When watching contestants eat strange animal parts or bugs on the cancelled show Fear Factor, it seldom made me flinch. Bear Grylls boiled a mouse in urine and ate it. I nodded my head and said, “I could do that.”
But hand me a plate of acorn squash with its savory steam rising up to fill my nostrils and I gag.
When I was a kid and my taste buds were all fresh and new, a lot of flavors were too strong for my virginal palette. I’m an adult now. My tongue has gotten around. Years of burning out taste buds by accidentally eating hot peppers, or tasting hot soups and stews still bubbling in the pot, has made them less sensitive. About the only foods I won’t eat is something that tastes spoiled….or squash.
Let’s get something straight. I’ll try anything and have even eaten bugs, some inadvertently, but there’s something about stringy mustard-colored squash that makes my face twist. My tiny olfactory internal muscles attempt to pinch my nose shut and I purse my lips in a tight frown. My shoulders tighten up and my stomach screams, “Please. Don’t do it!”
I’ve tried it with brown sugar, with melted butter and disguised in casseroles, but I just can’t.
Give me a plate of zucchini, crooked neck, turnips, or rutabaga and I’ll lick my plate clean. Patty pan sliced up with fresh herbs and fried in olive oil is delish. Autumn is the time of year when I can’t get enough pumpkin. I bake bundt cakes and pie. You see, I love all of acorn squash’s kissin’ cousins.
It’s September which means squash season. They are piled high in grocery bins and farmer’s markets. They are offered as a side dish at farm-to-table restaurants. I should keep trying it until I like it, but even I have limits.
For two decades I’ve bought acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash. They sat in a bowl on my countertop throughout the fall season. When Christmas rolled around, I tossed their hard as rock carcasses out in the compost. This year I’ll do the same.
If I had been a contestant on Fear Factor and a plate of slimy squash had been placed in front of me, I would have attempted to swallow the putrid portion. Heat would have rushed to my spastic face while my stomach screamed. Perspiration would have broken out on my upper lip. Not relying on those tiny internal muscles, I would have pinched my nose tight and swallowed enormous gulps to get it over with. Afterward, while wiping sweat from my brow, I would suck big deep breaths to calm my stomach and keep from retching the nasty vegetable.
But I’m badass like that.
Is there a common food you won’t eat? Do you like squash?
Bear Grylls boiled a mouse in urine and ate it. I nodded my head and said, “I could do that.”– No thank you hahaha
It used to be potatoes salad for me and I wrote about it too — but that’s all over now.. liver.. internal organs and a lot of meat.. blah
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Internal organs are nasty too. I grew up on liver and onions. What was my mother thinking?????
Ha! Thanks for stopping by, Linda! I figured everyone had there own food nemesis.
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Note to self: do NOT read Susie over lunch…
(But for me it’s okra. The mere thought of consuming the slimy stuff has my stomach attempting to evert my toes. Maybe if a child’s life hung in the balance… a really adorable child…)
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Do you serve squash at lunchtime every day? Then I’ll pass…. 🙂
I can eat everything else, even okra, although it seemed a little bland. That’s what ketchup is for!
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If you’ll join me for lunch, I guarantee a 100% squash-free zone.
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Woohoo! Then I’m available anytime! If I could just track you down. Ha!
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spinach. I will never be able to do spinach.
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I grew up eating spinach, but was surprised when visiting NYC and found it was the side vegetable at most upscale restaurants!
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I actually do like squash. Ha! but the one thing I cannot eat are peas. Ewwwww. Something about their texture — little green balls that mush when you chew them. Blech. I can eat snow peas though, go figure.
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So I guess that means you won’t eat split pea soup. 🙂 I have a great recipe for stuffed snow peas with a cream cheese mixture. Time consuming, but delish!
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Yes, I like Sasquash. He is a good friend of mine. Sometimes we scare the bejesus out of Bear Grylls when the sun starts to go down. By the way, if you run into Bear please tell him he spells his name incorrectly; it is Grills (as in ‘grilling’ mouse parts).
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Ha! Thanks for straightening me out, Waldo. I wonder if Sasquash and Bear eat squash……
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Sasquash has eaten squash,
He ate it with great panache,
but he never did,
try to eat squid,
He considered it a horrible nosh.
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Beets. If even one minuscule piece of a beet enters my pie hole I’ll be shouting for Ralph in an instant! By the way, really funny post.
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Thanks Al!
