Picky cooks

The Bubbo said:

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be there
or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly normal
ingredient?

All the time!
Especially where my husband/kids are/were concerned.
Husband LOVES brussell sprouts... detest the things.... but cook them
nevertheless. Mind you, they aren't ever cooked to mush the way my Mum
used to/still cooks them! Moderately more palatable al denté and with
a touch of freshly chopped chilli.
Once the kids reached about 7, they refused to eat certain vegetables.
Being a rather conniving mother, I set myself the task of disguising
'revolting vegetables" in certain dishes - grated carrot, grated
zucchini, works well in stews, casseroles & even bolognaise! And they
never suspected! Thought the 'green bits' of the zucchini were herbs,
which they were more than happy to eat.... hehehehe
Husband and children however destest and retch over mushrooms... which
I adore.
Aparently it's the 'texture' they can't handle, so after 29 years with
my husband, and 21 years with the sprogs, got thoroughly fed up with
never including mushrooms in some dishes and cheated. I have found that
if I blitz them in my fantastic braun mini-blender, to a crumbled
consistency, and add them at the frying/sautéing stage - we all get
the benefit of the flavour (which they reluctantly have admitted they
DO like and now prefer - especially in bolognaises, stews/casseroles &
stroganoffs) without the slimey/mooshy (no pun intended) texture.... in
fact, I've even done the same thing for a terrific 'balsamic' jus for
great griddle seared steaks - and the three of them actually RAVED
about the sauce!
Go figure! (I am one devious wench!)
As long as it doesn't LOOK like mushroom sauce, or appear to have BITS/
SLICES of mushrooms in the dish, they like it............no, actually,
they LOVE it.... hmmmmmmmmmmmm. weird. very, very weird.
A mind over matter moment, methinks.

Just very very glad NO ONE in my immediate family or friends enjoys
tripe........ no way.
No how. Not ever.

LadyJane
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"

On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 03:07:49 GMT, The Bubbo <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be there
or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly normal
ingredient?

No. Actually, there are very few things I dislike, and they are very
specific ingredients, not stuff that gets included in many recipes:
endives (a dislike shared by my SO and my kids), capers, grapefruits,
amaretto (SO also hates it). I sure don't see why I should be such a
masochist as to include them in the meals I cook.

Nathalie in Switzerland

Oh pshaw, on Wed 14 Jun 2006 08:07:49p, The Bubbo meant to say...

Quoted message said:

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be
there or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly
normal ingredient?

Actually, I think I like most of the things that most other people like, at
least the people I know. I like virtually every type of fruit and
vegetable with the possible exception of Swiss chard...it taste like fish
to me!

I like most meats, but while I really like lamb I don't care for mutton. I
like liver and sweetbreads, but I don't care for kidney, tripe or
chitterlings.

My preference for fish is somewhat limited, but I don't cook fish at home
anyway, prefering to order it out. The only shellfish I don't care for is
raw oysters.

The few things I don't care for are not a hardship, as most of the people I
know don't care for them either.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

The Bubbo said:

When I was making my curried potato salad this weekend and I was chopping the
green onions I had a moment of "what the hell!"

I hate onions, I always have. As a kid I remember the fierce battles to get me
to eat them (and mushrooms and olives). I've come to a semi-truce on
onions...must be green onions, cooked, small quantities. Anyway, I cook with
onions all the time even though I don't like them. I put them in things
because they belong or because I know I'm serving it to people who like
onions. The one thing I can't do is use mushrooms. I just can't. Mushrooms are
one of the vilest edible substances in this arm of the galaxy.

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be there
or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly normal
ingredient?

Nope. The only 2 things I don't like are lima beans and okra - and I
don't ever need to cook with them.

We don't eat certain foods for differing reasons, though.

BTW....not liking mushrooms and olives is just....evil! I could eat
olives 24/7.

-L.

"The Bubbo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When I was making my curried potato salad this weekend and I was chopping the
green onions I had a moment of "what the hell!"

