I DON'T LIKE MY FOOD TOUCHING!

Growing up I was your typical fussy eater. Not only did I refuse to eat certain foods (tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, pineapple, olives, honey due melon, cantaloupe, salmon, any vegetable made mushy by cooking: carrots, Christmas cake, etcetera...), I was also convinced that the presentation of the food was vital for the full benefit of the eating experience.
Example: For the entire year of Kindergarten, and most of grade one, when asked what I wanted to take to school for lunch I would respond with "A peanut butter, butter, and jam sandwich cut in fours." Similarly, all grilled cheese sandwiches had to be cut in half diagonally. My father had a nasty habit of cutting them in half horizontally = c.a.t.a.s.t.r.o.p.h.e.
I could go on but let's get to the point...

My fussy eating habit to rule them all is this: I hate my food touching. And don't worry I've heard it all "I like to eat my food all together." "You can fit more on your plate if you pile it up." or the worst "It all ends up in the same place." how irritating! Different dishes are made separately and meant to be eaten SEPARATELY! As a small child I would look at adult's mountains on their plates at pot-lucks and wonder how they could stand the salad next to the mashed potatoes not only getting warmer by the second, but also the gravy mixing in with the ceaser dressing! Unbelievable.

Over the years many of my fussy eating habits have died off. There are still some foods I don't like: pineapple, some I will eat to be polite: mushrooms, and others I now love: tomatoes and Christmas cake. I still like some foods presented a specific way, but I don't really care about that. Yet I continually wish they made divided plates in adult sizes so the syrup from my pancakes wouldn't run into my ketchup covered sausages!

Unfortunately for me India is testing my ability to cope with mixing food. Everything is meant to go together, even different kinds of curry! Sweet will go right beside savory and no one really cares. Mind boggling in my opinion, but the whole point of experiencing other cultures is to go for it, so why not! It's all part of the adventure, even if it is strange. Still...

I DON'T LIKE MY FOOD TOUCHING!