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Intimidating Food, Part I

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PrettyOcto

(Image by Flickr user Morten Brekkevold, used under a Creative Commons License.) Hi, I'm Yoli, Community Moderator for KCET.org. Born and raised in Van Nuys, I'm trying to expand my palate. Come with me as I explore this city though its diverse culinary offerings, cooking dishes I've never had by using skills and techniques I hope to learn from you. We'll have fun, learn through disappointments, and hopefully make some amazing meals!

After my experience with guanabana, I wanted to work with an ingredient that could definitely be found in Los Angeles. I didn't want to cook with another fruit, and after writing about the "weirdest fruit," I couldn't do something conventional.

One Saturday morning I was having breakfast with my mom, and we started talking about foods we'd never eaten before. She told me about the first time she ate an apple--at the age of 21. Apples were a luxury item for my grandparents in El Salvador; as such, they were too expensive and thus out of their reach.

This led me to think about the kinds of food my mom would cook for my sisters and me when we were young. I think she was trying to expand her palate by experimenting with the things she cooked for us. Once, not knowing how to make French toast, she soaked the bread in milk instead of eggs. Now that I'm older, these are the foods I love remembering.

Our breakfast talk led me to think about other foods she made. I remembered the hot dogs cut like octopus she would serve on a plate to make us laugh. Then it hit me. Yes! Octopus is my next ingredient!

HotdogOctopusFinal

(Octopus Hot Dogs-Image by Flickr milky.way, used under a Creative Commons License).Unlike the cute hot dogs above, octopuses are a bit intimidating. They are smarter than most people think, as they can solve problems and discern shapes.

They can open jars!

Kill sharks!

They can even pick World Cup winners!

(You are missed, Paul...)I might not be able to kill a shark, but I am not letting that intimidate me. So follow me on my journey. I would very much like learn more about cooking octopus with you!

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