I hate onions, I always have. As a kid I remember the fierce battles to get me
to eat them (and mushrooms and olives). I've come to a semi-truce on
onions...must be green onions, cooked, small quantities. Anyway, I cook with
onions all the time even though I don't like them. I put them in things
because they belong or because I know I'm serving it to people who like
onions. The one thing I can't do is use mushrooms. I just can't. Mushrooms are
one of the vilest edible substances in this arm of the galaxy.

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be there
or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly normal
ingredient?

--
.:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com
Step off, beyotches, I'm the roflpimp!

I don't like the texture of onions, but I love the flavor, so I use them alot...as
well as green onions and shallots and leeks. I will not use mushrooms, and you'll
never find them being served in my house unless they're in a dish someone else
brought, and most anyone who would bring a dish to my home would know better 😉
I don't use green peppers either. I hate the texture, and I don't like the way they
overpower the flavor of anything they're in. It all tastes like, well, green peppers.
Now the exception to that rule is Mock Chow Mein (which has absolutely nothing to do
with chow mein, by the way! lol), which I will add green and red pepper too because
it wouldn't taste like mom's otherwise.
There are other things, like olives (which I do like green olives, just not in
anything where they're hot...eww), that I use because I know some of my family
members love them...but I avoid them myself and will pick them out of my own serving
if I can't find a way to keep them out of my serving to begin with. There's also
other things I prepare but don't eat...shrimp for example. Texture thing, that. The
only time I find them edible is in a sushi restaurant. I don't know how they get that
snap out of them, but I'm glad they do.

kimberly...who does recognize that she's rambling but is too tired to care.

On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 23:57:15 -0700, in rec.food.cooking, "Nexis"
<[email hidden]> hit the crackpipe and declared:

Quoted message said:

"The Bubbo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When I was making my curried potato salad this weekend and I was chopping the
green onions I had a moment of "what the hell!"

I hate onions, I always have. As a kid I remember the fierce battles to get me
to eat them (and mushrooms and olives). I've come to a semi-truce on
onions...must be green onions, cooked, small quantities. Anyway, I cook with
onions all the time even though I don't like them. I put them in things
because they belong or because I know I'm serving it to people who like
onions. The one thing I can't do is use mushrooms. I just can't. Mushrooms are
one of the vilest edible substances in this arm of the galaxy.

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be there
or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly normal
ingredient?

--
.:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com
Step off, beyotches, I'm the roflpimp!

I don't like the texture of onions, but I love the flavor, so I use them alot...as
well as green onions and shallots and leeks. I will not use mushrooms, and you'll
never find them being served in my house unless they're in a dish someone else
brought, and most anyone who would bring a dish to my home would know better 😉
I don't use green peppers either. I hate the texture, and I don't like the way they
overpower the flavor of anything they're in. It all tastes like, well, green peppers.
Now the exception to that rule is Mock Chow Mein (which has absolutely nothing to do
with chow mein, by the way! lol), which I will add green and red pepper too because
it wouldn't taste like mom's otherwise.
There are other things, like olives (which I do like green olives, just not in
anything where they're hot...eww), that I use because I know some of my family
members love them...but I avoid them myself and will pick them out of my own serving
if I can't find a way to keep them out of my serving to begin with. There's also
other things I prepare but don't eat...shrimp for example. Texture thing, that. The
only time I find them edible is in a sushi restaurant. I don't know how they get that
snap out of them, but I'm glad they do.

What is it about the texture of onions and green peppers that you find
objectionable? The fresh taste? The snappiness?

You seem to have a problem with fresh ingredients that have some tooth
to them. Maybe you should check with your dentist and find out if
your teeth are rotting?

There's absolutely no reason to find the above ingredients inedible
because you can't handle their texture in your mouth.

Flame on!

"projectile vomit chick" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 23:57:15 -0700, in rec.food.cooking, "Nexis"
<[email hidden]> hit the crackpipe and declared:

Quoted message said:

"The Bubbo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

When I was making my curried potato salad this weekend and I was chopping the
green onions I had a moment of "what the hell!"

