Be Brave!

Right after our oldest was born, Hubby and I ventured into the local Asian market. I can't remember what we were looking for that day, but that was the start of it. I only remember the timing because the owner offered to hold my baby for me while we shopped and I was still deep in my "no one is ever going to hold my infant except for me" mode and the idea of leaving the baby carrier up by the cash register made me want to run for the door.

That Christmas, I went back and bought the hottest, scariest looking sauces I could find to put together a gift basket for Hubby. (I've posted about his taste in food before, and how it's  contagious.) That's when the fun started. Some of those bottles are still in my pantry because we're still afraid to open them. Some got used and enjoyed and we went back for more. Since then, we've found six or seven different markets that we go to on a regular basis.

It's resulted in a lot of experiments and dares, and a lot of new foods that have become part of our regular grocery shopping.

This clay jar has been sitting in the pantry for about three years. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we haven't worked up the nerve to open it.

Edited to add: Thanks to Kathy (who is a no-reply blogger, so I can't give her more credit than that) for shedding some light on the contents of the jar "The clay jar is preserved vegetables that you use when you make pot stickers. It is highly salted and needs to be rinsed before use. It lasts for years since it gets used at about 1tsp at a time. Refrige after opening." 

This stuff is candy (and the only reason we figured that out is because it was on the candy aisle.) The flavor was a surprise -- kind of like tame lemon drops. From the artwork, we were expecting something super sour or otherwise dramatic. There are red ones, too, but we can't decide what flavor those are. Maybe it's watermelon.

And this, the "purple rice porridge with mixed Chinese sweets," is just indescribable. It looked good at the time, and it had a cute little folded spoon under the plastic cap, but I just don't get it. Maybe it was because Teenage Daughter opened it up for a midnight snack and it was late and I wasn't hungry or in the mood to experiment. I don't think I want to give that one a second try. But I washed out the can and I'm going to keep pens in it in the sewing room because I like the look of it.

I still have the lingering fear that I'll poison the family by not knowing some important detail about our latest experiment, but so far we've been fine. And, like I said, we've added some really neat new vegetables and sauces and noodles to our regular diet.

Anyone want to bet on how long it'll be before we work up the nerve to try Durian?

This post is linked to WFMW at We are THAT family.