At lunchtime, I wandered out into the kitchen, grabbed it from the fridge, along with some leftover deli roasted chicken and another bag with raw carrots and cucumbers, then sat down to nosh.
I joined a table with three of my compadres. Two of them had delicious-looking Jimmy Johns and the other had family man leftovers.
"What is that?" one of them asked.
I launched into my jicama explanation and invited them all to try some.
"It tastes like a, umm, potato? Or an apple? Or a big water chestnut?" they responded, as expected. It's a hard thing to describe. The flavor is sort of non-existent and the texture is a cross between an apple, potato, water chestnut and something slightly more fibrous.
"Why do you eat it?" they asked.
Because it gives me something to chew, I explained. It makes me feel like I'm eating something. It fills me up without many calories. They nodded as I tried to make it seem rational.
"So it's white. And really without flavor," one said. "Boy, you add that to tofu and you've really got a meal!"
"And a big glass of water!" said another. "Room temperature water!"
Now they're laughing.
"And a RICE CAKE!" said the third. And now they're rolling on the floor, flat out making fun of me.
Me and my white, tasteless, calorie-free food.
"I don't eat rice cakes," I mumble.
"And I don't really like water. Or Wonder Bread ... I'll beat you to it."
I didn't tell them my other favorite is cauliflower.
No comments:
Post a Comment