My nose twitches when you prick me over and over with a needle.

[akeyoftime]

My allergist has ordered me on a diet of rarely-preferably-never eaten foods (on the basis that this makes me less likely to be allergic to them) while we wait on getting to the second round of testing.

I consider myself pretty well-eaten in the context of Canada-US food culture, including vegetarian/vegan fare, and I'm having a hard time drawing up a list of foods that I do not currently eat at least on occasion. Help me with my research! What are some of the rarer foods that you enjoy? I live in a big city and can probably find access to internationally grown foods, so lay it on me.

Comments

[sofisticat.livejournal.com]

Quinoa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa). I use it instead of rice.

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

Fantastic suggestion. I made a batch of it this summer and loved it, but it keeps falling off of my radar.

[fishpatrol]

You should go to Chinatown and pick out the most wacky looking fruits and veggies! \o/ (I can help point out a few things if you'd like)

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

I always get really intimidated shopping in Chinatown. Any and all advice would be appreciated!

[coralleane.livejournal.com]

Deep Fried Mars Bars? ;)

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

It is something I wouldn't normally eat :P

[rufas.livejournal.com]

cous cous, celeriac, quorn are the ones I can think of at the moment

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

I'd never even heard of quorn. Thanks for the suggestions!

[coralleane.livejournal.com]

They are a Scottish delicacy. Mind you, levels of obesity in Scotland are very high. Not seeing any connection there at *all*...

[raincloudboy.livejournal.com]

You may eat this already since you keep away from wheat, but rye bread. The kind that is made completely from rye and hence has the consistency of a chewy brick.

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

I know it well, which unforunately puts it off of the menu. I quite like your description of it :P Buckwheat, quinoa, and kamut are looking to be my new flours of choice.

[raincloudboy.livejournal.com]

For alternatives to dairy, you can look beyond soy to oat milk, rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk.

Buckwheat is a known allergen. That's something I don't understand about this new diet of yours - who's to say that you don't have undiscovered allergies to foods you don't already eat regularly?

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

I was really delighted to see hemp milk in the story this evening. The other three were already on the blacklist

There's nothing to say, but the likelihood is apparently lower. I had buckwheat a few months back and did alright, but I took your advice and bought the quinoa loaf instead. (Delicious!)

[raincloudboy.livejournal.com]

Ooh, never encountered quinoa used in bread before, only cooked on its own in place of couscous or rice. Intriguing.

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

DELICIOUS is what it is. Omnomnomnom. Bit expensive, though.

[fishpatrol]

As far as veggies go, my rule-of-thumb is: if it's green and leafy (e.g. any and all varieties of bok choy), it can be stir-fried. :D I'm not sure if Chinese eggplants (the thin, long ones) are sufficiently different from their Western counterpart, but they're good for steaming with garlic and soy sauce and vinegar. For fruits, you could try persimmons, dragon fruit, longyan, pomelo...I'd advise against durians, though!

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

if it's green and leafy (e.g. any and all varieties of bok choy), it can be stir-fried
Hee! Awesome.

Thank you for the fruit recs! They've been the hardest to replace, so I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on these. (You advise against durians because they taste badly, or is it more sinister?)

[fishpatrol]

To be honest, I've never had durian, but I hear that they smell awful. A friend once ordered a durian milkshake, and truly, the smell was very unpleasant; I had a teeny sip because I was curious and immediately regretted it. The taste was like, idk, raw onions and something more sinister. XD But perhaps it's just an acquired taste (not too sure if you'd want to acquire it though..!) ;)

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

Whether I want to cultivate a taste for it not depends on how my allergist keeps me on this diet, I suspect :P

Thanks again!

[fishpatrol]

No problem, glad I could suggest a few things! :) I go to Chinatown every other week or so -- you're welcome to come with.

[akeyoftime.livejournal.com]

I'd love to join you! Shopping is always more fun with company. Let me know when you're going down and we'll see if our schedules synch up :)