Loving foods I used to hate

Have my taste buds changed? Have yours? Have you tried foods you used to hate only to discover they now taste good? In the past week I've tried two foods I used to despise and, shockingly, enjoyed both of them.

The first was P.F. Changs Stir-Fried Eggplant: Chinese eggplant tossed in a spicy vegetarian sauce with chili paste and scallions. It came highly recommended by my mom and I loved it! The eggplant chunks reminded me of the texture of perfectly cooked fish, only even more tender. The flavor? A winner. A sweet and very slightly spicy soy based sauce melded to the eggplant pefectly. All it needs is a bowl of rice to turn this into a really great lunch or dinner.

The second new old food was pancakes. As a kid I loved making them but couldn't stand eating them. I was always a toast or waffles kind of girl. But, the description of these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with a Fruit Compote caught my eye on my first visit to The Table in Willow Glen.

I didn't order them. I tried the Chilaquiles instead and they were awesome.

A comment by my friend Robert on Facebook that they tasted like lemon pound cake made me go back. They were great. I'd order them again if I had someone to split the order with because I couldn't eat the whole thing by myself.

So this post is just a gentle nudge to try new things. Things you thought you hated. You might end up just as surprised as I was :)