MY MIND IS PLAYING TRICKS ON ME…

A big part of my journey is not just adjusting to my new reality, but always hoping beyond hope that my senses of smell and taste are returning. (Sidebar: one of my doctor’s informed me that the Olfactory Nerves take longer than most other nerves when it comes to regenration…UGH!!).  That hope manifests itself in a number of different ways, from smelling everything in my environment to swearing I can taste certain things. The question in my mind is always, do you really smell or taste it, is it your imagination, or is it your memories of that smell or taste of that food item. I’m never quite sure, but it is always an intriguing debate in my mind.

So last weekend I gave in to the memories and picked up one of my favorite former cravings…cupcakes! And not just any old cupcake. It had to be a Red Velvet Cupcake from Cami Cakes! Now as you can see from the photo below, Cami Cakes has a smorgasborg of flavors to choose from, so I decided to pick up a Red Velvet and a Sweet Potato Cupcake just to test my taste buds vs. my memory.

I had the Red Velvet on Saturday and I swore that I could taste that distinctive Red Velvet flavor with a subtle hint of chocolate and the sublimely sweet Cream Cheese frosting. It was delicious! On Sunday, I tried the Sweet Potato cupcake and NADA! I couldn’t distinguish any flavor whatsoever. Since I can detect sweetness, the Cream Cheese frosting was nice; but the cupcake itself, though moist with a hint of what I assume was Cinnamon, fell flat. I’m sure it was delicious, but with no ability to taste and distinguish the flavors, it was a total let down.

So in the final analysis, I do believe that my memories come into play when I am eating, especially my favorite foods. So much so that I can genuinely convince myself that I can taste the food item. The things I remember about how certain foods taste also plays a role in my ability to prepare and properly season foods and have them taste really good (according to the diners), without being able to taste them myself.

I have fully realized over the last few months that the brain is an amazing thing! Its ability to adapt to new stimuli, and more importantly, to a lack of certain stimuli is stunning. This experience is providing a whole new appreciation for the human mind; and as I continue on this journey, and the senses hopefully return, I can’t wait to see how it continues to adjust.

My mind may be playing tricks on me, but as always…I am the Tasteless Gourmand!