Strange Things You Eat or Want to Try

[hillvalley]

At work the other day it came out that a collegue and a student eat orange rinds. They like the bitter pith and all the extra vitamins they are getting.

Me, I like popcorn dipped into sweetened condenced milk.

So fess up...what do you eat late at night, alone in the dark, hoping no one sees.

[Heather]

Deviled ham, straight out of the can.

[DanCole42]

I thought there was already a thread like this somewhere...

Ah well.

I eat parmesan rinds. And why shouldn't I? All the flavor that moves to the outside of the cheese during the aging process gets concentrated there.

Parmesan rind + Laphroaig + Eagles game = HEAVEN

I've also taken to eating whole cinnamon sticks. Every morning in the car ride I'll suck on one until it's soggy, then I bite off little pieces. For some reason, this results in my burps tasting like carrots.

I can tell that this thread is going to be horrifically appetizing.

[jm chen]

Frozen edamame.

As a child I used to eat entire lemons, but my mom made me stop b/c it's bad for your teeth.

On the rare occasions when I have a lollipop of some sort (Tootsie Pop, Dum Dum, etc) I will also usually eat the stick.

[Heather]

On the rare occasions when I have a lollipop of some sort (Tootsie Pop, Dum Dum, etc) I will also usually eat the stick.

My son does that too.

[Spiral Stairs]

Oh, wow. For me, it's less about "strange" things, and more about things that are "embarrassing to mention on a website populated by foodies." My embarrassing eating habits are what preclude me from ever referring to myself as a foodie. Foodies, for instance, don't eat Kraft Mac & Cheese for dinner, like we did last night. (Although I did add a very nice hot sauce.) Foodies, for instance, don't have frozen burritos in the freezer. Or Hot Pocket brand pizza rolls. Or ... gadzooks ... Stouffer's escalloped chicken and noodles.

I am not a foodie. I am a lowbrow who likes nice restaurants too.

[/Confession]

[/Reply that veered from topic]

[Joshua Grinnell]

Zaatar on popcorn with lots of butter.

I'm not sure what's in zaatar, but you can kind of taste oregano, cumin, sesame, fennel... it's a good mix. You can get a shaker of it at the Mediterranean Bakery in Alexandria that will last you the rest of your life.

[TedE]

At work the other day it came out that a collegue and a student eat orange rinds. They like the bitter pith and all the extra vitamins they are getting.

The whole rind, or just the pith? I like the pith, especially the really thick ones you get with navels at this time of year; the pith really isn't that bitter on them and I like the texture. But the zest itself?

[JPW]

Nacho cheese, straight from the jar

[Waitman]

Nacho cheese, straight from the jar

Disgusting. Everyone knows that proper nacho cheese is made with Velveeta and Old El Paso taco sauce. You should be ashamed.

[clayrae]

Oh, I don’t think having frozen/prepared “food” precludes you from being a foodie.

I like fish sticks dipped in ketchup. Gortons, in the yellow box, not Mrs. Pauls in the green box. I confess that the other day I couldn’t resist and bought, and ate, a Slim Jim in line at CVS.

When I was a kid my dad and I would eat condensed cream of mushroom soup, cold, out of the can. Usually while we watched Dr. Who on Sunday afternoons. I haven’t done that in years though…

My current favorite late night treat is toaster oven s’mores…graham crackers laid out on the toaster oven tray, sprinkled with chocolate chips out of the freezer, with half a marshmallow on top. In the toaster oven till they melt, eaten right off the tray...

[plunk]

Oh, wow. For me, it's less about "strange" things, and more about things that are "embarrassing to mention on a website populated by foodies." My embarrassing eating habits are what preclude me from ever referring to myself as a foodie. Foodies, for instance, don't eat Kraft Mac & Cheese for dinner, like we did last night. (Although I did add a very nice hot sauce.) Foodies, for instance, don't have frozen burritos in the freezer. Or Hot Pocket brand pizza rolls. Or ... gadzooks ... Stouffer's escalloped chicken and noodles.

