From "Ewww!" to "Mmmm" Giveaway

A LITTLE GIVEAWAY: The kids & I are heading to the Oregon coast for a few days of visiting with long lost friends and rubbing our toes in our familiar sand... So, I'm leaving you with this post... The giveaway details are at the end...

One of our steadfast lunchtime sandwiches is the peanut butter and pickle sandwich. I grew up eating them and have never given them a second thought. That was until my kids started bringing them to school and the other kids started exclaiming, "Ewww!"

Luckily, my kids weren't swayed. They are PB & Pickle fans. And I am, too. Usually, I make our sandwiches with dill pickles but a shopping oversight resulted in a jar of sweet pickles sitting in the cupboard for far too long. In desparation one day, I decided to use that jar. And even my "Ewww" reaction to sweet pickles turned to "Mmmm" in the sandwich with peanut butter. I still prefer dill but the sweet is a nice mix up.

Recently, our family discussed our "weird" food combinations. I remembered my Dad slathering up a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich while I sat looking aghast. I don't think it was the taste combo as much as the texture that repulsed me.

During our discussion, my sister-in-law told me about the peanut butter and sprout sandwich. I immediately thought "Ewww" until she pointed out the similarity to the Thai food flavor combination so I tried it and it turned to a "Mmmm" (I used mung bean sprouts, following the Pad Thai combination).

And then there is my early strawberry season recipe: balsamic vinegar reduction sauce over strawberries and ice cream. "Ewww! Vinegar?!" I initially thought. But then I tried it!

It's a great way to use the early season strawberries that lack the flavor of our local Oregon berries (yes, I'm partial). All that is required is reducing 2 Cups of balsamic vinegar (I like the Costco brand for this recipe---don't use expensive balsamic!) over a low simmer until it is thick and it coats the back of a spoon. Cool just a bit and then spoon the sauce over sliced strawberries and vanilla ice cream. "Mmmm!"

***GIVEAWAY: I want to hear about your flavor combos, recipes, or stories of food items that might seem weird to today's palate but you still enjoy... OR your family's traditional recipes that might not be 'en vogue' today (I'm thinking pickled watermelon rinds and that sort of thing). What "weird" foods do you like? And if you don't have anything of the sort to share, just post a comment and you'll be entered in the drawing... I will choose a random comment next Tuesday.

The prize? Four embroidered linen "Doily Napkins" (it's a fun little pattern of mine that I've been enjoying---pictured above) and an itty bitty cookbook (made by me) that includes a few of my favorite recipes along with related stories...

Have a great weekend!   

Comments

[High Desert Diva]

I'm just catching up on my blog reading...having company for the Memorial weekend has thrown me off.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I'll be back to check yours.

[melissa]

Hello, I love everything about your blog. A "weird" food that runs in my family is mustard on buttered toast. This may be a French Canadian thing since it came from my FC grandparents? This combination possibly may help an upset stomach, too. I may be making that last part up. Another fine food I have enjoyed since childhood is the potato chip sandwich. Buttered slice of bread with potato chips stuffed in and folded over. The folded over part makes it taste better:) Thanks so much for your very human, very beautiful blog!

[Bonnie Buckingham]

What lovely napkins!
Have to think.........the weirdest combination
is one of my sons ( I have 4 of them!) who
puts Ranch Dressing on French Fries, even
when we are out to dinner!

Bonnie

[Andriann]

Hmmmm....I love grilled cheese sandwiches with honey on them. And Wendy's fries in their frosty's are yummy. But the BEST is strawberries dipped in sour cream and brown sugar. We just get two little bowls, one of each and dip each strawberry in sour cream and then as much brown sugar as it will hold and YUM! Once we learned this, my sister and mom and I spent endless summer days dipping away! Fun give away!

[Tracy]

One thing I thought sounded gross until I tried it was cottage cheese with cut-up banana, sprinkled with cinnamon. Add some walnut pieces, and you've got a meal!

[coffeechris]

I love your blog and visit often. Your work is gorgeous and I am a fellow foodie. Weird food combos mmmm anything citrus!

[Theresa N]

I like dill pickels dipped in mustard, very yummy.
Theresa N
weceno@yahoo.com

[Kelly]

Onion & Mustard sandwiches, are a favorite here...with a few salt & peppered chips...I believe these are the ultimate sandwich chips, we use them on all of our sanwiches, great on peanut butter and jam, as well. Pickles & butter sandwiches are a favorite too! My son is voting for ketchup on his pizza. French fries dipped in honey...myself, I tend to add flax and sesame seeds to absolutely everything, even my desserts...I just crave them...and lets see, anything, although, especially bananas and strawberries are excellent dipped in Ovaltine...:)...dipping reminds me of my sons obsession with dipping his toast in his chocolate milk...

