Last week, circumstances aligned perfectly . . . and I found myself in the grocery store.
Knowing exactly what I wanted to make for supper.
And remembering exactly what I needed to make it.
(No small thing ’round here.)
We had picked up our first basket of produce from Bountiful Baskets, and I was determined to use all of the fruits and vegetables in there. Even the ones I would NEVER buy myself. That’s kind of the point of getting the basket.
Anyway, one thing that the veggie-basket-putter-togetherers likely assume every normal person would think was fine and dandy?
Tomatoes.
A totally normal fruit/veggie that is purchased and consumed regularly by normal people.
But . . . we don’t care for tomatoes. I like tomato-ey stuff. Things with tomatoes in them and things made from tomatoes. But the raw ones? They’re icky.
(Seriously lucked out marrying a man with the same non-grown-up food preferences as me!)
Anyway, I knew I could use them in a sauce or a soup or something, but I was determined to broaden our taste buds. I decided to try making bruschetta. I grew to like bruschetta when I lived in Thailand (while going to Italian restaurants there . . . ), but when I made it once early in our marriage, Hubby refused to try it. I had hopes (since I had seen him choke down a tomato during our all-veggies-for-two-weeks experiment), that he would try it this time.
I looked up a recipe and it called for balsamic vinegar.
My first instinct was to leave it out.
Even though I had some sitting on my kitchen counter.
Even though I do like the stuff and know it adds great and necessary flavor.
Why leave it out? Well . . . . I’ve had that bottle of balsamic vinegar for a VERY long time. As in, I definitely remember it in my kitchen two houses ago. Which would make it at least . . . seven years old.
But here’s how the dialogue has gone inside my brain for the past . . . oh . . . five years or so:
Rational Me: Balsamic vinegar would really help this recipe.
Neurotic Me: Too bad we don’t have any.
Rational Me: Ummm, yes we do. It’s right there.
Neurotic Me: That? No, can’t use that.
Rational Me: Why not?
Neurotic Me: Hello? You know we’ve had that for. . . like . . . ever. Right?
Rational Me: Ummm, hello yourself? It’s VINEGAR! I’m guessing vinegar doesn’t really go bad.
Neurotic Me: You said “guessing”! I heard you! You don’t know for sure either.
Rational Me: I’m pretty sure we looked it up on that internet-thing once.
Neurotic Me: And what did it say?
Rational Me: I don’t remember.
Neurotic Me: So, go look it up again.
Rational Me: Ummm, I could. But . . .
Neurotic Me: But then we’d have to wash our hands before we touch the computer and again after.
Rational Me: Right. And we’d probably get distracted and start checking Facebook and never get supper finished.
Neurotic Me: Right. I’m glad you agree.
Rational Me: So what are we going to do?
Neurotic Me: Leave it out. It’s too risky. I’m sure it will taste fine without it.
Rational Me: OK. It probably will. So should we throw it out?
Neurotic Me: Throw it out? What if it’s perfectly fine to use? Then we’d be wasting perfectly good balsamic vinegar!
Rational Me: You’re right. Besides, look at that fancy bottle. I bet it’s . . . like . . .totally expensive.
Neurotic Me: I love it when we agree. You’re so awesome.
Rational Me: You’re awesome too. And your hair looks really cute today!
Neurotic Me: Thanks! Yours too!
I guess it was Well-Adjusted Me who was doing the shopping that day last week, because I splurged on a less-than-four-dollar bottle of BRAND NEW balsamic vinegar and then bullied the other two into agreeing to throw the old one away.
Right after I took a picture.
I totally do this. ALL THE TIME. Glad to know I’m not alone. 🙂
Uh, I am paying more for *aged* vinegar because it tastes better? I don’t know if this translates into vinegar stored at home in the cupboard. I will say the taste difference is amazing and a little goes a long way. (Some people use just balsamic plain as dressing and I could never get into it until I got a fancy syrupy one)
Nice conversation with your self!
PS I will only eat cherry tomatoes or Campari tomatoes from Coscto, all other tomatoes (even heirloom organic!) do not taste like a tomato at all! I think this could be why people hate tomatoes they are like mushy red potatoes (and if you refrigerate tomatoes, fuggedaboudit, they are ruined).
Glad I’m not the only grown up who hates tomatoes!
I like tomatoes. I’m about the only one around here, though who does. If I get more tomatoes than I can eat, I either have to cook the rest into some semblance of cooked tomatoes, or I have to compost them. (either one seems sort of sad to me. nothing like a fresh, sweet tomato… if you like them, that is)
As to the internal dialog about the balsamic? Well, I can relate. I’m learning to throw things away. Slowly. But learning. Balsamic, though? That doesn’t last long at our house. I have one dd who practically drinks the stuff.
I don’t really like tomatoes that much, but my little girl loves them. When I started my garden this year I planted a couple of packets of tomato seeds thinking that most of the seeds would not produce, but now I have a ton of tomato plants. The good thing is that I have a dehydrator and I can slice up the ones that I can’t eat while still good (on my blt’s) or the ones that my daughter won’t get to, and dehydrate them and they’ll fit into nice glass jars and make pretty little gifts for my friends that do like tomatoes. They are really pretty dried and I can even take the dried ones and put them in the processor and have tomato paste that just needs water. You should try it. With my first crop I’m also going to try and cut them into cubes and dehydrate them so when I get ready to make spagetti sauce I can mix them with the tomato paste and presto! At least, that’s the idea.
Yep, that’s my head. Right there.
