Is vanilla actually a flavor or not?
There are some out there who argue that vanilla is not actually a flavor. Others defend the bean and its rightful culinary prowess. For those who just can’t bring themselves to see the taste as being anything other than the absence of any other flavor, perhaps they are missing the point – sometimes no definitive flavor is still a flavor in and of itself.
Similarly, sometimes doing things that are so much a part of the norm don’t seem like doing much of anything at all. They are so mundane that they may feel like they lack any “flavor” when in fact they are the stuff of daily living.
For me, this perspective has taken on new meaning. I’m now in a phase of my treatment where I am starting to do things again that were so innocuous before in my life that I never gave them a second thought. I did them, I walked through the paces, but they didn’t really hold much significance other than being necessary.
Recently I went to the dentist for the first time in a long time. I was a regular visitor (twice a year – faithfully for many years, with no cavities; as proof of my consistency). But during my cancer treatment, for a number of medical reasons, it was too risky for me to undergo even the most harmless cleaning. To once again sit in the chair, listen to the musak, wear the disposable bib, and stare in the eyes of the hygienist as she brought my enamel back to full cleanliness – was now a more special moment.
So, it may have been a “vanilla” experience in the past, but that day it was a tutti frutti sundae with whip cream and wet nuts on top (relax, it’s a Jersey thing). A milestone in my progress, a hallmark of my recovery, and another hurdle cleared on the road back to normal. And IMHO – yes Virginia, vanilla is most definitely a flavor.