I hate onions, I always have. As a kid I remember the fierce battles to get me
to eat them (and mushrooms and olives). I've come to a semi-truce on
onions...must be green onions, cooked, small quantities. Anyway, I cook with
onions all the time even though I don't like them. I put them in things
because they belong or because I know I'm serving it to people who like
onions. The one thing I can't do is use mushrooms. I just can't. Mushrooms are
one of the vilest edible substances in this arm of the galaxy.

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be there
or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly normal
ingredient?

--
.:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com
Step off, beyotches, I'm the roflpimp!

I don't like the texture of onions, but I love the flavor, so I use them alot...as
well as green onions and shallots and leeks. I will not use mushrooms, and you'll
never find them being served in my house unless they're in a dish someone else
brought, and most anyone who would bring a dish to my home would know better 😉
I don't use green peppers either. I hate the texture, and I don't like the way they
overpower the flavor of anything they're in. It all tastes like, well, green
peppers.
Now the exception to that rule is Mock Chow Mein (which has absolutely nothing to
do
with chow mein, by the way! lol), which I will add green and red pepper too because
it wouldn't taste like mom's otherwise.
There are other things, like olives (which I do like green olives, just not in
anything where they're hot...eww), that I use because I know some of my family
members love them...but I avoid them myself and will pick them out of my own
serving
if I can't find a way to keep them out of my serving to begin with. There's also
other things I prepare but don't eat...shrimp for example. Texture thing, that. The
only time I find them edible is in a sushi restaurant. I don't know how they get
that
snap out of them, but I'm glad they do.

What is it about the texture of onions and green peppers that you find
objectionable? The fresh taste? The snappiness?

You seem to have a problem with fresh ingredients that have some tooth
to them. Maybe you should check with your dentist and find out if
your teeth are rotting?

There's absolutely no reason to find the above ingredients inedible
because you can't handle their texture in your mouth.

Flame on!

Cooked onions, cooked peppers. I don't like the texture of them. I never said
anything about fresh (raw), and was talking about cooking them in foods.

Quoted message said:

Nexis said:

I don't like the texture of onions, but I love the flavor, so I use them alot...as
well as green onions and shallots and leeks. I will not use mushrooms, and you'll
never find them being served in my house unless they're in a dish someone else
brought, and most anyone who would bring a dish to my home would know better 😉
I don't use green peppers either. I hate the texture, and I don't like the way they
overpower the flavor of anything they're in. It all tastes like, well, green peppers.

You'd starve at my house.

-L.

Wayne Boatwright said:

Actually, I think I like most of the things that most other people like, at
least the people I know. I like virtually every type of fruit and
vegetable with the possible exception of Swiss chard...it taste like fish
to me!

I am wondering if you are getting Swiss Chard that has had fish-based
fertilizer applied to it. We eat it all the time and I am *very*
sensitive to fish-like flavors, and I have never noticed it.

-L.

I don't like garlic, yet in some recipes it's needed...

so...

sometimes I just pretend that it disappears whenever I put the food in
my mouth...

;D

tricky, isn't it?

-la agua fresca-
http://aguafresca.healthifica.com

The Bubbo <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

The one thing I can't do is use mushrooms. I just can't. Mushrooms are
one of the vilest edible substances in this arm of the galaxy.

Say that AFTER you've tried the magic variety and I'll eat my weight in
[censored]!

Andy

Oh pshaw, on Thu 15 Jun 2006 01:55:30a, -L. meant to say...

Quoted message said:

Wayne Boatwright said:

Actually, I think I like most of the things that most other people
like, at least the people I know. I like virtually every type of fruit
and vegetable with the possible exception of Swiss chard...it taste
like fish to me!

I am wondering if you are getting Swiss Chard that has had fish-based
fertilizer applied to it. We eat it all the time and I am *very*
sensitive to fish-like flavors, and I have never noticed it.

