Lately I have found myself saying more frequently, no thank you, I don't like vegetables. Which generally incurs a "really?" to which I respond. Yes.
It's interesting telling somebody you don't like something because almost always your next five minutes of conversation goes into a scavenger hunt of other things you don't like. Such as when I refuse a salad, so you don't like lettuce? (but it doesn't have any flavor! "yes it does, and its nasty") What about Carrots? Peas? Do you like celery? How about spinach? Not even Brussels sprouts?
I also don't like nuts mixed into food. For example, I HATE nuts in ice cream. Its not because I don't like the flavor. I hate biting into a frozen nut, it hurts. Then you're forced to suck on it for a while to get it warm enough to chew. Which pretty much eliminates any delightful ice cream flavor you once had in your mouth. But if you give me a bag of mixed nuts on a hike I'll eat them.
I have another friend who doesn't like fruit. I'm amazed that when I'm around him how often I hear people ask things like, "not even bananas?" "what about blueberries?" "Orange Juice?" He is always very polite with this series of questions but you can see its not his favorite subject.
I'm very guilty of said questioning, but why do we do it? Do we all want to find out how much of a freak people are or aren't? Do we do it to find a common ground? Then what do you do. If you tell a fellow hater that you also can't stand cucumbers does that make you better friends? Lord knows that's not going to be a conversation point for the rest of the night.
I don't think I'll ever know but its something to think about.
The sad thing is I DO like vegetables. I just don't like fresh ones, with the exception of Broccoli and Cauliflower, I can't stand either of those in any fashion. In fact if you cook just about any veggie for me I'm sure I'll eat it or at least give it a try for your amusement. A few weeks ago Laura and I went an entire week on a vegetarian diet, and I lived! We had all sorts of delightful foods, I would recommend everyone giving it a try once.
So the next time someone announces they don't like a food, sit back and listen to the conversation and smile. If you feed it just right you can make it a game and say, well I don't like _____. Eventually the group will reach an understanding at something everyone likes thus reaffirming everyone's good friendship.
1 comment:
I think I always question, but not "You don't like this? You don't like that?". More of "Have you ever cooked romaine on the grill before eating it in a salad? Or roasted broccoli or cauliflower in the oven and tossed it with Parmesan?"
Being a lover of just about every food in the world, I have a hard time surrendering to the fact that someone hates something because they tried it once and didn't like it. It's the only reason I ever ask.
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