by Charlie Nichols
I “met” Charlie Nichols in one of the Facebook forums I frequent and was charmed by the way she introduced her daughter’s friend to new foods. ~Leilehua Yuen
Not mad but sort of a palate cleanse (pun intended) for all the stories we hear about culinarily conservative people turning their noses up at new foods. (Though maybe some of you might get mad about it because I added an ingredient normally not present—at least not in any I’ve ever had LOL.)
My daughter is having a sleepover tonight. Her friend is from Poland (we’re from the US). Her friend is a self-described picky eater and not very adventurous when it comes to new foods. (I personally relate, as I have emetophobia and panic disorder and trying new foods/other people’s cooking has always made me extremely anxious ever since I was a child. I even avoided sleepovers entirely because I didn’t want my friends’ families to think I was rude or didn’t like their food.)
I made miso soup and gohan this evening. She doesn’t like mushrooms (I asked first) so I left those out and made a separate pot for myself and my partner. But I did add wakame and tofu, two things she’s never had before.
I only gave her a small bowl and told her it was perfectly okay if she didn’t like it and didn’t want to finish it. (When I was a kid with my food fears, having an understanding host would have helped me feel much less anxious and I probably would have enjoyed way more dishes.)
Her mom has a big garden and grows lovage, a staple in their home-cooked foods. Before I met my daughter’s friend, I had actually never eaten lovage myself. But her mom is always so polite and she sent the girls with a big stalk of lovage.
I chopped up some leaves and put them in the pot I made for the girls, thinking perhaps having a familiar taste in the miso soup would be comforting and easier for her to try. I was surprised how it subtly changed the taste and it became sort of very fresh.
She and my daughter ate their bowls on the porch and I checked on them after and asked, “What’s the verdict?”
Her eyes were big and she had a big smile and said, “I like it!”
Success! 
Obviously miso soup is one of the milder things to try, but still, when you have someone who is averse to stepping outside their culinary comfort zone but be willing to and they end up liking it, it always feels like a win. And being able to add the lovage felt sort of like a really respectful gesture, like she helped make the soup too. 