Chilean Chow: Cami Holley

I spent this weekend chowing down on some home-made Chilean weekend. My friend (who served his mission in Chile) helped me make a traditional Chilean salsa and bread dinner called Pebre. It was delish.
Did I change in a way? I guess that I learned how to make some good food which was relatively easy! I'd make it again for sure.
What does that say about me, that I like to cook my own food and I like to eat a lot! I'm not a very adventurous eater, but I'm glad that I tried this new dish.

Fortune cookie's and chopsticks

Pan Kee Mow. I really love Asian food and it was an Asian weekend! I mean CHINESE NEW YEAR! My mom lived in Hong Kong for a few years in her early 20's and it's always been a tradition to celebrate Chinese New Year. I really have no reason for telling this because I didn't try anything new at our Chinese New Year dinner. But it's the year of the horse (and that's my year) so I had to comment!

HOWEVER, I did try something new at another Asian restaurant this weekend. A Thai restaurant. So Pan Kee Mow is a spicy noodle dish. I typically love spicy curry's so I wanted to try a new dish but keep the "kick". It turned out to be super good..and healthy.

What did you learn from this experience? 
I like noodles! Unfortunately I stuck with a flavor that I knew I already liked. But it's fun to switch around what I pick on restaurant menus. 

What does the answer to the previous question say about you? 
I think that I'm not afraid, at least, to try something new and not stick to what I like every time. Sometimes I think that I'm wasting money if I try something new but I think I'll change that now. 

Have you changed in any way?
I've changed my mind about "wasting my money" on items that I've never tried before. 

The Queen of Picky Eaters Explores- Kirsten Hansen

I'm just going to say that I really am one of the pickiest eaters you'll ever meet. Especially for a twenty year old girl. It's kind of a problem. I hate any sort of condiment: ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish. You name it, I probably cringe at the thought of it. I find that sometimes I short myself on a lot of potentially great things to eat because I am so picky, but hey, food is scary. Like really scary. There's nothing worse than biting into something for the first time and realizing it's completely disgusting and then having that nasty taste in your mouth. Example: Brussels Sprouts. One word: Ew.
Side note: I took a buzzfeed quiz that told me my "real eating age" and I got the child one...So there's that.
ANYWAYS. This assignment was great because I hopped on over to this place that has something called pho in Orem with my roommate and I decided to try pho. Like straight real pho. Tried it. Liked it. Woah.
It was actually way good! For anyone who doesn't know what it is (because I didn't) it's noodles in like a broth and it's kind of a soupy thing. It's kind of wonderful. So hey, I like Vietnamese pho now! Granted, I'm sure to all world travelers and culinary experts pho is nothing, but it was out of my comfort zone and I really liked it! So ten points to Kirsten for not dying over a new food she had to try and ten points to this assignment for getting me to try a new food and like it!

Four Seasons Hot Pot & Dumplings - Allie Sullivan

My roommate went on a study abroad to China recently and has fallen in love with everything Chinese. When I told her about this assignment, she said she'd been wanting to try a little Hot Pot place in downtown Provo. I love asian food but I'd never heard of a hot pot before so we decided to go.

I wish I had taken pictures but I didn't even think about it until after. How it worked was they put a big pot with our chosen soup base (Miso soup) in the center of the table and then we could go and choose whatever we wanted from a bar of raw food items. We sampled a bit of everything. And then a very nice Chinese gentleman helped us cook it in the pot, telling us how long each different thing needed to cook for.

Probably the most adventurous thing that I tried was seaweed. It didn't taste bad but I couldn't get past the fact that I was eating seaweed... We also had shrimp that still had the shell and legs on them so that was a new experience for me also, learning how to pull all that stuff off. We tried several different types of noodles. Potato noodles, flour noodles and rice noodles. I really liked all of them.

When we went up to pay they gave us each some Chinese candy. The one I enjoyed the best was called a White Rabbit.

What did you learn from this experience?

I guess I learned that you can push your boundaries without breaking them. It was hard for me to decide where I wanted to go and what I wanted to try. I looked into some Peruvian and Indian places but they just did not sound good at all. I felt like with this place, I found a good balance between staying true to my tastes but still giving myself a push outside of what I normally eat.

