How Far We've Come

It's been been very interesting watching my food tastes change, maybe even mature, as I've done some growing-up, myself. I wasn't necessarily a picky-eater as a child - not that I had much of a choice in the matter... if I didn't eat my dinner, it showed up as my breakfast - and just in case you were wondering, food you didn't like once isn't much better 8 hours later), but I certainly had a whole food group that I called "gross".

What's most intriguing to me is that save for one specialty, I now love all of the things that I once loathed. Orange roughy (think tilapia in the 90s), egg salad, spinach, and the infamous squash casserole. I'll spare you the details on the squash casserole - it'd take quite a bit of coaxing to get me to consume another bite of that stuff - but as for the rest of the group formerly known as "gross", I'd happily make, serve or eat some any day.

I suppose since I missed it during my formative years, spinach has made its way back with a vengeance... and with dishes like this Spinach and Orzo Salad around, I couldn't be happier.

This side dish was a huge hit... I fear, now, that it risks being made so many times it's liable to send spinach right back to the "gross" food group. But I'll take my chances...

A few notes:

• This recipe makes a LOT; halve it and you'll still have plenty for hearty helpings for at least 4 plus some left-overs
• I used white balsamic which as it turns out is a bit lighter (in our opinion) in flavor and worked perfectly - plus, our salad didn't have the slight tinge that regular balsamic would leave
• Do NOT leave out the pine nuts or the feta

It's recipes like this that make me oh-so-thrilled that I've learned the error of my ways in my early food likes and dislikes... and even happier that our crop of fall lettuces (spinach included) has pushed her way through and promises (knock on wood) an abundant harvest!