[Dana]

Leftover sweet cornbread, crumbled into a tall glass, cold milk poured over and eaten with a spoon. Mmmmmm.

[Laura]

My family is from Georgia(lots of southern cooking!).Two of my favorite dishes my Great Grandmother made were coca cola cake and jello salad with lime jello spinach,cottage cheese,and pineapple .

Two of the strangest things I have seen since moving to North Carolina are fried pickles and fried cheesecake...I haven't been brave enough to try either!

What a fun contest...I hope you are having a great trip!!

:) Laura

[Kelly]

We had five kids in our family and you didn't waste food. When I was little I loved mac and cheese with ketchup but that isn't the ewww part. One day as my mother was fixing plates for my sister and me(we were the youngest)she put french dressing on the mac and cheese instead of the salad. She managed to convince us that we were special and we were the only ones that got that treat. We loved it because it was "special" just for us. I couldn't eat mac and cheese without french dressing for years. My husband loves gravy on pancakes. When I was pregnant that was the biggest ewww for me.

[Carolyn]

My only food combination is pretzels and malted milk balls.
However, two of my sisters like Pixie stick powder on potato chips, my friend likes to dip her french fries in mayonnaise and my niece dips her bacon in Sprite. Ew!

[Jennie S.]

What beautiful napkins! i love embroidery.

yummy, slightly weird foods:

sardines cooked w/salted black beans. it goes great w/white rice.

and my mum-in-law loves sour cream/jello molds made w/cashews. lol

[Jolene]

We don't have any weird foods that we eat, how boring, right?

Hope you had fun at the coast :)

[AJ]

Not too sure about the pickles and peanut butter. I mean pickles are great, peanut butter is great...but altogether? Hmmm. I don't think I have any quirky food combos. I remember once when Shawn and I picked up McDonald's and I ordered fries and a chocolate shake. I love dipping my fries in the shake. It's that sweet and salty mixture. He thought I was nuts. Then again he also had no idea how good perogies or blue cheese were til he met me, LOL.

[Hali]

I love peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. They get a bad rap.
Well, my favorite "weird" foods are cream cheese and jelly sandwiches which everyone thinks are really gross when i eat them. Also, my apples and ranch dressing. Sounds gross i know, but it was pretty good. Oh and i put ketchup in my macaroni and cheese. so.. i guess i eat kinda weird foods. haha.
-hali

[Susan]

Enjoy the coast, it is beautiful this time of year! I don't eat anything weird, but I love catsup on macaroni and cheese, and people say that is weird.

[bigbucketgirl]

when we were being assessed by social workers to adopt our now 2yr old son..they asked if we knew about food groups and our government recommendations for healthy eating. we did. they asked what we ate in a regular week. we had to write detailed menus. MY sunday evening supper was a white bread, brown ketchup and boiled cabbage sandwich. (lunch leftovers). In the final meeting to determine whether or not we would have our son...their concern was that i was a 'weird', 'bizarre' and 'odd' eater. CHARMING! They actually re-read our weekly menus to assure themselves that the rest of the week was 'normal'.
i love reading what is eewwww for some and heaven for others. long may you enjoy your pickle and pb!

[Polly]

I can't think of any particular eeewww foods we indulge in here. Growing up though my brother, sister and I loved PB & mayo sandwiches. makes me shudder now.

I LOVE your embroidered napkins. so lovely

[lina]

In the UK branston pickle is a must in your cheese or ham sandwiches. My dad always had a thing about cheese and jam sandwiches.(I think UK jam is jelly in the US). They taste surprisingly good, the sweetness of the jam cuts through the creaminess of a nice old cheddar. Yum! Like the sound of strawberries and balsamic vinegar - I recently heard of a similar fried pineapple & black pepper combo which would be worth a try.

[kirsten]

as a teeenager, at a party once, someone swore that dipping dill pickle spears into onion dip was good - and it was!

granted, it's not for dates...

