so you could
meet Florida residency requirements, get you your divorce, and you'd go your
merry way). The lady invited my mother and I over for dinner one night, and
served us soaghetti, but she said the spaghetti was so loaded with green
peppers that she shudders to this very day, and she likes them. She thinks
that it was that exposure that put them on my dislike list, and I suspect
she's right, because by nature, I'm NOT a picky eater, as long as you're
talking reasonably good quality food, reasonably well prepared.

I tend to think she's right, because any recent food dislikes I've had have
all stemmed from over-exposure to a particular food stuff- only recently
(last 10 years) for example, have I been able to eat and enjoy French Onion
Soup and salmon in any form, saimply because I ate way too much of both when
I lived in Oregon and California as a kid.

More recently, Rob, for whatever reason, served broccoli for a week
straight, and it was the vegetable du jour for something like 15 out of 20
days straight, invariably steamed with a pat of butter. It went from being
one of my favorite vegetables to something I wouldn'tr eat for 6 months, and
finally I can eat it again, although only about once a week, and without
nearly the enjoyment it used to give me.

I can eat my two prime dislikes, bell peppers, and licorice flavors if I
have to, and even keep a straight face, but I avoid them if at all possible-
they just ruin a dish for me. I think it might well be because that they're
strong flavors, and when people add them into whatever they're doing, they
add way too much- it knocks the balance off the dish.

Now, don't get me wrong- there are strong flavors I thoroughly enjoy, garlic
and hot peppers among them. In the case of garlic, I've been known to serve
it as a vegetable, but being aware of my experiences in this regard, I'm
also aware that other people don't like them as much as I do, so when I
serve other people, I tone things down considerably.

Just think, some of you bell pepper lovers, who don't particularly like hot
peppers, how you'd feel if, in your favorite "oh, add a little more bell
pepper, it's good stuff" dish, hot peppers were substituted instead- in the
quantities in which you will allow extra bell peppers. Might YOU find
yourself dealing with an overpoweringly unpleasant flavor?

So, my suggestion, folks, is that while most of us don't necessarily like
totally bland foods, try to keep a balance. That's not catering to the food
wusses, it's part of being a good cook.

Saint Phlip,
CoD

"When in doubt, heat it up and hit it with a hammer."
 Blacksmith's credo.

 If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is probably not a
cat.

Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....



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