weird stuff I’ve eaten

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This page is having some photo link issues since I updated my template the other day. I’m working on getting the images back in place. (In Safari and Firefox, they seem to be lurking at the footer of the page- weird.)
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Since coming to the UK, I’ve been exposed to a fair amount of foods that I wouldn’t either normally see in the relatively sheltered midwest of America or have the balls to eat unless on some Survive-the-Island-of-Fear-and-Challenge-Factory type of reality TV show…
Those who know me, know that I’m not a terribly adventurous eater. I’m not bad, but I have my own little bubble of gastrointestinal delights that I accept and rarely let new ones in to cloud my culinary pleasure dome. I’ve become more open in recent years, and since moving to the UK, I’ve seriously been close to embracing a minor onslaught of foods to my mental menu.

I submit for your amusement:
Weird Stuff I’ve Eaten: A Pictorial Record of My Crumbling Pickiness.
(click images for close ups and sometimes other pics of the same subject)

First, and not entirely weird to some: Mussels. I like seafood, but these have always seemed a bit unappealing. They’re chewy and a little gritty, but really, I ended up enjoying the experience of eating a bowl full of garlic buttered shell creatures. Not something I’d have often, but certainly an indulgent snack.

Good things can come in small packages, as can mediocre things… This canned cake is what’s called a Steamed Pudding. The chocolate wasn’t intense and the custard we served it with was too hot for my taste, but all in all, I’ve had much less satisfactory desserts. I’d like to try it from a restaurant or better looking product from the grocery store next time. Perhaps I could give it higher marks then…
The most amusing bit about the Heinz Pudding was that the perfect impression from the inside of the can was still intact after heating. There was just something funny about reading, “OPEN OTHER END FIRST” on my food…

Cockles… you’ve heard of them thanks to a quaint song from childhood but did you ever really know what they were? Some mysterious seafood… Yes, that’s what they are. Too bad they look like aborted baby bird heads… The worst part is: I actually found myself eating them and going back for more. Perhaps it’s that they’re served pre-cooked but cold. Maybe it’s the grit these little sea creatures help filter. Maybe I just like the idea of grossing out my friends with the the thought of eating these pungent, cold, squishy, gritty, birdy-head looking critters. I dunno, but I think I’ll eat them again.

Having positively nothing to do with lava or bread, lavabread is a Welsh seaweed that’s served up traditionally with breakfast stuff, like, bacon, sausage, eggs and toast. Our veggie options included the same foods of a meatless variety. The lavabread was fried up in some olive oil with a bit of fresh garlic to make it more ‘jEN-friendly.’ The tactic only sort of worked, as it was still overpoweringly ‘sea’ tasting, gritty and a bit too slimy and dark for me. I did my best and managed to eat half of my serving, typically with other foods serving as a flavour barrier to my whining tastebuds. Alas, I’m not a lavabread fan. I hear it’s not uncommon to dislike it. Oh well…

The people of the UK will put tuna on just about anything it seems, not the least of which is pizza. That’s right. And corn. Yup. Corn on pizza. You see, pizza is thought of as a vessel for consuming ingredients, not necessarily the most likely ones either. Corn is such a treat here that a package containing 2 medium ears can cost around £2! That’s around $3.50 depending on the exchange rate! Loose corn is comparatively cheap, and can be found on the toppings menu of nearly any pizza place… right next to tuna.

Dandelion and Burdock pop. Or is it soda? Whatever it is, it’s nearly indescribable. It’s a little fruity in the way that Dr. Pepper is fruity, but a little dirt and plants-like in the way that Root Beer tastes like dirt and plants. I think I like it.