[Teresa]

MMmmmm strawberries (we live on the southern oregon coast!) we used to eat stawberries dipped in sour cream and then rolled in brown sugar, but alas we just discovered (the hard way) that one of our kids is now alergic to strawberries.

fave snack.... slice of salami, spread with cream cheese and top with a pickle slice or pepperchini

[Alexis]

We used to eat steak, dipped in red wine, and then dipped in creamed spinach. My mom used to send me to school with butter and liverwurst sandwiches. I also used to heat up peanut butter and put it on ice cream, but, alas, no pickles!

[Kelsey]

I am all about trying new things, some are better than others...my dad's side of the family puts peanut butter on corn (it's really yummy!) I though it was strange until I married my husband and he covers his in Mayo, parmesan cheese and chili powder (which is also fabulous!). Ok, so here is my strange secret food...I put caramel syrup on my corn, or honey. It is fantastic!

[Nicole]

I like peanut butter and pickle sandwiches too. I don't seem to get as many comments about that as I do about adding jam and Dijon mustard to my grilled cheese sandwiches, though.

It's not something I eat very often, but one of my weirdest food combinations (which I've eaten more than once) involves plain yogurt, grapefruit, carrots, and Tabasco sauce.

[Virginia]

The napkins are abolutely beautiful!!
This eewww recipe is not mine, but my mom's: peanut butter, tomato, and onion sandwiches. I still haven't tried this, but she loves it.

[Tava]

I'm all about the cottage cheese mixed with ketchup. It's delicious. Yum Yum. I can't wrap my head around the pb and dill though, sorry!

[Mandi]

The cream cheese and olives sounds good to me also the peanut butter and sprouts. My family has a lot of weird combos Bana Cala (spelling I am unsure of) Homemade Anchovy Paste As a dip for Cabbage, Drunkin Fruit Pears, canned cherries whatever fruit you have with whiskey let it steep for a couple of months the longer the better eat it by self or with cake etc., or my families antipasto catsup, lots of different veggies, pickles, canned tuna,olives,sardines,anchovies,sugar. I catered my own wedding and my Aunts brought these delicacies to share. Huge Old jars filled. So funny the people eating the drunkin fruit not knowing exactly what it was ! As for a strange sandwich combos my mom used to eat Peanut Butter and Potato chips on wonder bread everyday for lunch. I could do this forever we really like to eat in my family. Fun Contest and beautiful prize!

[Prudence]

Wow - a lot of peanut butter eaters out there! When I was growing up my dad used to make us ketchup and mayonaise sandwiches all summer, and we also actually ate spam sandwiches - we would also eat the treats out of old army rations. I still like a few odd combinations now, but nothing too weird - cottage cheese with salsa, or fried eggs and potatoes with maple syrup drizzled over the top of both.

Your embroidery is lovely by the way.

[Lindsey and Twyla]

My favorite 'weird' food combination...a bowl of sweetened oatmeal with a crumbled up peanut butter sandwich mixed in it. Yumm!

[beth]

I'm originally from West Virginia and my family has a fondness for pickled ramps. They are really stinky onions that grow wild there. My grandma also cans banana peppers from her garden sliced open with a hot dog inside. I have a jar in my pantry but we haven't been brave enough to open them yet!

[tiennie]

My best friend's favorite sandwich is peanut butter, mayo, pickle, lettuce and slice of cheese. I can't bring myself to try it. I did hear that it is big in the midwest to have pb and pickle sandwiches though.

[Karin]

Growing up we ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches a lot-- sometimes we had brown sugar and butter sandwiches....ketchup sandwiches,--- I personally ate onion and mayo sandwiches when I was a bit older.

[Beth]

Your peanut butter and pickle sandwich reminded me of something my mom used to eat when I was little: tomato sandwiches with peanut butter and mayonnaise. It's very tasty. In college, I used to eat cottage cheese with tomatoes and French dressing. That's not too weird, I guess. But it is yummy! Have a nice trip!

[Dallas]

My mom always served us white rice with sugar and butter. I didn't know that wasn't typical until I went to a Chinese restaurant in college and noticed that no one else sugared their rice.

[Kate in NY]

One of my children is adopted from Africa, and so I've been reading many African cookbooks for inspiration lately (the best is probably Marcus Samuelsson's "The Soul of a New Cuisine"). One absolutely delicious combination of flavors that seems to crop up again and again is beef, tomatoes and peanut butter. Mmmmm - it is SO good - and easily adaptable to more Western-style fare (for instance, when I am making a tomato and meat sauce for pasta, I add in some peanut butter). Really, what is peanut butter NOT delicious with?

Kate

[erin]

BLT with peanut butter on it. weird, but good.

