A
question was posted on social media the other day. Person I follow
claimed to be doing research, and sending it out to the world,
wanted to know what we added to our tea.
And
the question stumped me.
Not
because I didn’t understand it. Not because I don’t drink tea.
It
stumped me because, depending on the type of tea, I often add
different things in different combinations. Usually, I stick with
the big four: honey, lemon, sugar and cream. Honey the most common.
But depending on the type of tea involved, I’ve been known to
use both honey and sugar at the same time.
(Depending
on your preferences, that honey and sugar comment may have landed
at any point in between the extremes of causing you to consider
walking away immediately from this essay to nodding in agreement
because you add both as well. It’s truly an amazing world we share.)
The
part that really got me thinking though, was that for many things,
I’m not likely to experiment. I know what I like, so I know what
I want. But it’s never that easy on most days.
There’s
a story about Henry Ford. True or not, it’s a good story. Legend
has it, when he was considering a person for a job, he would take
that person to lunch. Then, he’d watch them. In the most telling
example of what he was looking for, if they salted their food
without tasting it first, they were immediately eliminated from
consideration for the position.
These
days, you can do an internet search and find the salt test attributed
to many people, and also find several denials. But the concept
itself is interesting. Are you willing to test and observe before
blindly acting?
And
that brings me back to my tea. If it’s a brand I’m unfamiliar
with, am I going to take a sip before stating my routine of looking
for some honey? Am I going to do that every time? Because it sounds
exhausting.
Have
you ever seen a recipe, say on television, and decided you want
to try it… only, when you did, you hated it? It was made up of
things you loved, and yet somehow, the combination didn’t work
for you.
Now,
of course, I do indeed try new things. But the basic premise holds
true. There are certain things that I enjoy—that we all enjoy—and
in some cases, I refuse to mess around with what I like. And then
there are others…
When
Terry and I make a ham dish of some type, we usually pair it with
pineapple. We have a recipe for a pineapple-based casserole. One
with crackers, cheese and butter. Delicious stuff. At times we
make that to go with the ham. Other times we just grill or bake
or whatever the pineapple with the ham. It isn’t always the pineapple
cheese bake to accompany the ham, even though we love it.
Terry
and I grill steaks on occasion. Lately, I’ve been toying with
a horseradish cream sauce that we both like, especially since
it works terrifically with baked potatoes. As much as I’m enjoying
it though, that won’t stop me from looking for bearnaise sauces.
Asparagus on the menu? Perhaps a nice hollandaise? And let’s not
skip over chimichurris. (Side note: a great steak served with
a cheesy pineapple casserole on the side is awesome.)
I
suppose the best example would be Terry and her morning English
muffin. Most days, she just wants it grilled with some butter.
But that doesn’t mean she won’t occasionally be looking for raspberry
jam or peanut butter.
It’s
a strange balancing act. One where any option is really possible,
provided you’re happy with the results. Preferences do not mean
never mixing things up.
Unless
we’re discussing hot dogs. It’s mustard for hot dogs and nothing
else. (But fortunately, we all know that.)