Beets are so different from every other vegetable. I grew up with them, but hate how they stain the sink and cutting board. I have some, fresh from the farm, in my vegie drawer. 🙂
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Liver. I just can’t eat something that performs a bodily function. Ack. Have you tried squash as a substitute for pumpkin in pumpkin bread? It really works well – you can’t even taste it’s there! Trust me… 🙂
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I trust you and yet pouring it from a can is so much easier!
I can’t believe how many times I ate liver as a kid. Nasty and yet I could gulp it down. I overate liver sausage in college, and only ate it a few times after. Never thought of how bad it was for me. Ha!
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If your squash is slimy, it is not cooked right. It should have the same texture as cooked pumpkin.
My husband had an extreme aversion to acorn squash cooked with the usual butter and brown sugar. But when I cooked it for him with savory herbs and topped with Gouda cheese, he liked it.
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Believe me, I’ve eaten it many different ways. It’s my mom’s (the gourmet cook supreme) favorite vegetable. So you have never eaten a food that didn’t appeal to you? Squid? Venison? (hopefully not at the same time… 🙂 )
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I don’t think I could do raw oysters. I’ve had squid and venison and liked both.
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I can eat raw oysters, but I’m afraid of the one bad one that will make my stomach ache. How about smoked? We ate them canned when I was a kid.
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I am so with you Susie. I was at a church dinner when I was young and my parents had to help with something and left me next to this huge man who insisted I finish my squash. I ralphed under the table. Never touched the stuff again.
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Oh, my God! Hahahaha! I may have convulsed a little, but I never ralphed. I remember going to my room for not cleaning my plate on several occasions.
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I still have PSTS (Post Squash Traumatic Syndrom)
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I love squash. Liver is to me what squash is to you. No matter how you disguise it, it ain’t going down my throat!
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I will never go down mine again either, knowing how bad it is for us. Sheesh! My mom served up a plate of liver and onions once a month for years!
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I feel about spaghetti squash the way you do about butternut squash. *bleech* Wish I could tell you why I dislike it so, but I can’t. It’s just icky, I guess.
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I avoid all three, acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash. I’m eating beets and zucchini right now!
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Tomatoes (except ketchup and tomato sauce). Mushrooms. Onions (except fried to death, like for fajitas and rings). Broccoli. Cauliflower. Squash. Squid/octopus. Sushi. *checks everyone else’s lists*
*Liver is fine…I used to call it “cakey-bakey” when I was little. (No idea why!) Now I have to have onions with it. 😀
*Been a long time since I’ve had venison, but I liked it. Moose summer sausage was delish.
*Oysters have to be smoked.
*Haven’t had beets in a long time, so I don’t know if I still like them.
*I LOVE peas! I read a while back that peas have the same serotonin-increasing chemical in them as chocolate, so now I love peas even more! (Not quite the same as eating chocolate, though. 😛 )
The one thing I see in the comments that I’ve changed my mind about is spinach. When I was younger, my parents used to serve it up cooked (probably from a can) and covered in vinegar. It looked like monster vomit!
But then I learned people eat it fresh in salads and I tried it…much better! (As long as I can throw my usual toppings on it, of course. 😀 )
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Good for you eating spinach. I’ve learned to eat just about anything, but….. Squash!
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Cilantro is mine! That’s not altogether uncommon though – if Carrie Rubin stops by here, she will second my vote for cilantro being the yuckiest yuck yuck EVER!
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I never met a Herb I didn’t like. 🙂 Cilantro is pretty different, but it’s squash that makes me cringe….
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I tried squash but it gave me tennis elbow.
*snorts delicately at her wit*
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Just in time for the US Open!
Good to “see” you!
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Squash? Can be great, usually at least OK.
Lima Beans? Hurl-o-rama.
And that is my little brother’s favorite veggie. On your birthday you got to choose your meal at our house, within reason, so at least once per year I had to try to gag them down. There was no such thing as “Thanks, but I don’t care for any of that.” for a kid in the 60s/70s.
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Right? I haven’t seen Lima beans around for years. I think they rotated that crop out of existence. I can’t believe he loved them that much! You’re right about us kids, but we had a choice. Either clean our plate or go to our rooms….
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I like squash, but mushrooms… YUCK! They’re chewy like meat when they’re raw, they’re slimy when they’re cooked, and they taste like dirt. No no no no no.
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My kids don’t like them either. I recently watched an adult pick every one of them off a pizza. Everyone has something they won’t eat!
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For me it’s pineapple–just can’t bring myself to eat it. I also can’t eat any seafood. But I can do squash, especially the way my stepdad makes it where he whips it up with cream. Something tells me that’s not the healthiest way to eat it…
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Good for you eating squash, even with the whipped cream.
