Life on Rural Street

Last night I decided I wanted Chili for dinner. It was a cold, rainy day here in the 'burgh and I wanted something to warm me up. Chili is a comfort food for me. John picked me up from work and I asked him to run by Whole Foods so I could get the ingredients I needed. You should know that John and I don't eat red meat, in fact John ONLY eats some fish as far as meat goes. So when I make chili I put soy crumbles in it. You're thinking "ew!" but I promise it's good! (usually it is: keep reading) We arrived at Whole Foods to find it a complete place of insanity. Everyone was doing their pre-Thanksgiving shopping. (which I have to do tonight) So a "quick" trip was really not going to happen. I started to collect all the items I needed: red pepper, red onion, garlic, etc. I proceeded over the freezer section to find my preferred brand of soy crumbles is not there. I sulked for a minute and took my time examining my other options and John finally begged me to pick something so we could go home and make dinner. So I did it. I bought another brand.

I went home and made the chili along with cornbread. I was so excited because it is smelling SO good. Finally about 7pm it was time to eat. (yes, my poor husband waited patiently for a late dinner) I dished out the chili put the cornbread on the table. I went to take my first bite and it was totally gross. The soy crumbles were complete mush. It tasted like I had put mashed potatoes in my chili. John says "it's not so bad." He tried so hard to be nice. But it was pretty nasty. I am a pretty picky eater and texture has a lot to do with why or why not I like to eat something - so this was a pretty big deal. I even tried two or three more bites. But I couldn't do it. I was pretty mad. Especially since I ended up eating a piece of leftover pizza for dinner instead. It really just wasn't quite what I had in mind.

btw - John has decided mushy chili would be good on hot dogs. (yes, we eat veggie/soy dogs) So I have been instructed to buy some next time I'm at the store. But for the record, I will only buy my preferred brand.

I think it's a good thing to try new things. To venture out of your comfort zone. But last night I learned that this doesn't always apply to grocery shopping.