[ellen kelley]

I am not sure about "weird" combinations, but for many people I ate strange food growing up in Hawaii...poi, lomi lomi salmon, taro, tofu and edamame beans fresh from the vine.
I wish you a wonderful weekend on the coast...it may be well above 90 tomorrow in Roseburg. It's darned hot here where we are.
Have a safe and wonderful trip and good and loving connections with friends.

[Steph]

You'll have no idea what I'm talking about but my favourite when I was a child and sometimes still today was vegemite sandwiches with chips (crisps I think you'd call them) in them. The chips had to be added right before eating to retain their crunch. Vegemite is a dark brown yeast spread, Aussies and kiwis grow u with it but its an aquired taste as it looks like tar and makes your breath smell funky. But it tastes so good.

[Nancy]

Two unusual food combos . . .
1) This first one involves my Grandpa Mac, my mom's dad. He only lived until I was in sixth grade and he's probably the relative I most closely connected with -- we seem very similar and always had big laughing, good times. My memory is him sitting at the table in my grandparents' kitchen, a hand of cards in his hand, drinking this: half Coke, half milk, with a handful of Saltines crumbled in. I've never tried it.
2) For me, I always sprinkle "big" salt (Kosher) on my ice cream. I love the sweet/salty mix.
--Nancy in NC

[Julie Alvarez]

Oh, I so like everything you do, that I can't keep myself from commenting on this one... Maybe I win!
I like something strange like apples with reggianito cheese. No one else likes it, I know. And also tomatoes with a sweet we make here in Argentina, we call it Dulce de Leche. It's basically milk cooked slowly with sugar until it gets brown. Well, I like eating tomatoes with it. Again, no one else does like this mix.
Thanks for sharing.

[Jill]

I like salted peanuts thrown in a glass of pepsi. It sounds weird, but it's actually quite yummy.

[Patricia]

Wow, there are some amazingly odd yet tasty-sounding combinations in these comments. I love anything sour, so pickles were a constant treat for me when I was a kid. I think I invented the pickle pop. Freeze pickle juice in ice cube or popsicle trays for a sour summer treat.
My toddler was excited when he saw your PB and pickle combo, so we'll give it a try.

[Eva]

We ate cottage cheese and maple syrup as a rare treat growing up.
I also like graham crackers dipped in lemonade and orange juice on my cheerios.

[Yarrow]

No weird combos, but I used to eat mayo snadwiches regularly after school. Lovel the doilies!

[Ellen]

Now this is a fun post, Amber. I will definitely have to try the pickles and peanut butter combo and that strawberry thing sounds great with the balsamic vinegar. My entry (on spur of the moment thinking) is not that weird. Since being married, we've enjoyed fried eggs with horseradish on the side - the hotter the better.

[Carrie]

Two weird food memories:

In elementary school the cool thing to bring for lunch was a top ramen noodle package. The thing is, we would eat it raw--just the crunchy hard noodles with the powder sauce sprinkled on top. I never buy ramen anymore, but I would totally eat it that way if I did.

The other weird food memory is from my first year in college. I didn't know how to cook anything but minute rice. So I'd make that white rice and mix in frozen spinach (which would thaw in the hot rice), cheddar cheese and soy sauce. I would eat it all the time. Again, I don't buy white rice, but I would probably eat that combo again, too.

I will try the PB & pickle thing. I love pickles and PB, so the two together...yum.

Great doilies! Have a fun weekend--should be a nice one on the beach (supposed to be 90 degrees here in Olympia).

[Shannon]

My favorite combo is Annies Mac & Cheese, smoked salmon, garlic and spinach all mixed together in one pot. Gosh, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Maybe not weird enough.

[Diane]

Oh my, peanut butter and pickles! Now, a nice peanut butter and bacon sandwich... mmmm... maybe once every ten years... and when I was a teenager I liked to have a bowl with a glop of peanut butter and a glop of applesauce in it. The thing that is ewwww around here is when the guys make toast and put on Annie's Goddess Dressing with a hefty covering of nutritional yeast. Does not smell good. None of these things should even be MENTIONED in the same paragraph with your beautiful doilies -- but -- your doilies are lovely! Have a wonderful weekend!

[shelle]

Now I am beginning to think that my family is to plain and boring. We don't eat anything out of the ordinary. We do indulge in marmite and bransten pickle from the UK, both are great on cheese sandwiches.

But I will concur with the fritos with cottage cheese, or salt and pepper potato chips even better.