For those of you who don’t know, Hot Pockets are an American microwaveable meal. They basically consist of a filling such as meat and cheese baked inside a roll. They are cooked at the factory, then frozen for microwaving later as a fast, warm snack. I have to confess that I ate a lot of these when I was a teen. I grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, where our only foreign foods were Taco Bell, Panda Express, and a local gyros place. I had never been exposed to anything else. As I got older and lived other places, I fell in love with other foods. Who knew there were delicious Hot Pocket equivalents from other cultures?
Being exposed to and trying new things can be scary. There’s a time and a place for playing it safe, but I think that overall, it’s always good to push your boundaries and horizons. Multiculturalism is a hot topic in the states these days. I don’t want to get too political, so all I’ll say is that I’m glad I live in a place where I can celebrate this concept (baked stuffed bread) in all of it’s forms (empanadas, samosas, calzones, and of course Hot Pockets).