Series // My Love For Food

When I was 17 my husband introduced me to sushi for the first time. I had never tried it before and to be honest, was a bit naive to what it even was. Fish, rice and seaweed... say what?!

Growing up my parents did their best to introduce new foods to my sister and I. They would have us try things 'most kids' would not eat like onions, spicy sauces, pepper, broccoli and so many other items that kids notoriously don't eat. I guess you could say my parents' influence helped me to become a bit of an adventurous eater. However, one thing my parents never ventured to try (and still will not to this day) was sushi. The thought of slimy raw cold fish against their tongues was just too out of the box for them. So, when I was 17 and ryan asked if I had ever tried it, the response was of course, 'no'.

(via)

One weekend we went to his dad's place to hang out and someone had brought over a couple containers of sushi-to-go, you know those ones from the grocery store with the individual packets of soy sauce. Ryan said I should try it and I was a bit hesitant because I had never even seen sushi in person and didn't know what to expect. It was a california roll which consists of sushi rice, imitation crab minced up with a bit of mayo, avocado and cucumber rolled up with a small slice of seaweed. I now know this is the most basic sushi roll in any sushi restaurant but it sure felt out of the box  at the time. I decided to just go for it and picked up a roll, dipped it in the soy sauce and popped it in my mouth.

Here is the crazy thing, I do not really remember much about how it tasted. I remember we were on the back patio, ryan was smiling, it was overcast outside and everyone was so excited that I was open to trying something new for the first time, but that's it. Looking back, this day stands out in my mind for so many reasons but mostly because of one thing; I was experiencing something new with ryan by my side.

Over the past 12 years, I have been willing and eager to try new things all with the comfort and giddy-excitement of us doing it together. The fun of learning/tasting/discovering new food as a team, just like we did when we first got together was the stand out, not necessarily what we had. And, just like the sushi, so many of our new experiences together are about the mood in the air, the time of day, the conversation shared or the feelings surrounding it. I love trying new ingredients, testing out recipes or eating at the latest restaurants in town. However, having someone to share those things with is the true standout because it results in a memory to reminisce on for years.