During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the ways I passed the time while isolated at home was by cooking.

Although I had never been much of a kitchen enthusiast before, I found it interesting and entertaining to try new and, to me, unusual recipes and food items. I learned several new soup and casserole recipes, baked some goodies I had never had the nerve to tackle before and even ventured into making candy by trying to duplicate my mother’s delicious chocolate fudge.

One of my biggest leaps of faith came when I cooked a beef heart. We had purchased a quarter beef and got some organs as part of the package. Mom had made beef heart when I was young, always in a pressure cooker and served with homemade noodles.

I tried a different technique, stuffing the heart with spinach and herbs, rolling it up and then searing it in an iron skillet and finishing it in the oven. It turned out great!

When I returned to the office and the outside world as the pandemic waned, I stopped spending as much time in the kitchen. Dinner became more of a necessary routine. This past week, though, the adventures resumed — only this time it was my husband, Mike, who did the cooking.

Having a couple of days off in a row, he decided to clean some items out of our basement freezer. He put a few meats in the fridge to thaw, and among them was a beef tongue.

Mike found a recipe he liked and set to work. He boiled that tongue in the Crockpot for several hours, removed the skin and then simmered the meat with onions and a beefy, mushroom gravy.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to like it. I thought it would be gritty in texture, and I suspected the mere idea of eating a tongue would gross me out.

I was wrong.

When it was all said and done and served on a plate with cornbread dressing and a fresh salad, that beef heart was some of the most delicious meat I’ve ever tasted. It was tender, juicy and melted in your mouth. It was like a cross between a beef roast and prime rib. I wouldn’t hesitate to eat it again at any time.

So, thanks to my husband for a delightful meal. And to those of you who think you wouldn’t be able to eat such a thing, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

Don’t be afraid to try new things — not even tongue.