Cinquante mots en français par demain
Today in Unholy Unions . . . . spotted at the grocery store: MISO CHIPOTLE GRAVY.
1) What?
2) WHAT?!?!?!
3) WERE THERE DRUGS INVOLVED?!?!?
Well, it was enough to spur me to write the following, which I've been meaning to do for awhile.
I like food. I like interesting food. I like to try strange (but not overtly disgusting because that seems more like a man's job) foods that grab my attention when I'm walking by. I'm . . . . foodtrested? Cuisine Curious? Whatever. Here are some things I've eaten in the past while that I shall report on, lest you might want to give them a try.
ORGANIC CANDY CANES: I can't remember the brand, so I can't hunt down a picture, but I saw these at the local Whole Foods and when I looked at the ingredients, I knew I had to try them. These candy canes were made from brown rice gluten, sweetened with organic cane juice and dyed red using beet juice. I really, really wanted to know if I could taste the beet. I couldn't. In fact, these tasted almost exactly like a conventional candy cane, although with a slight difference. I'd say regular candy cane is to organic candy cane as white pasta is to whole wheat pasta. Nearly the same, but not exactly quite.
As promised . . . . SADAF YOGURT SODA
I was grabbing a couple of things at one of the larger Save-Ons in my area, and cutting through the drink aisle in order to get back to the check outs. I was going at a pretty good clip when the sight of white amongst a sea of greens, pinks and browns made me stop in my tracks. I literally did a double take! There was just something so visually interesting about it, that I couldn't resist. So I bought a bottle of it and brought it with me to work the next day.
I waited for a quiet lull in the afternoon, gathered some dixie cups, then opened it. It has a very, very, VERY strong bouquet, and it turned about half the people who were going to try it away. You know how plain yogurt has that sort of sour smell to it? Amplify that by about 1,000. Does it taste better than it smells? No. No it does not.
I was kind of surprised, since this is probably the first time I've tried an unknown food that ended up being absolutely vile. Usually the food I try ends up being good or meh. So I took an extra big swig of this stuff and it was all I could do to stop from doing a spit take. It's incredibly bitter, incredibly sour and incredibly carbonated, the three of which add up to a pile o' gag. The only people I can see drinking this stuff are people who were given it as infants when they didn't know any better, and just grew up with it. I dunno . . . maybe the mint flavoured yogurt soda tastes better?
THINK GUM
In December, there were a few raffles at my place of work for grab bags filled with all the strange, random swag that the Sales Department receives throughout the year. I didn't win anything (Booooooo! Also, expecteeeeeeeeeeed!), but someone in our department did. One of the things in his grab bag was a package of Think Gum. The front boasts that it's "Brain-Bosting Chewing Gum!" and the back states "Think Gum contains Ginkgo Biloba, Bacopa, Guarana, Vinpocetine, Rosemary and Peppermint. Together these brain-boosting herbal ingredients are proven to enhance concentration and memory.*" (And the asterix doesn't lead anywhere. I love it when that happens.) One of the reasons why this gum ended up in my possession is that my co-worker bit into a piece and promptly spit it into a garbage can. Undeterred, I tried a piece for myself. It's not THAT bad . . . I mean it's not in Thrills gum territory, but it's not exactly good either. It's kind of unsettling. The combination of mint and rosemary and the "herbs" (Vinpocetine?!?!) create a strange taste that is slightly reminiscent of Pine Sol. Sadly, my brain did NOT grow three sizes, turning me into a evil super genius. Maybe I should try, like, half the pack at once . . . . .
OKONOMIYAKI-FLAVOURED POTATO CHIPS
Oh, T&T Superstore (AKA bigass grocery store dedicated solely to Asian food), how I love to browse your aisles and behold all the awesome, crazy things contained therein. I noticed these a few weeks ago and had to give them a try. Having had the fortune to try delicious, delicious okonomiyaki (details ici) during my stint in Japan, I was curious to see if the taste of such a complicated dish could be replicated in potato chip form.
So. You know how when they come out with chip flavours here that are, like, bacon, or roast chicken, or Mexican chili? And they're sorta kinda reminiscent of those things, but not those things because you're basically eating a seasoned sliced fried potato? That's what okonomiyaki-flavoured chips are like. They taste almost, but almost not like the real thing. But kudos to the chip company for getting a lot of layers of flavour into the chips. They're kind of like all-dressed chips in that way, except instead of tasting barbecue, salt & vinegar and ranch, you taste more worchestershire, ketchup, and steak. This is way better than it sounds.
And thus concludes "Oddball things I've been eating lately".
And on a completely unrelated note: SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just thought I'd mention it.