Bumbling Along Toward...

Let me start this blog with a couple of facts:

1. I am a pescatarian (eating only fish, and some animal protein like milk, eggs, and cheese) who has the caveat in my "don't eat meat contract" that while I live abroad and we are traveling I will sample the local cuisine, meat included. This is a sampling, a tasting, just to know. I stopped eating meat for my health, not for humanitarian reasons.

2. Jenny is a complete vegetarian (nothing with eyes shall be consumed) who does eat some animal protein (eggs, cheese). She became vegetarian for humanitarian reasons. Larry is a vegetarian for health reasons.

Now begins the story of my bumbling.

Saturday was paella night at our house. We invited over a couple of friends, Tom and Christ. «Yes, his name is Christ. That is not a typo. The "i" is pronounced like the "i" in is not like the "i" in I.» My husband and I made homemade fiery chicken chorizo paella and homemade Sangria. Christ brought Proseco, a champagne. I am sad to say we never popped the bottle open. There was ample, or should I say TOO MUCH, scotch, sangria, and fino flowing. Tom brought over two wonderful delicacies: tortilla de patatas and pata negra, also known as jamón ibérico. A little background about both, the ham and tortilla not Tom and Christ. (1) Tom is Puerto-Rican so his tortilla de patatas (which he can say really fast and rolling his r's) was authentic and full of flavor. It was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of onion and garlic. Mmmm. My mouth waters just thinking about it. (2) What makes pata negra, pata negra? Well, I will only tell you about what I read on Wikipedia that was sort of confirmed by Tom. It is black Iberian pig that is fed only acorns. Italian prosciutto would be an equivalent of the way the ham looks BUT has nothing of the smooth, buttery flavor that I experienced when I took a bite. It was divine!

So Sunday, the 10th of October, we meet Jenny and Larry in Rome for lunch and to give them a mini tour of the Pantheon, some fountains, and the Spanish Steps. I was animatedly telling them about Paella night and start describing this melt in your mouth buttery ham. It was such a strange feeling at first when I looked Jenny in the face and there was nothing there. It was flat. I could almost see her biting her tongue, and the strained tolerance. At first I couldn't understand her lack of enthusiasm for something so delicious, then it struck me...humanitarian vegetarian. Oh. Oops. Quickly I changed the subject.

Renee foot in mouth smacking herself in the forehead: 1,000,001.
Tact, good grace, suave: 0