What DW does to the taste buds

First came the walnuts. Toasted in the oven, on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes at 325º. The basic (but SO sublime with a drizzle of honey) component to a richness packed breakfast. And a delectable snack (remember the honey and 10 sec. in the microwave which I may be weaning myself off of eventually, but that's another story for another time), morning or afternoon.


Then came the apple-pear compote. Peeled and sliced with water and cinnamon (thank you thank you Karen and Brent for the Penzey's China Cassia cinnamon), cover and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes.


Today, I concocted something on my own (hardly innovative, but my first foray away from printed recipes in the DW book made me feel some pride). Inspired by warmed oranges with honey that Karen fed me once, I cooked some oranges in a bit of water with some ginger slices. Just 10 minutes or so. Spoon into a bowl and drizzle with honey.

What I am noticing is that these dishes, as well as, the veggies I've been eating (zucchini with walnut, broccoli steamed with garlic, and the masterful mushrooms---not a bad deal, I cooked those up on Monday) is that they are truly flavorful. Little weights of flavor just sink into my tongue when I take a bite. Like coming home to the roots of food and eating.

My mind has powerful ties to food. PMS and junky chocolate aside, I have lived through decades of craving and loving and consuming foods that haven't really "fed" me. This morning I tried a bite of leftover spaghetti with meat sauce. (The kids have been eating it for a couple of days and it has looked really good. But, I have cut meat out for these six weeks.) It had barely any taste! It felt completely different on the tongue. How wild is that?

At lunch, First was having some smoked salmon. That looked good, too. But, I could kind of imagine that it was not going to satisfy me like it might have just last week. My mind and body are starting to let go of some connections...

This isn't to say that after the six weeks I won't be eating fish or meat. But, they say that once favorite foods will likely not have the same appeal/hold over you. I didn't quite realize that this might be because they would actually taste different, that the experience of them would be so totally changed.