I am not a foodie. I am a lowbrow who likes nice restaurants too.

[/Confession]

[/Reply that veered from topic]

we eat all sorts of things like this, too. Mostly towards the end of the work week, when preparing a nice dinner can be difficult after some long days at work (and the produce that we purchased on Sunday has gone bad).

[cucas87]

I snack on hot chocolate mix -- the kind without dried marshmallows. I just eat it off of a spoon.

[hillvalley]

At work the other day it came out that a collegue and a student eat orange rinds. They like the bitter pith and all the extra vitamins they are getting.

The whole rind, or just the pith? I like the pith, especially the really thick ones you get with navels at this time of year; the pith really isn't that bitter on them and I like the texture. But the zest itself?

They eat the whole thing. Like an apple.

[deangold]

Not for a long while, but...

canned smoked oysters (Crown Prince brand usually) just havent bought them, not that I've lost the craving.

[zoramargolis]

Zaatar on popcorn with lots of butter.

I'm not sure what's in zaatar, but you can kind of taste oregano, cumin, sesame, fennel... it's a good mix. You can get a shaker of it at the Mediterranean Bakery in Alexandria that will last you the rest of your life.

Sumac is the principal ingredient of zaatar, and I think it also has thyme in it.

[MeMc]

Velveeta slices that I fold into a million pieces and stack like a Dagwood sandwich.

[zoramargolis]

Cottage cheese with soy sauce and hot sauce. In the days when I was looking for ways to make low-calorie food remotely palatable, I used to eat this for lunch on a regular basis. Now that I have to limit carbs, fresh dairy products must needs be apportioned carefully. Cottage cheese wasn't one I was heartbroken about giving up altogether.

[jm chen]

Foodies, for instance, don't have frozen burritos in the freezer. Or Hot Pocket brand pizza rolls. Or ... gadzooks ... Stouffer's escalloped chicken and noodles.

Truffle oil is a nice addition to Four Cheese Pizza Lean Pockets. Foodieness is a state of mind.

[Spiral Stairs]

Truffle oil is a nice addition to Four Cheese Pizza Lean Pockets. Foodieness is a state of mind.

Thanks to this and other upthread confessions, I feel better about the contents of our freezer.

Here's a weird thing I do: Eat raw dry pasta straight from the box.

[yeuxblu]

Pith of the orange, the entire kiwi in all its fuzzy goodness and my favorite- carrot sticks dipped in instant chocolate pudding.

My dad is a big fan of peanut butter toast with sliced tomato and a sprinkling of salt. Its suprisingly yummy.

[porcupine]

Here's a weird thing I do: Eat raw dry pasta straight from the box.

I thought my family were the only ones wierd enough to do that!

I cannot keep from chewing the limes pieces in a caipirinha.

[JPW]

Here's a weird thing I do: Eat raw dry pasta straight from the box.

You mean you're supposed to cook it?

I prefer angel hair for this.

[clayrae]

You mean you're supposed to cook it?

I prefer angel hair for this.

Penne lasts longer.

Batter/dough of any kind. I'll make half a batch of brownie batter just to eat it raw.

And breadcrumbs browned in butter. Eaten with a spoon.

[Pete]

When I was younger I used to eat ballpark peanuts...including the shells.

[Sundae in the Park]

Back in the kitchenless dorm days we would buy packaged cookie dough for the express purpose of eating it raw. Today, licking the bowl is still best part of baking.

Dried fish snacks. Makes for rather stinky breath!

[bilrus]

Back in the kitchenless dorm days we would buy packaged cookie dough for the express purpose of eating it raw.

This just brought fond memories of groups of 18 year old girls sitting in my dorm's living room in their pajamas with tubes of cookies dough and spoons rushing back to me. And then they wondered where the freshman 15 (or as we called it in those days - Dorm Butt) came from.

