Image is “Ice Cream Ramen” courtesy of…
Today in a comment conversation with my friend Claire about Tomato sandwiches we compared a few notes on, shall we say, unusual food pairings. Suddenly I realized that many of us have grown up eating interesting and unusual foods, and food combinations. Some of which might have made a friend or work partner wrinkle their nose now and again. What is yours?
My father’s favorite was a breakfast stack containing pancakes, bacon, eggs sunny-side-up, and all dripping with maple syrup. Which reminds me of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird when she protests loudly on seeing her little supper guest pour syrup over his whole meal.
Although it wasn’t her favorite… my grandmother was heard to say that as a younger woman she actually sampled fried grasshoppers once. She claimed that, “They weren’t that bad.”
So here are a couple of mine…
One recent: Toasted bread with apple butter and sharp cheddar cheese.
And, one from high school : French Fries dipped in a chocolate shake.
I have since heard a few others say that they have tried this one.
~*~
So OK, out with it!
What is your closet food pairing/combination?
I think this will be fun, so don’t be shy. Who knows? You may have a few friends out there who do the same thing…
You never know!
~*~
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Life on the Farmlet 
Interesting blog. We all have our eating quirks.
Yes we do!
But what about sharing one of yours?
Pretty please with a deep fat fried Snickers bar on top?
(Actually, I would have bribed you with a deep fat fried Hostess Twinkie, but I have it on good authority that after all those years of poisoning us when we were kids, they have discontinued making Twinkies! 😉 )
~ L
You might gag over this one, but I love it. (Nobody else in the family will touch it though.) Tomato soup with leftover rice and tuna in it.
Anke, I use tuna in a lot of combinations. I think I might even try it with a little fresh tarragon added! Thanks for sharing!
~ L
I just double-checked on the Twinkies, because I think I remember seeing them in the store. In fact, the corporation went Chapter 9 again, but as of January, 2012, they still were in the Twinkie business. And now, thanks to your blog, I have this overwhelming urge for a Twinkie. I’m going to try to resist. I actually liked the cream-filled cupcakes better, anyway.
As for food combos – I went through a period in grade school when the only breakfast I would eat was tomato soup and cold meatloaf. I do like a good peanut butter and bacon sandwich, too. Beyond that, I don’t think I’m too unusual in my taste, although I’ll stir a lot into cottage cheese or yogurt!
OK, I went and checked. I was misinformed and stand corrected! But in my defense, I was not the only one! Doesn’t matter, I wouldn’t eat one even if I could. Sorry to tempt you though! ~ L 😉
Twinkies are one of those “nostalgia” foods, like candy corn and chocolate covered cherries. I get intense cravings for them, but a handful is enough, once a year.
Pickled herring is another! Coming from a Swedish background, that’s as much Christmas to me as fudge and candy canes!
Your pickled herring has reminded me of our New Years tradition that started when I was very young. We had no money and it was New Years day. Mom wanted something special for dinner and the only thing open on New Years was a local liquor store…
Dad came home with a large jar of pickled pigs feet! I’ll never know what possessed him to buy them, but as a child, I always looked forward to this New Years delicacy was a treat.
Now the thought of it gags me! 😛
~ L
Oh where do I start? peanut butter and onion sandwiches, liverwurst, onion and mustard, kraft dinner with worchestershire sauce, egg sandwich with worchestershire sauce, potatoe chips with pickles and ketchup, and almost everything with cheese!
Hahaha! You like it spicy for sure, and I am with you on the cheese! ~ L
Mac and cheese with chicken livers!! That, my friend, is how I gained back 20 lbs after losing weight being in the hospital for two weeks!! Chicken liver and Mac and Cheese rocks!!
Lori, I think I will have to take your word for it on that one. I’m so glad you are better now! 🙂
I haven’t eaten any liver for a very long time. I used to, but then one day I just lost my apatite for it… I don’t even know why.
Strange huh? ~ L
“Pretty please with a deep fat fried Snickers bar on top?” this made me laugh hard! thanks, i needed it to wake up a bit!
it’s been a long day at the museum, and now i’m pondering what not to share! many of my meals/menus are untraditional ones.
do you want to start a weekly food challenge? for now i’ll answer in this comment box!
many mornings i pair one diced avocado, one diced tomato, one small can of tuna and lemon juice. yum YUM! for me, that’s one breakfast for champions!
i also make fresh hibiscus tea and let it cool. i pair it with fresh maracuya juice (passion fruit) and whirl the tea, flowers and all. sometimes i add a banana for the sweetness, other times not. either way, it’s healthy, delicious and pretty.
this is one of my all time favorite ways to use leftover quinoa.
http://playamart.wordpress.com/2012/03/09/quinouli-keen-oo-lee-fritatta/
(how did i do?!!!!)
(for some reason i’m craving a fried snickers bar!!)
z
Actually, I think your tuna breakfast salad sounds divine! Though for myself I might better like it for lunch or dinner. Your tea sounds good too!
I checked out your recipe and now I want to try it! I’m always looking for new ways to use up my abundance of eggs. Thanks!
