You know how sometimes one of your friends will eat something weird? Most people react by scoffing in a surprised manner and then shaking their head in disbelief. Me? Not so much. Sure, I do the surprised scoff just like everyone else. Where our paths diverge, and drastically at that, is with what comes next. I usually take a second to think about it, and then I figure, "why not?" So, I usually end up resolving to try that particular item or combination of foods. Really, though, given how willing I am to tweak my diet, this should come as no surprise.
Actually, there's a very good reason why I'm willing to trade one bad meal for a lifetime of certainty: I've seen that scenario bear fruit in the past. I specifically remember the first time it came up: my old college roommate swore up and down that dipping fries in to a milk shake was delicious. I'd never eaten that way, and I looked at him skeptically. After all, combining my sides with my drink sounded as appetizing as dipping cole slaw in to a can of soda (read: not appetizing). Nevertheless, he convinced me to try it, and I eventually did. Sure enough, the combination of the sweet milk shake and the salty fries were a hit. I learned my lesson, and I was suddenly willing to humor people when they suggested that I eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches or potato wedges with ranch dressing.
Even so, people are constantly surprising me with the combinations of food that they mix and match to come up with new flavors. I actually had a friend of mine insist that Red Vines and Cheese Whiz were a delicious combination. I will readily admit that this one caused me to arch an eyebrow, but like I said, I have a standing policy to be open to these things. So, when we were at the movies, I got some nachos and she got some Red Vines. The plan, of course, was to combine the two into this concoction that she swore was delicious. After I had finished the nachos (waste not, want not), she handed me a Red Vine and offered up the Cheese Whiz. And sure enough, the combination of two highly processed, unnatural flavors produced something pretty tasty. I'm not even sure I can tell you why it tasted good, but I was sold.
My favorite example of this, though, came a few weeks before that. I was also at the movies with some friends, and they had gone all out with the food purchases. There was soda, Raisinets, mints, popcorn, Red Vines, and probably a couple of other types of candy that I don't remember. Like I said, they had done some damage at the concession stand. Anyhow, I had a chocolate covered raisin in my hand when someone offered up the popcorn. I did want some, but I had to get rid of the raisin first. So, I popped it in my mouth before scooping out some popcorn. Not thinking much about it, I ended up popping some popcorn in my mouth before I had finished the raisin. And that's when I tasted it: the sweet chocolate and raisin mixed with the salty popcorn to make an unnaturally tasty combination.
Surprised but oddly amused by my discovery, I told the person sitting next to me to try this. She gave it a shot, and she liked it. So, we figured we'd go all in by dumping some of the chocolate raisins directly in to the popcorn bag. We happily ate away, and continued to watch the movie. Of course, someone else eventually asked for us to pass the popcorn. We'd either forgotten that there were raisins left or we thought that they were gone, because we didn't even think to mention our little experiment. Right on cue, I heard, "what? I think I just ate a Raisinet!" a few seconds later. It cracked me up, and we came clean about our culinary experimentation.
Regardless, let me take this opportunity to let all of you know: should you ever get the chance to mix Red Vines and Cheese Whiz or popcorn and Raisinets, do it. Just trust me on this. You can thank me later.
Actually, there's a very good reason why I'm willing to trade one bad meal for a lifetime of certainty: I've seen that scenario bear fruit in the past. I specifically remember the first time it came up: my old college roommate swore up and down that dipping fries in to a milk shake was delicious. I'd never eaten that way, and I looked at him skeptically. After all, combining my sides with my drink sounded as appetizing as dipping cole slaw in to a can of soda (read: not appetizing). Nevertheless, he convinced me to try it, and I eventually did. Sure enough, the combination of the sweet milk shake and the salty fries were a hit. I learned my lesson, and I was suddenly willing to humor people when they suggested that I eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches or potato wedges with ranch dressing.
Even so, people are constantly surprising me with the combinations of food that they mix and match to come up with new flavors. I actually had a friend of mine insist that Red Vines and Cheese Whiz were a delicious combination. I will readily admit that this one caused me to arch an eyebrow, but like I said, I have a standing policy to be open to these things. So, when we were at the movies, I got some nachos and she got some Red Vines. The plan, of course, was to combine the two into this concoction that she swore was delicious. After I had finished the nachos (waste not, want not), she handed me a Red Vine and offered up the Cheese Whiz. And sure enough, the combination of two highly processed, unnatural flavors produced something pretty tasty. I'm not even sure I can tell you why it tasted good, but I was sold.
My favorite example of this, though, came a few weeks before that. I was also at the movies with some friends, and they had gone all out with the food purchases. There was soda, Raisinets, mints, popcorn, Red Vines, and probably a couple of other types of candy that I don't remember. Like I said, they had done some damage at the concession stand. Anyhow, I had a chocolate covered raisin in my hand when someone offered up the popcorn. I did want some, but I had to get rid of the raisin first. So, I popped it in my mouth before scooping out some popcorn. Not thinking much about it, I ended up popping some popcorn in my mouth before I had finished the raisin. And that's when I tasted it: the sweet chocolate and raisin mixed with the salty popcorn to make an unnaturally tasty combination.
Surprised but oddly amused by my discovery, I told the person sitting next to me to try this. She gave it a shot, and she liked it. So, we figured we'd go all in by dumping some of the chocolate raisins directly in to the popcorn bag. We happily ate away, and continued to watch the movie. Of course, someone else eventually asked for us to pass the popcorn. We'd either forgotten that there were raisins left or we thought that they were gone, because we didn't even think to mention our little experiment. Right on cue, I heard, "what? I think I just ate a Raisinet!" a few seconds later. It cracked me up, and we came clean about our culinary experimentation.
Regardless, let me take this opportunity to let all of you know: should you ever get the chance to mix Red Vines and Cheese Whiz or popcorn and Raisinets, do it. Just trust me on this. You can thank me later.
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