Culinary Wonders that Everyone Can Taste

Glory of glories: this week the skies parted and flooded my soul with marvelous light, and the birds outside my window chirruped the hallelujah chorus with gusto.

I ate.

Real food.

Ground turkey with vegetables and rice, to be exact.

Best thing I've ever eaten, as far as I could tell.  You see, I can't really taste much.  I think this is because my tongue is still bruised, and I'm guessing my taste buds were burned off a bit during surgery.  It's not uncommon for tonsillectomy patients to lose their sense of taste for up to six months after the surgery, but oh! Lord, I pray this is not the case for me.

I'm still not terribly concerned (although I admittedly ask my mom if she thinks this is permanent at least 12 times a day) because it still hurts like the dickens to swallow and talk which reminds me that my little mouth just needs time to heal before it can do helpful things like taste.

In the meantime I'm trying to find foods that I can sort of taste.  Mango is out.  Popsicles are out.  Pecan butter is out.  Coconut ice cream is out.

But chocolate covered strawberries?

In.

I can totally, sort of taste them.  And if there's one thing I'd like to sort of kind of maybe be able to taste, it's chocolate covered strawberries.

The dark richness of the chocolate and tart zing of the berries make for a delightful combination of flavors.

Amen and amen.

My aunt and uncle sent me the chocolate covered strawberries in the form of a lovely fruit bouquet today.  It was such a cheerful surprise on this cloudy, hot, and humid day.

Isn't it fun?

I love the ceramic flower pot, and intend to keep the skewers along with it so I can reproduce the bouquet one day.  Can you see the kale around the base of the bouquet?  Its lacy frills add a perfect splash of green.

I think kale is one of the world's most underrated vegetables.  I tend to think this of any vegetable that can be made into a salty, crunchy chip.  Chips make the world go round, and kale makes great chips.  Cheesy chips, spicy chips, burnt chips.  I have a problem burning kale chips.  Nonetheless, I still love this terribly underrated vegetable.

In other news, it may be awhile before I can resume my Monday/every-other-Thursday blogging routine.  This recovery is turning out to be every bit as long as people told me it would be.  And until my head has cleared enough to think coherent thoughts, I'll be munching on chocolate covered strawberries while searching cookbooks for recipes I can taste.  It is quite possible that when you return my blog will have been converted to a food blog.  "Sous-Chef Sarah: Culinary Wonders that Everyone Can Taste."

Hasta la vista,

Sarah


© by scj