At some point during my middle-elementary school years, I discovered that eating mustard on a cracker was a good way to induce a temporary high. Interestingly, without the cracker or other starchy medium, the mustard had no effect. Many a recess break was spent sitting in the sun with classmates--many of them thrill-seekers I'd otherwise never socialize with--a squeeze bottle of Grey Poupon, and packages of saltines from the cafeteria. A short time later, I was introduced to the fine regional mustards manufactured by Raye's of Eastport, Maine.
One of my few restaurant meals while in the Netherlands last month included a bowl of mosterdsoep. It was made with a whole-grain mustard, and had the wonderful flavor of mustard without being overwhelming. Gelderland is, I have since learned, known for its mustard.
In Paris, one of the shopping destinations suggested in my Lonely Planet guide that I thought I might visit but did not quite make it to was the Maille flagship store. While in France I often thought of mustard but never did find myself in one of its better-known provenences.
Recently on the Boston Natural Areas Network email list, there was sent a bulletin concerning wild garlic mustard--an invasive non-native species that self-seeds aggressively and casts shadows over native wildflowers who would otherwise grow and provide food for wildlife. From a foraging perspective, "wild garlic mustard" is an intriguing name, and it certainly is edible, but the plant really does need to be kept in check. In any case, I did not, until just now, realize what the specimen looked like. All along I assumed it was the more garlicky-looking green shoot that is coming up all over my garden. Turns out it is actually the white-blossomed, toothy-leafed one that I picked the other day to put in a vase in the kitchen.
All this brings me to my present experience wherein I find myself nursing a nasty chemical burn, the result of a remedy involving mustard gone awry. Yes, it was my friend Irina who told me about it to begin with, but I do not hold her in the least bit responsible for the rectangular red welt that now marrs my décolletage. No, I am accustomed to botching naturopathic remedies (some of you may remember my nasty incident with an iron supplement last summer), and if she had not mentioned it to me there is no telling what other trouble I may have found for myself.
In any case, I just googled "mustard burns on the skin" and here is what I found: http://www.gulflink.osd.mil/2d_recon/2d
