April 12th, 2010
Mr. and Ms. Taste E. Buds
The Buds, yeah,I know um. You do, too. We live with them, those sweet and sour trips on the tongue. Masterpiece’s in the mouth. They are sometimes ever so sour, sour. Salty, ooh, yes that, too, and spicy. But they can be bitter. I hate it when they get like that; drives me nuts. We foodies can spin them right around, though, with crunchy sweet apples and salty pretzels. Or Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, which snaps open the ears and floods the buds with peanut-y plunge. Happy are they with combinations: sweet, salty, crunchy, munchy. “Hallelujah, brother,” they shout. “Get it, sister!”
Mine like stepping off a sidewalk occasionally into an exotic forest of knee deep pink roses, some plucked and transformed into fragrant jelly. Now that bullets the Buds back in a time machine and they tumble out, blinking into a cozy kitchen, a mom in a white apron, her soft brown hands making that wild rose jelly. And homemade wheat bread, too, slathered with salty white butter and eaten freshly popped from the oven, mouths exploding, igniting and delighting.
When Mr. and Ms. Taste E. Buds get bored they really yawn for herbs and spices like basil, dill, cumin, cilantro, sage, saffron, bay leaf, garlic, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, rosemary. Did someone say Rosemary? Now she’s an edgy girl. I pair her up with a pork loin from time to time and she forces it to tango.
Think velvety sauces stung with white pepper. And glistening milk gravy flavored with sausage then poured over hot biscuits and fried potatoes. Have you ever had chocolate gravy? Well, I never! But the Bud’s have, courtesy of long lost Arkansas cousins.
But now we’re screaming the Buds language. And they really are easy to delight. Variety, baby, give them variety and they’ll dance a jig for you, or belt out that Marshall Tucker classic tune: “Can’t you see, can’t you see, what that woman, she’s been doin’ to me.” Yeah, that one.
I’ll tell you what, though. If we deprive them of sweets for too long, we’d best throw them a key lime pie made from scratch to appease them. And by all means jack up the crust with Ritz crackers to tease them. The salty switch up will beam them to a star and back. They will wail uncle. If that doesn’t work, give them death by chocolate. Notice how the food choices have gotten progressively worse? Can I get a woot, woot?
Actually,I do eat healthy. My thoughts are these: eating right is doable as long as we throw in those occasional, well loved treats.
Hey now,foodies, what makes your Taste Buds tingle?
Well, peeps, my job here is done. This finishes out my five senses series. Hopefully, you smell better, not you personally, although that’s a plus. And dream of touch and hear and see things you might have missed, and taste it all. If you’re begging for food after reading this post, please don’t blame me. I’m just the lowly writer, clasping my occasional bowl of Captain Crunch.
Please stay tuned for a hair raising sixth sense post, coming up.
April 12th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
I smell unpleasant things in my dreams, which I find weird. But I feel things and that can be funny. Sometimes dreams are in color and other times I don’t notice at all if there is color or not. Not sure if I have tasted anything and not sure that I would want to in a dream anyway
April 12th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
Don’t blame you? Well who else are we supposed to blame Drain? How could we not be salivating after reading this post?
My grandmother made chocolate gravy for us when we were “real good”, so we tried, we tried so hard to be real good. Alas, we didn’t have chocolate gravy nearly as much as we could have.
I use rosemary on my pork roast too. In fact, I just made my pork prosciutto the other day, which I’m going to soon post the recipe on DHA for. It also has TONS of garlic – this one I made the other day had a bit too much so I woke up with heartburn at 3 Saturday morning and could not get back to sleep for nothing, not even after 4 tums and 2 large glasses of ice water. I’m a bit of a garlic fiend – I put it in almost everything. At least it’s healthy!
I do have favorites that aren’t so healthy though. I just have finished one of the butterscotch cheesecake bars I made yesterday, but I stopped after one, that’s a plus.
Thank you for the mouth-watering post. I can’t wait for the sixth sense one!
April 12th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Nothing but sweet smelling dreams from here on out, Paige!
April 12th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
I truly do apologize about having all this food around. My blog went grocery shopping. Anyway, no more sweets for awhile. Promise.
So, someone else has had chocolate gravy; good to know! Actually, I haven’t had it since that visit when I was a wee kid, but I remember it.
Don’t you just love Rosemary? I have a big pot of it outside my door, so I can reach around and snip, snip when I need it to cook with. Love herbs. I’m going to plant a few in my little garden spot in the backyard and see how they do this summer.
Your cheesecake bars sound heavenly. I would have had to put those under lock and key to stay clear of them. Just one? Proud of you!
April 13th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Yum, yum, Dorraine what a post! The picture of the Key Lime Pie did it for me. Now, I’m going to have to help myself to a slice. And to think I was saving that for a celebration!
Oh wait! I’m celebrating your post
Elizabeth
PS I’m not a very adventurous cook
April 14th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Help yourself to that pie, E! Wait, it’s gone now but I’ll make you another one. As far as cooking, I can bump it up when I’m in the mood. A spicy back road is always refreshing once in awhile.:-)
April 23rd, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Hi Dorraine,
I remember visiting those cousins in Arkansas with the chocolate gravy served over biscuits! A child in heaven!
Funny, that’s all I remember about it, except when Mother got out of the car to jump on the bridge before crossing, just in case it was going to collapse and swallow the car into the raging, dark river. I did not inherit that phobia, and I’m grateful.
Loved the post, you are wonderful with words.
April 26th, 2010 at 7:44 am
Yes, I bet you do remember, Karen! We visited there a few times, and chocolate gravy is something one doesn’t forget. I didn’t know your mom was afraid of old bridges. There are plenty of those around that area. Phobias can be so strange.
Thanks for your kind words!
April 27th, 2010 at 6:56 pm
GIRL!!!!!! you know,..the last time you wrote about food, I gained 5 pounds! SIGH! But seriously though,….I love,..Love,…LOVED this post! You’re an amazing writer!
April 27th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Just to let you know,…I’m gonna go raid the baking cupboard now,…..I think I’ve got some chocolate chips left over from Christmas,…
April 27th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
Stop. Don’t do it! Those chocolate chips will stick to your thighs, Jennifer. No, they stick to my thighs. Yours will be none the wiser for eating a few, I’m sure.
Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.