Rumor has it, it’s cilantro that makes you gag…..
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Oh yes, I forgot about that one. Tastes like soap. 🙂
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I read something about how everyone’s taste buds are a little bit different. Some taste salt more keenly while for others sweets are too much. I must be smack dab in the middle. I love salty foods and sweets! Not sure where soap figures into the mix. Ha!
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It’s actually a genetic trait with cilantro. For those with a certain gene, it tastes like soap. Weird, isn’t it?
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Wow! I didn’t know that. I’m sure my distaste is genetic too. Right?
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Sure. Whatever you say. 😉
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I happened to have watched that episode of Bear Grylls. And no, I could NOT eat a mouse cooked in urine. Yet, I love squash. Zucchini, yellow, it doesn’t matter. Hubby and I love Spagetti squash in lieu of grain Spagetti. It’s much lighter and easier on the old digestive system. And these days, we’re all over that one. Lol. To each its own my friend. ((hugs))
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I’m cool with everything else. Honest! I wish I could eat those varieties of squash, but I ate zucchini and beets tonight. Aren’t you proud of me? 🙂
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Fish sticks, the worst kind of fried. Also can’t stand the rubbery texture of calamari. Love squash pie, though, the New England version of pumpkin pie, with lots of sugar and spices.
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Even you have your limits? I feel so much better about myself now. Ha! I’ve never had squash pie. There may be hope….I’m heading to Cape Cod. If I find it, I’ll try it!
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When you don’t like something like squash, nothing is going to make you like it. We all have our likes and dislikes mine is bread pudding ugh. Thanks for sharing.
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That’s kind of a strange food, not like Jello pudding at all! You are so right!
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Cauliflower is my squash. I’ve tried it all sorts of ways, but I just can’t get on board.
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I didn’t like it when I was little at all! It’s one of those veggies that “grew” on me, like mold… Ha!
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I’ve been told (and seen pictures) that when I was a baby I ate so much squash my nose turned orange. Since then I can’t stand it. I think I used up my squash quota in my first year of life! 🙂
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You totally cracked me up! Hahaha!! I bet that’s what happened to your love affair with squash. Come to think of it, my son loved it too and won’t eat it now…
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Hmmm I’m sensing a trend! Probably all those adult squash lovers wouldn’t touch it as a child, they just haven’t used up their quota yet!
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I bet that’s what happened! Love your theory.
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Susie, I like squash, but I utterly loathe bell pepper. In fact, I hate it with a passion. So, I know exactly where you’re coming from.
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Good to know in case you ever visit! I swear, everyone has something they won’t eat. I’m like a human garbage disposal except for squash….
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Would you try buttercup squash just once? Or do you like cream of butternut soup, with it’s bacon, thyme and nutmeg hints? I am a squash lover and would love to win you over.
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I would love to be won over, that way if I was ever stranded with only squash to eat, I wouldn’t die. 🙂 If it doesn’t taste like squash, I might like it!
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Bear Grylls boiled a mouse in urine and ate it. That was OUT THERE I have to say! I get hangry, so I probably would have to suck it up and go for it. Otherwise if I am with any people they are just likely to shove me over the cliff to not have to deal with my grumpy self – ha!
I can thank my mother for not liking liver – it was cooked tough and leathery – no thank you! Have not tried it again as an adult. I did give head cheese a whirl as an adult and actually liked it. I cannot do hoofs, chicken feet, tongue, etc. I get grossed out if a chicken and/or turkey is not processed correctly. I grew up on a farm and know how to clean a bird – did it from age 9 to 19.
Here is one for you that surely will have you on the ground laughing! I worked, yeah right, more like I made it a 1/2 day in the Creamed Corn Division for Green Giant. It was the smell that did me in – I kept running to the nearest trash can and could not get it under control. I have a hard time with the smell of corn, especially cooked corn still today.
Happy Day – Enjoy 🙂
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Wow! I am so grossed out by raw chicken and always buy it already cut up. It’s the germs that get me. I’m so impressed that you cleaned them.
I know all about the hangries, so boiled mouse would be on my platter.
My sister hates creamed corn. I bet the milky smell was nasty! Anything soured or spoiled is hard to breathe. I used to buy organic beef and had to pick it up at the processor. Talk about rank! Eww!
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I had no choice growing up and it was part of being raised on farms. My girlfriends from the town I grew up in did not like coming out to the farm because they would get put to work – ha!
It was HORRIBLE! Plus the safety video was a real eye opener as well as gross and violent! Picking up beef at the processor is a gut wrenching experience on a different level! I have been in those places and have checked out meat markets in different places while traveling.
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