If you can't take the heat....

Get out of the kitchen!

As I prepared my early dinner today, I couldn't help but to think...how would I have done this sans stove?

My dish would be rearranged. Instead of enjoying a hot meal, I might have decided to have fresh fruit and berries, or a nice salad abundant with veggies, maybe a decadent smoothie.

Generations before us used stones to make sparks that started fires and clay to ground wheat for bread. The process for meal preparation was a long one, and the importance of maximizing use of everything was key.

Vegetables were cultivated and cared for. Animals were treated humanely and slaughtered with dignity. We took of what the land offered us and we cared for our earth as a partner in living.

But wait, some people still live like this. Bless them. It's us who don't and who wouldn't know how to plant broccoli, much less slaughter an animal as to make their exit from life quick and painless. So what do we do? We buy groceries!!! (That's what I do...)

We all take these things for granted at times and especially when the microwave comes into play. Impressed, we enjoy a piping hot meal that went from frozen to consumable in just under 3 minutes! Amazing.

Paz.

I shouldn't have fried my dinner...

I should have photographed my dinner from last night, but it disappeared so quickly...ah well. However yummy it was, I'm sure it was filled with preservatives and some not so good goodness. Yummy?! Yes.

What did you eat lady?! Ok. So. I had 3 ground beef samosas (the fried part of dinner) a small bowl of brussels sprouts (my attempt at making my meal healthy) a large glass of agua (those samosas were SPICY!) and a fruit roll up for dessert! Mmmmmm-spicy-mm-spicy-spicy-mmm...

When I think about a young child's taste buds, I am met with thoughts of macaroni and cheese, McDonalds chicken nuggets with fries and a toy, many times a hot dog cut into strange rolo form becoming cold before consumed, and of course candy Candy CANDY!

But maybe that is from the children I knew then and the few I know now.

As we grow older, us children from picky-eater-ville begin to see walls crumble around us leaving our taste buds free to grow and roam about the earth vicariously through food. Score!

Encountering many unpleasant things on the way...a fish that's too fishy, a something that's too slimy, or an anything that tastes like that whatchamacallit that I had a long time ago.

It helps though, growing older, when we are met with folks who encourage us to try new things - be them colleagues, friends, family and sometimes strangers. However, there are still things are on the 'no deal' list for many, so don't even go there.

When did you first begin to broaden your taste horizons? What was that first 'out of palate' experience like?

Paz.