Sam gets to pick out the strangest fruit or vegetable he can find at the commissary each week. We’ve eaten some different stuff…but this week was by far the weirdest thing I’ve ever picked up – a gobo root (above). Dave happened to be with us this time (a rare event but I had strong-armed him into helping me since I was going at 5pm and knew it would be a nightmare). I was suggesting something to Sam when I spied this thing – I couldn’t help but grab it. It flopped around limply in my hand – like a long celery stalk gone bad. It’s slightly hair and slightly prickly. It’s utterly strange. Dave totally rolled his eyes and said OH NO then I asked couldn’t we please spend $1.93 on this strange thing? Still the eye-roll… So then I added it would make for a good “preschool” lesson…he still didn’t cave. Thankfully the chief grocer guy was standing behind me watching the whole exchange. He offered up that it was really pretty good and that you just peel it, julienne it, blanche it and serve with carrots and mayonnaise. Hmmm…sounds easy? So we got it. I made that crazy root tonight. It was really not very good at all. I did, however, see a bunch of recipes online and people actually commented that it was quite good. I’m sure my cooking did it an injustice. Sorry gobo root, but I’m not sure I’ll be preparing you again. But now if I see it on a menu I’ll order it to see how it is when done right. That’s something. Sam tried it and said it was good. Dave “tried” it – sunk his teeth into a flimsy, thin end and “tasted” it, much like he “tastes” Sam’s mud coffee…