I can't eat scallops. Bummer, right? "They're soooooooo good," people say. They are on nearly every episode of Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen. I agree. They are soooooooo good. But I can't eat them. I have an allergy to scallops. I don't have an allergy to any other shellfish. I can gobble down shrimp, crab legs, and thankfully lobster. You're probably thinking, "How is it possible that you can't eat scallops but you can eat all those other seafood yummies?" Dunno. I don't have the letters "MD" behind my name, and to be honest I have never been officially tested. Let me explain.
The first time I ever tried scallops was at a PF Chang's in I think, 2000. Lemon scallops. They were good too. That night I fell violently ill. You know, the works. I don't need to go into detail because I think there is already enough content on the Internet about puke and poop to last mankind through the next ice age. I do recall looking at myself in the mirror the next day and seeing a lot of broken blood vessels around my eyes. The scallops were very eager to exit my body and did so in a very forceful manner.
Fast forward four years. Different state (Massachusetts). Different restaurant chain (Legal Seafood). I tried a seafood casserole that contained scallops. That night, I awoke sicker than I had ever been in my entire life, shivering, covered in hives, and itching all over. Since then I have not touched scallops.
Fast forward to a couple days ago. I headed down to this local restaurant known for good shawarma. I've eaten there a couple times so this time, I decided to go bold with a couple new condiments. I opted for some baba ganoush and a mystery red sauce...ingredients tbd. It was tasty! I ate about half of the wrap along with some pita bread and hummus. Upon returning to work, I started sneezing...and sneezing...and OMG Desiree, why are you sneezing so much?!?! Then the runny nose, as if a waterline had been opened. It took me a while to realize I may have had a reaction to something I had eaten. I took an allergy pill and the symptoms cleared up, mostly.
But the next morning when I got out of the shower I was covered, head to toe in HIVES!!!! Fortunately, this time there was no nausea. I am being treated for my reaction and I may consider seeing an allergist once and for all.
Wait - what do scallops and shawarma have in common, you ask? Nothing. Except that there is something about scallops and something contained within the shawarma that my bodies says, "Oh hell no Desiree!" I lay blame on Robert Downey Jr. If it weren't for this scene, I still wouldn't know what shawarma is. Thanks a lot IRONMAN!
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