Mushrooms.......

Everyone has one. At least one. One particular item of food (or drink) that can't be faced and who's taste turns the stomach. I have a friend who gags at the mere thought of carrots - which baffles me. I think of carrots as being crunchy orange water, innocuous enough and a good addition to a salad. He, however, will sit and pull every grated morsel from a meal before continuing - or better still leave the meal altogether, as he claims that he can taste the carrot residue. He is equally bemused by my nemesis.

The bane of my life is the humble mushroom - or the devil's shite, as I like to call it. Just typing the word 'mushroom' makes me feel uneasy, the smell makes me nauseous and if I ever unknowingly put a piece in my mouth...well, you can imagine the results. This unfortunate set of circumstances wouldn't be so bad were I not a vegetarian - not so difficult now perhaps, but when eating out at the dawn of the 1990s, the veggie option (if indeed there was one at all) would invariably consist of a big pile of 'em, in one form or another. Even now though, when dining in an unadventurous pub, I'll find I have a choice of mushroom stroganoff or veggie chili, the latter sounding great, until I discover that it, too, is loaded with the ghastly fungus.

On my gastronomic journey through life thus far, I've managed to overcome a handful of similar, though not quite as extreme, food hurdles, not least of which is the tomato, one of which I was literally forced to eat, despite my tears, by an unpleasant teacher whilst on a school trip when I was five years old. Looking back, I honestly believe that single event had a profound effect on me and it's only in the past ten years or so that I've been able to ween myself onto tomatoes, in any kind of solid form. I always knew I'd eat them one day though, I just had to keep working at it. Not so the mushroom. I know for certain that I'll never have a deep, fulfilling relationship with a shiitake or button or portobello......

Excuse me, I'm feeling a little unwell.



(These ramblings were inspired by this terrific post)