-L.

Of course that could be the case, but it's happened on more than one
ocasion, and I don't believe the chard came from the same source.
Still...

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

Re mushrooms, Lady J scribed: they DO like and now prefer - especially in
bolognaises, stews/casseroles &
stroganoffs) without the slimey/mooshy (no pun intended) texture

How about gradually increasing the concentration of the mushroom flavour?
What about adding some pureed (soaked) dried porcini to the dishes you
mentioned - then increasing the dose. They'll eventually beg you for that
mushroom hit, then you can introduce the texture of the whole mushroom
product. Start with grilled or roasted mushrooms - intense flavour and a
drier texture. Then a gradual programme of exposure to mushrooms in other
guises. Soon the'll be hooked and they'll think the whole thing was their
idea.
Richard.

"LadyJane" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

The Bubbo said:

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be
there
or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly normal
ingredient?

All the time!
Especially where my husband/kids are/were concerned.
Husband LOVES brussell sprouts... detest the things.... but cook them
nevertheless. Mind you, they aren't ever cooked to mush the way my Mum
used to/still cooks them! Moderately more palatable al denté and with
a touch of freshly chopped chilli.
Once the kids reached about 7, they refused to eat certain vegetables.
Being a rather conniving mother, I set myself the task of disguising
'revolting vegetables" in certain dishes - grated carrot, grated
zucchini, works well in stews, casseroles & even bolognaise! And they
never suspected! Thought the 'green bits' of the zucchini were herbs,
which they were more than happy to eat.... hehehehe
Husband and children however destest and retch over mushrooms... which
I adore.
Aparently it's the 'texture' they can't handle, so after 29 years with
my husband, and 21 years with the sprogs, got thoroughly fed up with
never including mushrooms in some dishes and cheated. I have found that
if I blitz them in my fantastic braun mini-blender, to a crumbled
consistency, and add them at the frying/sautéing stage - we all get
the benefit of the flavour (which they reluctantly have admitted they
DO like and now prefer - especially in bolognaises, stews/casseroles &
stroganoffs) without the slimey/mooshy (no pun intended) texture.... in
fact, I've even done the same thing for a terrific 'balsamic' jus for
great griddle seared steaks - and the three of them actually RAVED
about the sauce!
Go figure! (I am one devious wench!)
As long as it doesn't LOOK like mushroom sauce, or appear to have BITS/
SLICES of mushrooms in the dish, they like it............no, actually,
they LOVE it.... hmmmmmmmmmmmm. weird. very, very weird.
A mind over matter moment, methinks.

Just very very glad NO ONE in my immediate family or friends enjoys
tripe........ no way.
No how. Not ever.

LadyJane
--
"Never trust a skinny cook!"

projectile vomit chick said:

"Nexis" declared:

Quoted message said:

"The Bubbo" wrote

Quoted message said:

I hate onions, I always have. As a kid I remember the fierce battles to get me
to eat them (and mushrooms and olives). I've come to a semi-truce on
onions...must be green onions, cooked, small quantities. Anyway, I cook with
onions all the time even though I don't like them. I put them in things
because they belong or because I know I'm serving it to people who like
onions. The one thing I can't do is use mushrooms. I just can't. Mushrooms are
one of the vilest edible substances in this arm of the galaxy.

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be there
or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly normal
ingredient?

I don't like the texture of onions, but I love the flavor, so I use them alot...as
well as green onions and shallots and leeks. I will not use mushrooms, and you'll
never find them being served in my house unless they're in a dish someone else
brought, and most anyone who would bring a dish to my home would know better 😉
I don't use green peppers either. I hate the texture, and I don't like the way they
overpower the flavor of anything they're in. It all tastes like, well, green peppers.
Now the exception to that rule is Mock Chow Mein (which has absolutely nothing to do
with chow mein, by the way! lol), which I will add green and red pepper too because
it wouldn't taste like mom's otherwise.
There are other things, like olives (which I do like green olives, just not in
anything where they're hot...eww), that I use because I know some of my family
members love them...but I avoid them myself and will pick them out of my own serving
if I can't find a way to keep them out of my serving to begin with. There's also
other things I prepare but don't eat...shrimp for example. Texture thing, that. The
only time I find them edible is in a sushi restaurant. I don't know how they get that
snap out of them, but I'm glad they do.