Definitely had that conversation in my head, too.
Not all tomatoes are created equal. I had only ever been given “regular” large-ish tomatoes to try and the verdict was that I don’t like tomatoes. But I did like tomatoe-y stuff.
Turns out that small cherry or baby plum tomatoes are divine if you pop them into a hot oven for 10-15 minutes after spritzing with a little (olive) oil and maybe a sprinkle of garlic salt.
Beef tomatoes are quite nice (not as much as the cherry or plum) sliced and brushed with (olive) oil then griddled or grilled, better if they are to go in something such as a burger topping rather than just on their own).
I’m still trying to pluck up the courage to try other types of tomatoes – and who knew, not all tomatoes are red or even vaguely red…?
I am starting to get really creeped out by how similar we are. I hate fresh tomatoes. And the vinegar thing? Yeah, that is totally me.
Is it weird that I think about you every time I throw away really old food? 🙂
YES! This is ME! In fact, even though we do love tomatoes(especially in bruschetta) and Balsalmic vinegar…. I have an insanely old bottle with dredges of dipping oil&vinegar in it…. Because the bottle is a pretty but difficult one to wash. come to think of it…. I have several “I’m going to do something crafty with those one day” bottles in my cupboard too. Sigh!
I have had this same conversation in my head, too! I agree with everyone–glad I’m not alone!
Two weeks ago, we had friends over for dinner. I made tomato, mozzarella, basil skewers for an app. That morning, I trashed the old (really old) bottle of balsamic and splurged on a somewhat pricey new bottle. Unpacking the grocery bags, said new bottle of pricey balsamic toppled out of the bag, fell off the counter, and smashed to pieces on the floor.
Now, if only I had the old bottle as backup……
I’ll volunteer to take those nasty fresh tomatoes off your hands. (The sacrifices I am willing to make for you…LOL!) Honestly, I would nearly commit murder to get my hands on some home-grown, ripe tomatoes. (Although I’d take the large green ones too. I LOVE fried green tomatoes, and green tomato relish!) I would REALLY go nuts for fresh, homegrown, perfectly ripe SOUTHERN-grown tomatoes. There are no tomatoes in the world, even Italy, that can compare with the flavor of tomatoes grown in that soil and climate! Oh, and I’m pretty sure vinegar doesn’t go ‘bad’. Maybe it depends on the acid content? But I am using the last of some over five year old homemade apple cider vinegar, and we haven’t gotten sick yet. Every year or so I have to fish out the ‘mother’, but I might try juicing some organic apples this year and add the mother to the juice. It doesn’t take long to become vinegar, but will have to scout the net to find out exactly HOW to do it. I just don’t remember.
I don’t have any good tomatoes right now, but might go to the Farmer’s market this weekend so I can make bruschetta! Oh, and don’t ask me about the rest of my well-aged condiments resting in my fridge. I thought about tossing them all when I got my brand new fridge a few weeks ago, but couldn’t bring myself to do it! I mean, mustards don’t go bad, right? Or Worcestershire sauce? Or gravy browning ‘paste’? (Didn’t it USED to be totally liquid?)
Thanks once again for making me laugh. SO important for my mental health.
Seriously? I’m the ONLY one who had to say something about the whole hand washing thing? BEFORE you use the computer?!? 😀
LOL, hilarious conversation. I don’t know about Balsamic Vinegar, ours never stays around that long 🙂 but I did have some apple cider vinegar grow a really nasty hairy layer of mold once. And it wasn’t even very old, maybe 2 months? GROSS!!
And for anyone who might be thinking I was mistaking the “mother” for mold, it was definitely mold.
I also have those type of conversations with myself but we have a Dollar Tree that carries Balsamic vinegar and all kinds of other neat foodie stuff.
Yuck, tomatoes! I don’t even really like ketchup, though I will get a hankering for it from time to time (very rarely). I don’t like tomato soup even! I love spaghetti sauce though…weird!
And that conversation about balsamic vinegar, GET OUT O F MY HEAD! 🙂 Between that and cooking wine, I don’t even want to know how many bottles I’ve bought for one recipe and then in the trash it goes after it’s sat on my self for years and expired. 🙂
You made me think to look for a CSA in my area, turns out there is one. I have a garden, but right now it’s not doing all that great (all we have that look viable at the moment are the eggplant and tabasco peppers). So signing up for a little extra variety is perfect. Picking up those boxes will be like Christmas.
I am so blessed to have found you, thank oh so much (again, I’m sure I’ve said this before) for blogging!
It’s a little embarassing and also makes me **laugh** to have you actually give away our “secrets” like this! LOL Sounds so familiar! 🙂
I like tomatoes! I prefer big ripe fresh from our garden tomatoes. Because the ones at the store are picked green and gassed to make them look ripe. That’s one reason I love our garden tomatoes. I like grapefruit tomatoes, light bulb tomatoes, cherry, and grape tomatoes. Anyway you didn’t say if you like the tomatoes on the bruschetta. Were you able to convince your husband to eat it? Oh and by the way I’m sure I have the same kinds of discussions in my head and sometimes a little bit out loud (what can I say I am my Mama’s daughter she does the same thing) about different things. I looked it up and balsamic vinegar stays fine for years and years!
P.S. I love you blog! I have a hard time keeping things clean for very long with a husband and a son and lets be honest myself, too adding to the mess and clutter. But I’m trying to do better and trying to get rid of my clutter spots in the parts of the house that other people see. My bedroom is a totally different story right now though. Anyway keep up the good work! You are an inspiration!