So, compared to what we eat in the states you did very well! Unusual to us yes, but they sound delicious! ~ L
PS: I would be hard pressed to get fresh hibiscus here, what would you suggest as a substitution?
You can probably find dried hibiscus tea; if not, red zinger has a lot of hibiscus in that mixture. I often find a rose hip/hibiscus blend in Latin America. Too bad that your growing season isn’t long enough for hibiscus, as the fresh material trumps the dried.
The coastal area of Ecuador has a soup called “Encebollado” – it is packed full of fresh albacore tuna, thinly sliced onions and is traditionally offered/available on weekends for breakfast. I first thought, ‘Ugh. Tuna soup for breakfast, I don’t think so.’
It is heaven! Served with lots of lemon and chifles on the side – wow, I could eat it every morning! “They” say that it’s good for a hangover! Z
Thanks! I will have to give this a try. Some day though, I will have a green house, and then I can grow a lovely hibiscus just for your recipes! 🙂
Ha! And you’ll have hummingbirds hanging around as well! Z
Ok but dont tell anyone…….Peanut butter sandwich, but instead of jam….. Mayo, “yes I know” she says hanging her head, “but it’s so good” she say’s peering over the top of her glasses….(and just for the record, real mayo only like hellmans or homemade)
Oooh, good one! I had forgotten that one from when I was younger, but don’t gag… we were a “Miracle Whip” family. Never fear, as an adult I can’t stomach the stuff now. I think I might revisit this with the reals stuff this week. 😉
~ L
Hmmm…I don’t think I can even come up with a weird food combination that I eat… Your toast with apple butter and cheese sounds delicious though! Even when I was pregnant I never craved weird combinations of food, just a lot of it. LOL Lots of Greek olives and stew. Not necessarily in one bowl. 😉
What a fun post!
~ April
Thanks April! It has been fun, and actually the responses were full of useful and interesting takes on food too. I am so glad that so many have chosen to share! ~ L
Being Australian I have that tart, salty thing called Vegemite here in my cupboard.
I like Vegemite (black, salty & savoury) with my favourite Organic Honey (sweet & creamy) on toast or a sandwich.
Vegemite & Honey is like a Chinese sweet & sour sandwich.
I like plain Greek yoghurt on my steamed green vegies.
I also like freshly squeezed lemon juice on hot steamed vegies.
I think the Vegemite is something you just have to grow up with, though your sweet and sour sandwich is intriguing…
I use the Greek yogurt with diced tomato, cucumber, and a bit of minced onion. I think it is a Mediterranean or middle eastern dish.
As for the lemon on veg, well I do that too! It tastes delicious and is a great salt replacement. 🙂
~ L
Avocado and vegemite sandwiches!
Julie, I would never make this connection in a million years. When I think of avocados I immediately think of Mexican food and nothing else. Do you put on lettuce and tomato, or cheese? ~ L
Ah, Vegemite is being mentioned! Well, we Brits are very fond of Marmite – the original and best, of course 😉 The combinations are endless but the oddest of our combinations is Marmite and pickled onion sandwiches… go figure 🙂
I have only smelled the product and never eaten it. I do like pickled pearl onions. So much talk of the vege and mar mites. I guess I should go to market and read the labels to see if they are gluten free. 🙂
Hmmmm so many to choose from 🙂 hahahaha love my chili/marmite rub I made for beef … marmite and cheese on toast , some people think have cold corned beef is odd, but i love it with baked beans and new potatoes… Hmmm Ill have to give this some thought , my mind has been on creating a photo portfolio these past few days :)) Hoping to get published soon! Only a brochure , but its a start!!!
Oh , and I have tried the Avocado, Vegemite and Tomato on toast :)) Very nice !
Rich, so that explains where you have been! Your work sounds exciting, and I can’t wait to see it! I will be looking forward to your entry for odd food combos when you get done then. 😀
~ L
Mom made an old fashioned sandwich spread that she canned in glass jars…we just called it sandwich spread….so good. Onions, sweet peppers in a mustardy, custardy sauce, pickling spices…I’ll have to look it up in her recepie book…I just loved it as a little kid. As far as strange combos now I love 2 yr old cheese, with stuffed olives, assorted nuts and a mug of the best dark coffee…with double cream….weird enough?
Your mother’s spread sounds like what we used to put on our hot dogs and burgers as a kid! I would love to see the recipe! As for your strange combo eating such bold flavored and savory foods chased with double cream coffee makes my tongue curl! 😉 So yeah, I think it qualifies! ~ L
No closet necessary… Anything sweet paired with something salty works – like your example of fries with shake or red licorice with popcorn at the movies or chips and a chocolate bar.
But one time while on a canoe trip, being stuck in the middle of a lake when hunger struck and necessity being the mother of invention, I dug around in the box containing our share (by weight) of the food and, following the sweet/salty rule, until I came up with a bag of carrots and the jar of peanut butter.
It turned out to be an excellent snack (and healthy too!; )
Hi, Deb! Actually, If I could eat carrots and peanut butter, then I would probably eat them together too! This does sound good! People eat apples and peanut butter together, and peanut butter with raisins on celery…
So why not? 😀