Food Rules

I have a confession to make: I don’t like different foods on my plate to touch. It’s one of my many neuroses or "quirks" as I like to refer to them. My father has the same one, so I'll assume it was learned. The basis is this: I want each food item to taste like itself and that’s it. I don’t want mashed potatoes on my peas or gravy on my asparagus. The only exception is when foods are meant to go together, like spaghetti and meatballs or stir fry. Adding to this quirk is (surprise!) another one: I typically eat one food item at a time. I’ve been trying to overcome this one, but it’s been difficult. I usually eat the vegetables first, then the meat, then the carb. I don’t know why. Perhaps it goes back to the first one about different foods touching. We could say it's because I want to be able to appreciate each ingredient for what it is, so I focus all my attention on it until it's gone. Yea, let's go with that one.

I realized a few weeks ago that both of these are evident when I eat and make salad. One night, a few weeks ago, Kurt made dinner. He is normal and so doesn’t have the same strange food obsessions I do. In the salad, he put greens, peppers, and cheese. While it was very good, it brought up some issues for me. #1: since I don’t like my foods to touch, I don’t eat salad the way a normal person would. At salad bars, for instance, I will separate each ingredient on my plate and eat my salad one ingredient at a time. When I make salad, it has lettuce, tomato and cucumber, and that’s it. #2: I don’t like everything on my fork at once. When new, fun ingredients are added, I pick them out and eat them separately, because in my mind, they don’t belong in a salad. With a mixed salad, I’m forced to pick out the cheese first, and then the peppers and then the greens. And here is why: to me, tomatoes, cucumber and greens go together, so they can be eaten together. Cheese does not go with salad, so it must be eaten separately. I know, this little insight into my wacko mind is scary, but I can't be the only one, right? Other than this, I'm actually not a very picky eater. I can feel the collective eye-roll and "suuuure" you're all giving me right now, but seriously. Tomorrow, at Thanksgiving, I'll be busy making sure the turkey isn't touching the mashed potatoes isn't touching the green beans and so on and eating them one at a time, while you're living with your own weird quirks. Right?

I'm sure you all must have some strange tendencies to share that'll make me feel better about mine. So feel free to share. Please.