Omnivory Month Update
Isn’t it just like me to start an ambitious project and then either fail to follow through on it, or to follow through really slowly?
I haven’t given up on Omnivory Month - if you go here, you can see my tally. But wow, was it time-consuming looking up all those species names! Truth be told, participating in Omnivory Month is much more fun than documenting it.
For those of you who don’t want to wade through the whole list, here are some highlights.
Total points earned, as of March 15. 78.
Weirdest plant consumed. Cardoons. I’d heard of them, but when I saw them in the store I figured, Hey, it’s Omnivory Month. They look like spiny celery and taste a bit like artichokes (to which they are related, though not in the same species). Mostly they are a vehicle for anchovy butter.
Weirdest animal product consumed. Chicken livers. They are among the easiest organ meats to get your hands on, but I’d been fearing them because as a child I. Did. Not. Like. Liver. Well, now I love them, but man, are they rich! And you must understand that I adore rich foods. I can sip heavy cream, straight. I have been known to cut a little slice off a stick of butter and pop it straight into my mouth. But chicken livers, oh, my! I couldn’t handle more than two at a time. (Fortunately, the kitty cats adore them, too.)
The weird animal product thing brings up an interesting point. At the moment, we have a duck, some ostrich, some bison, and something that claims to be a wild boar tenderloin in the freezer, but I haven’t cooked them. My husband has been working crazy hours and eating dinner at work, and I just don’t think it’s as much fun to eat something our families would never have dreamed of eating if he’s not here to join me. Hopefully, we’ll get to these soon. He informs me that the ostrich will be tomorrow’s dinner.
Domestication. We humans really have managed to domesticate way more species of plant than of animal. Maybe it’s because animals have behaviors while plants have habits? That is to say, no human is going to put up with a species whose behaviors make it obnoxious to be around, which is probably one reason why we haven’t domesticated too many carnivores. On the other hand, I think I could easily double the number of animal species consumed just by trolling the fish counter - there sure are a lot of different kinds of fish.
Variety. Very few of the items on my list were new to me - cardoons and chicken livers were the only things I’d never eaten before, and frankly, I’d probably had chicken livers hidden in some gravy or dirty rice somewhere in my carb-eating past. So in a way it seems like I already get a lot of variety in my diet. But a closer look reveals that very, very many of the distinct species are herbs, spices, and flavorings, nothing that I consume in quantity. I’ll work harder on this in the second half of the month.
Weirdest thing I learned. Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collards, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts all belong to the same species!
Greatest victory. I did have a bite of bread and some potatoes, and even some soy, but note that corn has not passed my lips!
How about you? Tried any new foods this month?
Migraine aura picture from 
I’m not going to lie, I eat straight butter all the time.
My roommate caught me the other night. My secret’s out.
Comment by Sasquatch — March 15, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
Don’t fret the soy. Asians consume it in small quantities. I nearly confessed on the soy thread at Mark’s that I eat tofu and soy noodles on occasion because I like the taste. I do NOT consume any fake meats. Give me the real thing, please.
Comment by Sonagi — March 15, 2008 @ 6:47 pm
Another butter eater here. I’ve moved beyond little slices of butter to large pieces.
It sounds like you’re eating delicious things this month. I did a google image search for cardoons and realize people grow them in my neighborhood; they’re the things that look like artichokes and aren’t.
Food Is Love
Comment by Huckleberry — March 15, 2008 @ 7:41 pm
My husband slices off some cheddar and then uses that to slice off a hunk ‘o soft butter, sometimes bigger than the cheese. I used to get on his case about that, but not anymore! Fat on fat, that’s where it’s at.
Comment by Anna — March 15, 2008 @ 9:16 pm
Cheers to all the closet butter eaters!
I made butter yesterday - much easier than I thought it would be - and there are several steps. You have to shake cream until the butter comes. Then you have to rinse the butter. Then you have to dry the butter. Then you have the option of salting the butter. And of course, every step requires a quality check.
Sonagi, you are absolutely right about soy, and I didn’t eat much. My husband put a can of soybeans in a stew that made about 6 servings. And I had some commercial mayonnaise, so that was almost certainly made with soy oil. But just last night one of my friends brought up, with absolutely no prompting from me, how soy is touted as a health food and yet it is one of the most genetically modified and generously sprayed crops in the US. Since I don’t talk much about my weird ideas on food, not wanting to be one of those annoying evangelists, I was pleased to see the topic come up.
Comment by psipsina — March 16, 2008 @ 9:06 am
That cabbage factoid is the coolest thing I’ve heard all day. I am now looking to work “cultivar” into my next conversation. Thx.
Comment by missbossy — March 17, 2008 @ 12:06 am