FOOD FOR THOUGHT
More weird nibbles and noshes
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
You think people might be a bit reluctant to admit their odd food fetishes? Think again. My column last week on the book "Weird Snacks" prompted proud replies by folks indignant that others don't find their favorites as appetizing.
One exception was a young woman who signed herself "Hoku." She revealed that a delicacy in her fiancé's family is one I recall from childhood: cold pork 'n' bean sandwiches with lots of mayo. She must love the guy because, despite her inner "yeeeeeckkkkk!!!" at the whole idea, she says she'll learn to eat them if that's what it takes to be part of the family.
Bonnie Flierl extolled the virtues of her "very favorite breakfast treat": Special K cereal with tomato juice instead of milk. It's no weirder, she says, than dropping crackers into tomato soup. "When I was a kid, I loved to put Kix in orange juice. I cannot find a way to make that sound palatable but it is good." She blames this on her mother's thrifty insistence on serving powdered milk.
"Sandy in Kunia" revealed that her brother used to eat hot dog and peanut butter sandwiches, or bologna and peanut butter in a pinch.
Lynda Lee of Kailua said her father's favorite was black-eyed peas and chocolate cake. And I can't even see how those two things could end up in the same quadrant of the universe.
Lehua Kalama wrote to say that her mom, who hailed from Texas, liked peanut butter, kim chee and mustard sandwiches. And her Portuguese vov— (grandma) used to serve a weird breakfast: pork 'n' beans and eggs scrambled together. "In fact, after I read your column I made that for breakfast. Loved it," she wrote.
"Ruby" wrote: "My fave is 'buttered Cheerios.' Melt butter (or margarine) in a pot. Add Cheerios. Stir a bit. Enjoy. They are warm, buttery, crunchy." Sounds like homemade Cap'n Crunch.
Laurian Parducci wrote: "I've told people about this but they never TRY IT! Toast, Laura Scudder's peanut butter topped with several slices of bacon. Nothing like it. My mother turned me on to it when I was very small and it's still my favorite taste!"
An anonymous e-mailer likes orange sherbet sprinkled with Cocoa Krispies on a hot evening. And she likes to dip tuna sandwiches in hot cocoa.
Larry Julian of Hawai'i Kai sent us a whole cookbook: rice balls filled with peanut butter; cold chili sandwiches with mayonnaise ("even with the orange-colored fat in it"); leftover spaghetti fried until crusty and served with lots of hot pepper flakes; fried macaroni salad with ketchup and hot sauce; yellow onion and mayo sandwich. And the crowning glory: Vienna sausage in the can, water drained, refilled with shoyu and sugar, then heated on the stove.