Thanks for the memories.

And more memories... My favorite college snack - hot dogs microwaved until they explode dipped in Heinz 57 sauce. It has been a long time. Maybe I should stop at Giant on the way home.

Of course to make it authentic, I'd need to find someone to sell me a bag of pot, too.

[Heather]

Back in the kitchenless dorm days we would buy packaged cookie dough for the express purpose of eating it raw. Today, licking the bowl is still best part of baking.

My that brings back memories of my roommate Brian...we would get cookie dough, make a pitcher of fuzzy navels and play gin all night.

[TinDC]

Canned frosting straight from the can. Both chocolate and vanilla.

[hillvalley]

I like to add sprinkles to mine

[DonRocks]

You people are disgusting.

Nevertheless: Click.

[MeMc]

When I was younger I used to eat ballpark peanuts...including the shells.

I still do that. A friend who's a food scientist said the shells are really, really bad for you. I like the salt and the texture of the shells. Maybe I was an elephant in my past life.

[mame11]

I snack on hot chocolate mix -- the kind without dried marshmallows. I just eat it off of a spoon.

I like those dehydrated marshmellows. I used to pick them out of the mix!

When I have a microwave, I have a bad habit... 1 ounce dark chocolate melted... mix in a teaspoon+ of peanut butter mixed and eat with a spoon.

I don't have a microwave right now :-(

(really the only thing I have ever used a microwave for at home)

[Yentruoc]

bread with butter and colored sprinkles (or just sugar if in a pinch). An old aussie neighbor of mine served it to her kids and called it "fairy bread". I say it's good for grown up kids too. Extra points for crustless wonder bread!!

[cheezepowder]

Here's a weird thing I do: Eat raw dry pasta straight from the box.

Dry ramen noodles - we always ate the crumbs at the bottom of the bag. Also we used to eat tomato slices dipped in sugar. Currently, I'll eat pizza with ranch dressing or hot sauce and tomato-sauce based pasta with hot sauce or Korean hot bean paste mixed in.

[synaesthesia]

My grandma lived with us when I was really young, and she always gave me the strangest food. Oversteamed rice/very dry congee with peanut butter, pasta with sesame powder, milk powder and cocoa, slices of Velveeta straight from the slab and bananas that had been soaked in hot water.

I also have a friend who would microwave pints of Ben & Jerrys and drink them to gain weight. Another group of friends would dip marshmallows into the garlic sauce from Papa Johns.

[Al Dente]

Dry ramen noodles

Me too. With hot sauce.

Other things: lemons peeled like an orange, various Patak's Indian pickle products by the spoonful without any accompaniment, the occasional crow.

[Meaghan]

When I was a kid, I ate carrots and vinegar everyday after school. A heaping bowl of shredded carrots, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. I loved it, and kids in the neighborhood would come over in the afternoons to watch cartoons and eat "ensalada" with me. That was freakin' strange. But no one ever messed with me.

And I have this new thing where I eat celery sticks with pepper jelly. I like the whiter, less stringy stocks-the hearts- and they must be washed and dried by me. I got a friend of mine hooked and we get together to watch the visualizer on the huge screen of his G5 and listen to itunes, eat celery and get schwilly. Other days we just eat tater tots.

[Poivrot Farci]

Cod roe and/or smoked herring paste out of a tube

in the twilight of the ‘fridigaire

On my finger.

Like I’m brushing my teeth

without a toothbrush.

swish, swoosh

Oh ja.

[Antonio Burrell]

Velveeta slices that I fold into a million pieces and stack like a Dagwood sandwich.

