From the Age of Innocence..........Your Peas Please

From the Age of Innocence...........Your Peas Please

Most children, pretty fussy when it comes to trying and liking new foods.  As reactions go, I'd like to think my reaction to peas will go down in the history books a childhood dislikes. "Mom, I ate peas at Teresa's house last night,"the last word out of my mouth, realization set in, I was in a pile of..............!  

Years pass, taste evolves although my aversion to canned peas has not, preference is fresh, fresh and nothing but fresh.  As with most veggies, visual pleasure just as important as taste. Canned peas of youth, olive drab in color, mushy in texture, the odor reminiscent of something slightly spoiled and despite the passage of time, pinpointing the smell still remains a mystery.

If ever there was a traumatic food moment in my life, peas or should I say the one solitary pea that sat on my dinner plate for nearly two hours, qualifies as traumatic, as does the gagging reflex once it finally slipped down my throat.  For the record, it was never digested and probably holds the record for reappearance time once consumed.

Watching Andrew Zimmerman of "Bizarre Foods,"  I am awestruck and jealousy consumes my being, sometimes life is so unfair!  Should he find a food distasteful, nostrils may flair, but never a regurgitated projectile or least not televised.

Once in the grocery store checkout line, impulse items adorn every space of the narrow aisle leading to unloading area.  Magazines meant for purchase are read and re-read, hoping for inspiration. As the summer months wane, pages are filled with colorful recipes from nature's bounty, mostly healthy options, veggies prepared to visually dazzle and tantalize the tastebuds.  In my youth this might have assisted my brain in the fight between visualization, mushy taste and that distasteful smell!