Official signs that I've become a fanboy

rafaela watched the official Doctor Who Season 5 trailer together last night, and we both had the same reaction set, in the same order:

( Mildly spoilery within )

Once more into the breach, laddies!

After yesterday's coconut soda debacle, I was glad that I don't believe in omens, because otherwise my plan to eat something new every day in 2010 would be shelved almost before it even started. Still, I'm painfully aware that going two-for-two on the Palate Abuse Grand Prix would leave me more shellshocked than I'd like, so I idly thought I'd go easy on myself by, say, grabbing a can of Campbells' soup in a variety I'd never tried, or some similar such. But then I thought, "Hey, go big or go home." (Besides, I need to save up my copout answers for the days when I don't have the wherewithal for big adventures).

So. Damn the torpedos and full speed ahead:



To be fair, Reese Spiced Octopus in Seasoned Red Sauce isn't really that far outside my comfort zone; I've had both octopus and, obviously, red sauce, although never the two together. The thing that's scaring me here, though, isn't the cute li'l mollusks so much as the can—cramming foodstuffs into a tin and sealing it shut is a seriously hit-or-miss proposition in my experience, thanks to such delights as attempting to make chicken salad from some canned chicken that I'm still convinced was accidentally moved from the pet food aisle, Swanson logo be damned. So this will either be a pleasant little sojourn or something that will leave me sobbing in the fetal position on the carpet.

The "easy open" can's in front of me as I type this, along with a clean fork, so if you'll pardon me a moment, I'm going to give this a go. Wish me luck....

[60 seconds later]

Still here! And I'm happy to say that I'm in a much better mood than I was 60 seconds after the cocount soda. I was braced for the worst when I opened the can, as the initial aroma will generally tell you most of what you need to know (the aforementioned Swanson can may have read "chicken," but the smell said "Ken-L-Ration"), but the contents smelled pleasantly seafoodish, not even overpoweringly so, with a hint of seasoning that resembled something I might cook from a recipe and not be ashamed to serve to guests. The octopus itself is a bit disappointing in appearance and texture, being fairly generic-looking foodstuff lumps instead of the little tentacly things that I love freaking out fellow diners with, and suffering from the stiffness that comes from overcooking. But the flavor is really quite lovely, a nice balance between octopus and seasoning and oil and tomato. We have a winner! The project may proceed!

And now I think I'll go lie down for a bit before my lovely overnight shift tonight. *bleagh*