ON CUISINE:

I'm a fussy eater. I have come to grips with this. A friend (probably not as astute as his girlfriend) refers to me as a "traditionalist," in that I disdain condiments and things like salad dressing. My sandwiches are plain, my fajitas are pepper-free, and my idea of "tuna salad" is a pouch of Star-Kist dropped onto a plate of lettuce. With some croutons.

But that isn't the whole story. For example, I love A-1 sauce. I will eat it on almost anything - meat, veggies, whatever. I also love chili, as long as there are no onions, peppers, or actual chiles in there. Oh, and it can't be too spicy. Basically, I love Hormel chili, or chili very much like that. I have dumped chili on an Italian beef sandwich (messy, but good) and long for the day when I figure out a way to successfully make a chili pizza (this may be a project for an upcoming Sunday afternoon).

However, dumping A-1 in chili is absolutely disgusting. Bleah.

I read somewhere that an adult has to eat things ten times before they can change their opinion about them. However, I am not willing to put in the legwork (such as it is) to change my opinion about mayonnaise or buffalo sauce. And I don't give other people grief for liking things like mustard or human flesh. So why do people have so much trouble with my eating habits?