Yesterday Chuck and I took the boys to Amy's Ice Cream for a treat. They had been so polite and well mannered at breakfast, without having to be reminded. They also sat quietly and attentively through service at a church we visited. We simply could not have asked for more well behaved kids. They deserved some positive reinforcement!
Yesterday Chuck and I took the boys to Amy's Ice Cream for a treat. They had been so polite and well mannered at breakfast, without having to be reminded. They also sat quietly and attentively through service at a church we visited. We simply could not have asked for more well behaved kids. They deserved some positive reinforcement!
The boys insisted on Amy's Ice Cream, because there is one located a block from Chuck's office and they'd never been to Amy's before. Chris is very apprehensive about ice-cream shops, ever since his encounter with Maggie the Cow at Maggie Moo's - he does NOT like life-sized animal costumes. He can deal with a life-sized Amy.
After much deliberation over too many choices, the boys settled on Dark Chocolate ice cream with Kit Kat Choppin's, the stuff that they mix into the ice cream.
When we sat down to eat, however, Chris decided that he didn't like Dark Chocolate and couldn't eat more than a couple of bites. As Chris started winding up to throw a tantrum, Chuck groped for whatever diversion tactic he could find. He took a bite of Chris's ice cream and said "Chris, this is good! C'mon Chris, it tastes really good!"
Chris gave him a look that said, What about I DON'T LIKE IT don't you understand, old man? Then, he threw a fit.
While Chuck was engaged in coaxing Chris out of his melt-down, I thought about that exchange, and how many others exactly like it we'd had at mealtime. Have you ever thought about how dumb, and maybe a little insulting, it is to answer a person's objection to a food with, "But it tastes really good!"
Think about that when you're in Asia and your host serves up a nice little plate of scrambled eggs and monkey brains. Or, when you're visiting friends in Great Britain and invited to dine on Haggis or Kidney Pie.
Aside from the usual things you might encounter, like raw fish, pickled pigs feet, dry-roasted grasshoppers or wine made from army worms, here are a few more disgusting delicacies that I've discovered:
Argon oil is a delicacy in Morocco. It’s made from the berries of the Argan tree after they've been eaten, digested, and evacuated from Tamri Goats. Now, that's what I call a crappy job. How'd you like to be the one gathering those little gems; talk about extreme berry picking. How do these berry-pickers motivate themselves for that duty? Do they form a huddle, raise their little poop-scoops and cry "Dung Ho!"
Of course, there's also Head Cheese, made by boiling a pigs head, then collecting the savory broth and bits and allowing them to gel. Or, Blood Sausage; my grandmother told me how when she was a child, all the families in their neighborhood would feast on Blood Sausage and Blood Pancakes whenever one of the neighbors slaughtered a cow.
Are you sick yet? How about the stuff we eat all the time? Pureed pig parts (and I mean ALL the parts) formed into wieners. Yum! Take me out to the ball game! Even Honey is nothing more than Bee vomit, ew!
All right, if you’ve stuck with me this far I owe it to you to share the granddaddy of all disgusting edibles; the Sour Toe Cocktail. If you travel to the Yukon, head over to Dawson City. There’s a saloon where you can order the cocktail of your choice garnished with an authentic, alcohol preserved, human toe. According to the legend, the toe had been amputated from a miner at the turn of the century, after he suffered frost-bite. The toe you’d be served today is not the original toe, though. No, the original – and several subsequent – had been swallowed by over-zealous patrons and had to be replaced. Where they get their supply is anyone’s guess. As an added bonus (as if being served a yellow-nailed, black severed toe isn’t reward enough) you can become a certified member of the Sour Toe Club by allowing the thing to touch your lips. I read somewhere that, you can drink it fast or drink it slow, but your lips have got to touch the toe!
Are you sick yet? C’mon! It tastes good!