I use to do the same thing when I was a kid but with kraft. I'd sit and eat this and cold hot dogs as I watched tv as a snack after school. Then.....one day......the hot dog thing became disgusting to me for some reason and I went year before I ate another one. Now....I like pretzels dipped in that Cheesey Salsa stuff, (HOT, of course). When I'm in the kitchen at work and we roast beef or lamb scraps and bones......I season scraps with salt and eat till I fill full....oh....and I spread the marrow on toasted bread..... does that make me bad? Of course, in the realm of things....we get you guys to pay for what we eat for free It's one of the few perks of the job. Oh, and one of my favorite sandwiches when I was younger was a banana and miracle whip sandwich on wheat. My mommy made it for me, I still crave these occasionally but now I fight the compulsion...sometimes I win......

[Al Dente]

one of my favorite sandwiches when I was younger was a banana and miracle whip sandwich on wheat. My mommy made it for me, I still crave these occasionally but now I fight the compulsion...sometimes I win......

Discussing the mayo substitute you mention above can get you banned from this website. Don't let Rocks see that.

[Antonio Burrell]

Discussing the mayo substitute you mention above can get you banned from this website. Don't let Rocks see that.

Strangely enough....I hate said thing with a passion...It only seems appropriate for this sole purpose....I swear

[TinDC]

Sometimes my husband will eat two slices of bread, pressed together like a sandwich, with nothing in between. He calls it a "wish sandwich".

[deangold]

Appropos to this thread....

Corn rye with mayo, mustard & onion. Note to self... must go shopping.

[oliveDC]

As a child I used to eat entire lemons, but my mom made me stop b/c it's bad for your teeth.

I did the same thing ... and mom did the same thing. Eats the enamel or some such.

She also used to put brewer's yeast on our popcorn that she's smuggle into the movies. I remember it tasting like parmesan, and I keep trying to remember to pick some up and try it again. Maybe she was sneaking B vitamins into us? I know she didn't make it up. Anyone else ever had popcorn this way?

[giant shrimp]

Discussing the mayo substitute you mention above can get you banned from this website. Don't let Rocks see that.

i had a banana and it was probably something like miracle whip sandwich at a friend's house and hated it, which was sad, because my friend's mother expected the opposite. in germany, we had an upstairs maid (everybody had to have one) who turned out to be a spy. she was being led down the stairs by the mp's when i arrived home from school. they had found a gun in her chest. i'm not sure she's the one who fixed me a tuna sandwich with thick butter, but i hated that too.

[cucas87]

She also used to put brewer's yeast on our popcorn that she's smuggle into the movies. I remember it tasting like parmesan, and I keep trying to remember to pick some up and try it again. Maybe she was sneaking B vitamins into us? I know she didn't make it up. Anyone else ever had popcorn this way?

The "artsy" movie theater in my college town, Cinemopolis, used to have shaker containers of brewer's yeast that you could put on popcorn.

[Sundae in the Park]

And more memories... My favorite college snack - hot dogs microwaved until they explode dipped in Heinz 57 sauce. It has been a long time. Maybe I should stop at Giant on the way home.

Of course to make it authentic, I'd need to find someone to sell me a bag of pot, too.

Ah college memories...it seemed like a lot of the girls I knew subsisted on cookie dough, soft serve from the D-hall, and beer. The rest of the food was ignored to try and save calories for the beer and hopefully avoid "dorm butt." (HA!)

I HEART microwave-exploded hot dogs! Haven't had one in years, though - I might have to stop by the store for a pack of Hebrew Nationals on the way home...

[Stretch]

Toasted cheese sandwiches with gruyere and maple syrup.

[sunshine]

flaming hot cheetos. some schools in california have even banned it. apparently, school kids are sneaking these very-bad-for-you snacks into school like contraband. i can't blame them.

back when my stomach was more iron-clad:

i used to drizzle ketchup, yellow mustard, and Tabasco on my movie popcorn and eat the soggy smelly mess. my fingers smelled like vinegar for days.

kimchee sandwiches - white bread, mayo, kimchee. sometimes, i'd add a slice of bologna.

green unripe mangoes with salt and tabasco. sour, salty, spicy.