Old Food, New Tastes

At our Christmas party with the Murray family we always have a great time and delicious food.  This year was no exception with one exception.  Irene is notorious for serving somewhat outrageous recipes.  For example, when she makes macaroni and cheese she sprinkles dehydrated onions on the top.  Now some might find it delicious, but Kyle did not.  Hence the reason when Kyle and I first got married he refused to let me use dehydrated onions.

This night was no exception for Irene's experimental recipes.  Irene made a coleslaw, but felt like it didn't have enough sauce.  She proceeded to dump a half a bottle of ranch and pineapple juice into the coleslaw.  Now I didn't dare taste this crazy concoction because coleslaw is not one of my favorite foods, but Aunt Lorna did.  Lorna nearly gagged!

Lorna and I then proceeded to have a conversation about how our tastes change over time.  We talked about how families have different recipes and different ways of cooking similar dishes.  There are also foods you don't ever try because of how you are raised.  Lorna then proceeded to tell me some of the things she has learned to like being in the Murray family.  I got to thinking about the different things I have learned to like being in the Maybury family and found the list quite long.  I decided to make a list just for fun.  So here we go!

I met Kyle almost 15 years ago and here are some foods I have learned to like because of his tastes.

• cornbread (I used to hate cornbread.  I thought is was so gross.)
• croutons (I just didn't like these either.)
• asparagus (My mom never cooked asparagus growing up.)
• steak  (I found out that steak is better when it is cooked to medium.  I don't like my steak well done.)
• roast beef (I used to hate roasts.  I thought the were so dry and gross.)
• garlic bread (I didn't like the taste of garlic on anything.  I have learned to like garlic and use real cloves on occasion.)
• potatoes and gravy (I hated potatoes and gravy until I was pregnant with Grant.  Then for some reason I craved potatoes and gravy.  I even had it for my birthday dinner.)
• Dutch oven food (I never like dutch oven food until Grant cooked it.  Then I found out Dutch oven food was delicious.)
• refried beans  (I didn't like refried beans at all until I craved them when I was pregnant with Grant.  I have no idea where this craving came from, but I craved them just the same.)
• coconut  (Irene puts coconut in EVERYTHING from Jell-O to brownies. It has taken a very long time, but I have finally learned to like coconut.  Ross makes macaroon cookies every year for Christmas.  Kyle has eaten them every year, but the last year or two I have eaten them all.  Kyle and I ate an entire coconut pie this year for our Christmas dinner.)  That brings me to my next item...
• pie (I used to hate all kinds of pie.  I now like pumpkin pie, lemon pie, coconut pie, and a quite a few others.)
• rhubarb  (I have acquired a taste for rhubarb and also like rhubarb pie.)
• nuts (Irene also cooks with nuts a lot.  I used to pick the nuts out, but now I love nuts in my brownies.  I will eat almonds, cashews, and walnuts willingly.  I still don't like nuts in cookies or bread)
• honey dew (No one in my family really like honey dew and so I had never really tried it until I married Kyle.)
• cantaloupe  (I still don't love cantaloupe, but if we get a really good fresh one I will eat a little bit.)
• peppers (I used to never cook or eat peppers.  I now really like cooked peppers.  I even grew some in my garden this summer.) 
• onions (I have always liked the flavor of onions, but didn't like to cook with them.  I thought they stunk to high heaven.  I now keep sweet onions in my fridge on a regular basis.)
• Dr. Pepper (If anyone knows Kyle it will not surprise you that he has influenced me to like Dr. Pepper.)

Wow!  Quite a list huh?  Now you may ask if there are any foods that Kyle didn't like and now he does.  Well, no not really.  He still hates eggs and hates dehydrated onions.