Okami

You’re meant to compress your belongings before they go in the bag, then decompress them when you need them.

It took me a long time to appreciate eggs growing up, too. Used to only be able to eat them scrambled. Fried eggs and boiled eggs would make me nauseous. I hated the taste and texture of a runny yolk.

It wasn’t until my mid 20s that someone finally made me eggs over easy and taught me that you’re not supposed to just eat the yolk straight, but treat it as a sauce to complement the flavor of the other food on your plate. It was a revelation.

I still don’t like sunny side up or boiled eggs, and I still don’t like the texture of runny yolk on its own, but I love me some over-easy or over-medium eggs on a burger or over bacon, sausage, hash browns, waffles, or pancakes. Let that shit spread everywhere to mask the texture and maximize the flavor.

Never would have thought of that on my own. I wouldn’t mix foods growing up, and I still don’t when left to my own devices.

I’m not a super picky eater, but there are some foods I won’t touch.

Pickles, kimchi, and beets taste awful. Cottage cheese is a sensory nightmare. I don’t think I’ll ever attempt oysters again.

I hate how prevalent pickles are in American restaurants. Seems like I have to ask for no pickles in every new place, and half the time they’ll have pickles anyway, or they’ll include pickles in dishes that have no business including pickles and I wouldn’t think to ask for them to be excluded. If I pick them off I can still taste the pickle juices, and it ruins the food. The sandwich and burger places think they’re so fancy for including a pickle spear in the plating, and it’s a crapshoot whether they keep it isolated off to the side or drape it across the food where it can contaminate everything. Miserable.

Pickled jalapeños, lettuce, and mustard are on thin ice.

I don’t like ranch dressing or ketchup, but I’ll only grumble a bit if I find them in my food.

I’ll try anything once, and I do go back to foods I hate every now and then to see if my tastes change. I used to have a hard aversion to seltzer water, sour cream, and hoppy beers like IPAs, but I’ve come around on them. I have a much better appreciation now for bitter and sour flavors than I did as a kid.

Still. Fuck pickles.