There are quite a few new foods I've found thanks to BTD and GTD, and I'm continuing my search for food finds. Learning about and trying new foods is a fun adventure.

Today I tried Job's Tears, or Hato Mugi. Lola posted a link to a website source for them, so I ordered some. It was't long before I also found them at a local Asian market. They were labeled as some type of Barley, though they definitely didn't look like barley, but I still didn't dare buy them. I waited for them to arrive in the mail, so I could be sure I'd recognize them. I followed the recipe on the bag for Japanese Soft Rice, a porridge of brown rice and Job's tears, using brown basmati. They remind me of homini, a food I liked in my pre-BTD life, so I'm pretty pleased with them. The porridge is nice and energizing, I can see why this Japanese recipe is recommended for those who are ill. (I'm still quite tired and fighting sinus pain after that head cold I had, so this was nice.) I will use it as a homini substitute next time. It's also a fine barley substitute, for those who can't have gluten or barley. The texture is like homini, the flavor is a bit like millet.

I've continued to enjoy my newfound Shirataki noodles. I have to avoid the tofu shirataki and get the ones that are made of just yam flour. There are some pretty interesting claims online about these noodles for weight loss. They are filling, though not really like any regular noodle. I like them best in Asian soups, but I've also tried them in stir fry and curry stir fry. I haven't yet tried them with spaghetti sauce, as they aren't like spaghetti, but I may try it. I have tried the ones with seaweed in them, and didn't notice much different in their flavor. They all smell seaweedy, but after rinsing, they don't taste it. They're clear and a bit chewy, and don't need cooked beyond just warming up.

It's not a recent discovery for me, but GTD has renewed my interest in Goji Berries. I'd heard about them from Young Living, then Sarah introduced me to them in Japan, where I used my hotel room tea pot to turn them into a tea. I quite liked the tea, and the plumped up berries. Last week I saw them sold as a tea at the Asian market, so that wasn't an original idea I had. They're kind of sour, and would probably be a good dried cranberry substitute (since I've yet to find any unsweetened dried cranberries). Their flavor has a bit more depth than a cranberry, maybe a bit less bitterness. I'm thinking of trying to germinate some for planting, just for fun. I have all kinds of bushes on my hill, but none of them produce anything edible (until now that I've planted a few elderberries and raspberries).

Lingonberries are also interesting, I've only been able to find them as preserves, with sugar. They also have a totally different flavor than anything else I've tasted. I'd think that if I've tried 10 berries I've tried them all, but their flavors seem to be unlimited.

Black Currant juice...I'm still working this one out, to figure out what it tastes good with. I can't drink it straight up very easily! Mixed with other flavorful juices, or into an elderberry seltzer, it's rather drinkable.

Noni juice - I hate to say that I hate the flavor of this juice, but I do. It tastes a little like blue cheese, which is weird in a juice. I drink it for punishment (and health benefits, as it is a superfood for me) and haven't really found any way to mask the flavor. It doesn't help that I can't have any of the noni blends that have improved flavor, due to the xanthan gum, citric acid, and other foods added that don't work well for me.

Watermelon Seeds - in addition to trying to buy seeded watermelons and just eating the seeds as I go, or putting them into smoothies, I've also ordered some roasted watermelon seeds from Oh Nuts, where I get some milk free chocolates for my son. I don't know what kind of oil they have in them, but they are tasty. I only wish I could find them shelled. They are hard to shell, and the nut inside is so small that it's very little pay off. I never was much of a sunflower seed eater, so shelling them isn't a natural passtime for me. It is possible to eat them whole, but I can't recommend it as the shells are quite hard and irritating to your mouth and gums! The flavor though is excellent, and I think it's worth it.