What is it about the texture of onions and green peppers that you find
objectionable? The fresh taste? The snappiness?

You seem to have a problem with fresh ingredients that have some tooth
to them. Maybe you should check with your dentist and find out if
your teeth are rotting?

There's absolutely no reason to find the above ingredients inedible
because you can't handle their texture in your mouth.

Flame on!

Those with picayune food aversions typically abhor oral sex too and are
generally lousy lays.

Sheldon

Richard Green said:

Re mushrooms, Lady J scribed: they DO like and now prefer -
especially in bolognaises, stews/casseroles &
stroganoffs) without the slimey/mooshy (no pun intended) texture

How about gradually increasing the concentration of the mushroom
flavour? What about adding some pureed (soaked) dried porcini to the
dishes you mentioned - then increasing the dose. They'll eventually
beg you for that mushroom hit, then you can introduce the texture of
the whole mushroom product. Start with grilled or roasted mushrooms -
intense flavour and a drier texture. Then a gradual programme of
exposure to mushrooms in other guises. Soon the'll be hooked and
they'll think the whole thing was their idea.
Richard.

I think the problem with mushrooms for many is the nasty rubbery texture
they have when just dumped into a dish. I always cook them the way Julia
Child does in Mastering the Art of French Cooking before adding them to
anything: saute in a little oil and butter, let the juices exude then
evaporate, and then cook until browned to the desired degree.

I was one of those people who disliked mushrooms for the texture but liked
them for the taste until I discovered that they could be cooked nicely.

And few things are more revolting than canned mushrooms...

The Bubbo said:

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should
be there or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a
seemingly normal ingredient?

I'm the cook, so I don't cook with things I don't like. I hate olives
(except in tapenade), lima beans, and liver (Except in pate. I love pate.).
My tolerance for mussels is very low these days. Olives in particular just
permeate and destroy almost anything they are added to. [shudder] I'm
assuming that disgusting things like canned peas and canned asparagus don't
count as "normal" ingredients?

Janet Puistonen <[email hidden]> wrote:
: I'm the cook, so I don't cook with things I don't like. I hate olives
: (except in tapenade), lima beans, and liver (Except in pate. I love pate.)
: My tolerance for mussels is very low these days. Olives in particular just
: permeate and destroy almost anything they are added to. [shudder] I'm
: assuming that disgusting things like canned peas and canned asparagus don't
: count as "normal" ingredients?

So far our tastes in food are such exact diametric opposites that
I will boldly predict that you cook soups and stews with celery.

I love olives; I like lima beans and liver [except in pate. Pate
gives me the creeps]

Cooked celery ruins anything it's in for me. I will eat raw
celery, especially with cream cheese.

--thelma

Heather said:

Do you cook with something you don't like because you know it should be
there or because people like it? Do you avoid at all costs a seemingly
normal ingredient?

I don't like caraway, so I don't include it in anything I'm cooking. If I'm
cooking for other people, I *still* don't include it. Even in Reuben
sandwiches.

Bob

Thelma Lubkin said:

Janet Puistonen said:

I'm the cook, so I don't cook with things I don't like. I hate olives
(except in tapenade), lima beans, and liver (Except in pate. I love
pate.) My tolerance for mussels is very low these days. Olives in
particular just permeate and destroy almost anything they are added
to. [shudder] I'm assuming that disgusting things like canned peas
and canned asparagus don't count as "normal" ingredients?

So far our tastes in food are such exact diametric opposites that
I will boldly predict that you cook soups and stews with celery.

No, Thelma, I don't. I hope this partially restores your faith in me! <G>