Some enterprise / That hath a stomach in't

Hamlet I.i

My boyfriend is a culinary school graduate. This means he cooks really good food. It also means he sometimes cooks really strange food. And it usually means he cooks really good, strange food.

And for the most part, as per the agreement we reached months ago that he would take care to not poison me, I'm up for trying anything he throws at me.

He sorely tried my resolve, though, a couple days ago when he announced his intention to feed me beets and brussels sprouts. I have never in my life tasted beets or brussels sprouts, much less been in proximity to either vegetable except for walking past them in the produce section of the grocery store (usually without noting their existence).

Consequently, I have been observing his preparations of these strange edibles much more closely than usual. This close scrutiny of his procedures has revealed several techniques much stranger than the notion of a beets-and-brussels sprouts dish. For one, the technique of boiling - or, as he calls it, blanching - brussels sprouts, and then dumping them in a bowl of ice water.

I have yet to observe or evaluate the results of this combination of strange raw ingredients and strange techniques, but I expect par for the course when it comes to his cooking: non-poisonous, visually appealing and delicious.