My newfound love for the Iceberg Lettuce June 14, 2009

I have a new favourite food.

(Story of my life)

 

It’s called the Iceberg Lettuce. And it’s the only kind of lettuce that I like in my salad. Well, it’s the only lettuce present in my salad because it’s the only lettuce I like. Add a few cherry tomatoes and some dollops of thousand island sauce, and that’s enough for my dinner.

 

And yes I do know that salad sauce is unhealthy, I don’t spoon it in thick glops and smear it over every single leaf. I don’t believe that I use it excessively. I HOPE I don’t. Besides, if you ate wanton mee, there’d be sauce too and I’m not having anything else for dinner but salad. The salad isn’t my appetizer, it’s my main course. Well, it’s my one and ONLY course.

 

So THIS is Iceberg Lettuce

which I made my mum buy for me today at the supermarket. And which I also had for dinner.

 

And THIS is the more expensive Romaine Lettuce

which I hate but my family loves.

 

Why do I hate it? Because I HATE vegetable stalks. I love the leaves, but I’ve always left my stalks untouched. The Iceberg lettuce’s stalk that is barely noticeable(I didn’t even realise that I was eating a stalk) and look at the one of the Romaine’s. Its HUGE, thick, and stretches all the way up. Not to mention that the Romaine lettuce leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth that I don’t like. And it’s also a bit too leafy for my liking. My mum used to have to force me to finish just one leaf.

 

And this is where I can’t understand myself. See, I like the Iceberg lettuce for its crispiness, because that’s what it’s known for. Yet I can’t stand the stalk of the Romaine lettuce even though it’s the most crispy part of the leaf. I think my main problem with stalks is not because they’re crispy, but because they’re so THICK to bite into. Sometimes I have trouble biting bits of the stalk off because it’s tough, and unwilling to separate from it’s stalk-y counterparts. Plus, they taste odd.

Go ahead and argue, I know I can’t appreciate vegetables.

 

Please also note that I don’t eat lettuce for it’s flavour. If I did, I wouldn’t be eating any kind of lettuce at all. I don’t like the taste of lettuce in general and that’s also one of the reasons why I love the Iceberg Lettuce so much. Because it doesn’t have much flavour. It’s plain and fresh and simple. That’s how I like my lettuce. And that’s why I’m going to eat salad more often. It’s easy to prepare and healthy(well, not completely since there’s the inclusion of salad sauce, but I try to use as little as possible) and it’s a great alternative to say, porridge with canned food.

 

Also, eating vegetables is more environmentally friendly than eating meat and so I’m trying to cut down on my intake of meat(even though I don’t think I actually eat a lot of meat in the first place).

 

PS. This sudden love for the Iceberg lettuce started in church camp when I was looking for something light to eat for lunch. There was salad and I thought I’d give it a try. Even though I’m not a salad person.