What does this say about me?

I'm not particularly open to new things. I kind of have to take baby steps toward things that are new to me. Also, I'm not willing to take risks. I really didn't want to go out and spend money on something I could potentially hate. So I went with something that was new that I felt like I had a good chance of liking.

Have I changed in any way?

I really enjoyed this experience and it makes me want to see what else is out there. This place was just down the street from where I live and I never knew about it. I am a creature of habit, but this experience makes me want to go out and find some new habits.

Buckeyes- Tom Blackham

 I think that these rut assignments are working as a benefit for me. They turn into great date ideas!

My girlfriend is from Columbus, Ohio--Home of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Of course, it's come up in conversation that buckeyes are type of nut that supposedly resemble a buck's eye. The nuts, however are not exactly edible, seeing as they're poisonous...

So that was not what I ate, for obvious reasons. However, when I mentioned the assignment to eat something I've never had before, Roma said, "Have you had buckeyes?"

It was with understandable consternation that I asked in response, "Aren't they poisonous?"

She merely laughed and told me it was a dessert made of peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate, which when solidified is meant to resemble the nut.

Anyway, for our date night we actually made the buckeyes, which turned out to be easier than I thought, much simpler.

They taste, understandably, like Reese's, since they are made with the same materials. Except these were homemade so I personally thought they tasted better.

So that's how I broke out of my rut this weekend. I learned that it was much more fun to actually make something I haven't eaten before, than to simply go out and eat something new. Even though the recipe was simple I had a greater appreciation for each of the ingredients' contribution to the end result.

This probably says a lot about how I like to involve myself in the process of creating things, not to look on as a mere observer.

Jimmy Johns - Lance McDowell

I decided to go to Jimmy Johns with my wife. When I'm in the mood for a sub I normally go to Subway or occasionally Firehouse Subs. But I had never been to Jimmy Johns so I wanted to try it out, especially because the menu prices weren't unreasonable.

We got there and I saw lots of sandwiches that looked good. But I decided to order something I've never ordered at any sub place. I got a tuna sub. I'm actually a really big tuna fan but I don't really get it when I go out because I feel like it's something I could easily make at home. You could also order a giant pickle for 99 cents so I did for the heck of it. I think I might have enjoyed the pickle more than the sandwich.

I learned that "gourmet" tuna is actually decent and not the worse thing you could order. My wife got a BLT which I thought sounded really good. But I ended up finishing her sandwich for her and I actually think my tuna sub tasted better. That was surprising. I also learned that trying new things at restaurants isn't always a terrible experience. I actually frequently try new things at restaurants hoping that I'll discover something amazing...and I'm usually disappointed. I get really angry because I just spent money on something that doesn't even taste good. But I also know it's worth it to try something new because every once in awhile you are pleasantly surprised. I was pleasantly surprised by my tuna, although I don't know if I would get it again.

What does this say about me?
I think I'm adventurous. I also get bored easily with my menu favorites. I always think that just maybe I can find something I like better. So I guess I'm not satisfied very easily. I'm always searching for something better. Even now, I look at my response above and realize I said I might order the tuna sub again. I think I also tend to want to order something I couldn't make very easily at home. If I'm going to buy something to eat I want to go all out. Maybe that's why I bought the pickle too. It was a way to spice up an order I thought was going to be "boring".

I don't know if this experience changed me. Maybe I won't stick up my nose at "normal" things at restaurants. Maybe they're normal because lots of people like it and it actually tastes really good. I could be missing out. Now I'm trying to remember if I've ever ordered a plain cheeseburger at McDonald's. I always want to have more, like bacon or avocado. Hmm.

  The other day I was driving to work and I saw a restaurant that said L&L, apparently there is a Hawaiian barbecue place here in Provo, and I had no idea!  I had never even heard of Hawaiian barbecue, so I figured I should try it.  I got really excited when I walked in and heard Hawaiian music, saw surf boards on the wall, and cool art I had never seen before.  Then I ordered a barbecue chicken-platter-thing, and they really give you a lot of food!  It was great food, and a great experience, I am glad I went!