I love leek, and have used fennel a few times. It's good roasted. I don't think I'd ever eat it raw in a salad though.

Me......CILANTRO! But of course you know that, Patti. ;-)
Kale as well. I just never have thought to pick it up and try it.

I bought some lentils once to serve as a side dish and we didn't like it. I still have some left that I don't know what to do with.

Cilantro......I bought it to make salsa, tasted it raw and almost gagged. Never used it.
Eggplant, I've thought of it but when reading some recipes, it says to salt it and let it set to take out the bitterness, that kind of turned me off. There are other vegetables, like Kohlrabi, and leeks. I'm sure there are more, Guess I'm just not that adventurist, I guess.

Tripe!!! :-)

Cumin! My daughter keeps telling me how she uses it frequently, so I bought some. Now, it sits on the spice shelf looking sad and neglected, with it's unopened lid. Do any of you use it? Any ideas??

Truffle or truffles. I have never even tasted them or had occasion to taste them. I see all these chef's talking about truffles and getting a proverbial "you know what" discussing them so I would just once like to taste them and see if they are truly worth all the accolades.

Bettye, I use Cumin to make my taco meat. I had a friend who taught me to sprinkle Cumin over the hamburg and then add some beer. Fry the meat until the liquid is gone, this will get rid of the grease and leaves a great flavor. Only way I do taco meat any more.

I have not cooked with turkey or most other fowl because I do not eat it and don't like touching it raw. I have cooked chicken thighs a time or two for DS when he was younger.
I have lived in my current home for over 5 years now and no meat or fowl has been cooked here. Only fish, tofu and veggies on my stove and oven.

LOVE cumin, cilantro, and Kale! :) I've never used leeks either, but probably will someday. I hear it makes good soup.

I've never used fennel, saffron, oyster sauce, currie powder. I did use a currie sauce once that gave us all a stomach ache. Most greens; collard, mustard etc. I had one of those once and they were very bitter. I've never cooked any of the funny little squash you see. I don't know what to do with them. Zucchini, summer, acorn, and butternut are the only ones I use.

I'm sure there is a LOT more.

I've never tried Cilantro, I do have it in dried form but never used it yet. I haven't used leaks, kale or Kohlrabi either. I'm sure there are many others too.

Patti have you eaten the fresh fennel bulb? I used to eat that all the time, Love it, but can't find it here. It was a favorite with us Italians.

If you can't dice or chop go get one of those "Slap Chop" things. Or just watch Rachel Ray with her knife, very easy to chop & dice. Keep the point down and keep sliding the blade over as you chop. Keep your fingers out of the way!

You either love or hate Cilantro. My DH and my DM both say it tastes like soap. Not me, I love it! Yummy in salsas!

I use cumin in chili. I will have to try Nita's taco meat recipe!

I've never cooked clams, oysters, crawdads or any other sea creatures. The only shrimp I've ever cooked is the oven-ready fried stuff. Not a fan of sea food.

Leeks are wonderful. I don't use them often (don't think about it) but you do have to separate the layers and wash them well.

I love dried Cilantro but I'm not a fan of fresh.

I've never used fennel but I don't like Italian sausage so I probably wouldn't like fennel.

Lentils are wonderful. We make a dish with hamburger meat, tomatoes, herbs, etc. Then we add cooked lentils. It's server over rice. I will post the outline of the recipe but I just eyeball the ingredients.

Pan American Dish
1/2 bag lentils (cooked)
1 medium onion chopped
Chopped garlic
1 can tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 pound ground beef

Saute beef, pepper and onions together.

Add remaining ingredients.

Season to taste with:
Salt
Pepper
chili powder
Dried herbs: oregano, cilantro, thyme, basil

Serve over rice

Lydia it's funny you said that. I used to think cilantro tasted like soap too. I started using less on my portion and I don't think that anymore. DH uses a LOT of cilantro and doesn't ubderstand what I'm talking about.The kids don't like it at all.
I've never tried dried cilantro. I don't know if the flavor is different.

I love to merinade chicken tenders in lemon juice with cilantro and cumin for 30 minutes or so and grill on my grill pan. Then I slice them and put on a bed of spring greens. Yum

Tofu.... but I read that adversion to cilantro is due to the tasting/smelling bitter to some people which comes across as tasting like soap.. so it's probably more a genetic thing.. some people like salty more than sweet...

Another that has never done anything with Tofu, nor with most innards (brains, tripe, tongue, etc). I love leeks and cilantro as well, I love it with chicken. As far as cumin, I use it in Mexican food.

Nita, do you put anything besides the cumin and beer in the taco meat? Geez, all this time I've been buying taco seasoning in a packet! Who knew?

I see there's lots more stuff I haven't tried. Sometimes because I just don't like them--like eggplant. NO brains, trip, tongue or cumin. No saffron or truffles because they cost too much.

Joann--I can dice and chop (regardless of what my first post says), I just don't know how you chop leeks or fennel. LOL!

Maybe I should try lentils and eggplant again. It's been years since I've tried them, and I know eat lots of stuff now I never used to.

You ladies are making me hungry!

With fennel, cut off the tops, slice lengthwise and drizzle with olive oil. Put it on a piece of tin foil and bbq. The taste is amazing!!

I've never cooked brains, tripe, tongue, octopus...

Lentils are delicious sprinkled in a salad, added to soups, blended and mixed with beans for a dip.

Kale is good in vegetable soups. Cilantro is so good in fish tacos and would probably be good in beef as well. Cumin is yummy in Mexican foods.

Patti, that's it just those two things. We always hated that packet taco seasoning and like this so much better. I use quite a bit of Cumin in it. You just have to adjust it to your taste. Don't put a lot of beer, probably 1/3 the can. I keep the rest in the fridge and use it later. It will still be good to cook with even if it goes flat.

I'm not a huge fennel fan but have used most of the rest of those ingredient. I rarely cook any meat anymore since I don't eat it, but occasionally will make it for someone else.

I LOVE curry and cumin. I use curry in a lot of things...Indian food, stirfry, soups. I always make my veggie soup loaded with curry and garlic, it's my favorite when I have a cold.

I like leeks and cilantro too.

I don't use beets in anything because I hate them.

Hmmmm. Rotel. Mostly because we can't get it here. Never used truffles either. I smelled truffle oil once and it smelled like musty socks to me LOLOL!

Dances.