NaBloPoMo 8/30

I had fennel for the first time today. Despite what people claim, it did not taste like liquorice to me. It was sweet and a hint of anise to it. But it was not the syrupy overly sugary sweetness of liquorice. I'm going to attempt to actually cook with it next. Today it was just added raw to a salad. I saved the upper part of the bulb with the fronds to throw into the next pot of stock I am going to make. I've had fennel seeds as part of a dish and they were pretty mildly flavored. Anise is a bit stronger.

It may be that my tastes are changing, however, because of this low carb diet that I'm on. My migraine aura hunger has changed to peanut butter instead of straight up sugary snacks. The slice of cake that I had the other day (with the frosting carefully scraped off) tasted to me like it was made out of pure sugar. I am slowly switching to drinking my coffee and tea black. This is not by choice but because creamer has too many carbs for the portion that I would require to flavor it enough for my taste. And cream is just too fatty for me because I don't have a gall bladder. So I can't process fats very well.

To be honest, however, I have always had issues processing fatty foods because my gall bladder didn't work right to begin with. So, I haven't really been one for stuff with a lot of fat to it. Deep fried butter is just repulsive to me. I may treat myself to deep fried pickles but now it's only one or two instead of the whole appetizer from the bbq place up the road. I'm in the process of cutting out salt from my diet as well. Thus, when I occasionally have a goldfish cracker, I am struck by how incredibly salty they are. I guess I am eating healthier food.

It's just a pain because I have to batch cook stuff if I want to have food I can just grab and go. Because the stuff you can grab and go off the shelf is usually way too many carbs for me. It's hard and it makes me frustrated. At the same time, however, I am exploring new foods and getting better at cooking them. I am also finding myself getting reacquainted with some old favorites through a different way of serving and cooking them.

I am somewhat nervous about thanksgiving. I am going to plan on bringing a dish I know will be friendly to me in carbs and a dessert that will be equally so. The trick is figuring out what to make. Good thing I've got access to cookbooks and the internet.