As I’m transitioning into this new job, I’ve got a bit less time for blogging. So, you’ll likely be seeing a few posts like this one that are still about food, but don’t immediately require cooking. I thought this would be a nice chance to share a bit more about me, anyway, so here are ten food related things you didn’t know about me.
I ate my first ever sushi/sashimi when I lived in the Marshall Islands. I sat down one night at Tide Table (which was an expatriate hangout/restaurant) and ordered their Friday night special – a plate of tuna sashimi with rice. First reaction – ugh – this is raw fish. But then it turned out I liked it and it became my go-to meal, except I’d order it with fries instead of rice.
Sushi - my favorite takeout food
I hated eggs as a kid. Like, vehemently despised. My grandmother would make pancakes that were super heavy on the eggs just to get the protein in me. I could only sort of tolerate them scrambled. Eggs are now one of my top ten favorite foods – I don’t have a clue what changed.
Some of my favorite egg dishes
I was a vegetarian/pescatarian for 13 years. I quit eating meat in college and, except for the occasional fish dish, pretty much ate absolutely no meat until I moved to Oregon eight years ago. I did eat fish in the Marshalls, as I knew exactly how and where it was sourced. My biggest problem with meat is the concept of factory farming. I really prefer locally sourced, happy chickens, pigs, and beef. One of the things I hated about city life was how far removed food production became.
All that said, the very first solid food I was desperate to eat after I got my wisdom teeth out at the age of thirty-eight, was McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Don’t judge – they were heaven on Earth.
Chicken Nuggets
I’ll drink any coffee you put in front of me, including instant. I keep packets of Starbucks instant coffee in my desk drawer. When I taught GED classes in a county detention facility, I drank the same scary coffee the county deputies drank. I drank Folger’s instant in the Marshalls. But at home, we are more civilized and our weekend coffee is brewed in a French press, thanks to my husband’s more refined coffee taste.
My morning isn’t complete without coffee
I was still a vegetarian when we went to Europe, which really limited my food options. I regret this – I still memory envy my husband’s baguette with ham and cheese in Paris. So, earlier this year, I made my own version.
My favorite meal in Hawaii when I was traveling solo was a tuna fish sandwich from the ABC store, with sliced papaya, Maui chips, and a small bottle of wine.
My favorite food now is the pasta carbonara my husband makes. Bacon is the gateway meat.
I didn’t eat my first oyster until I was in my thirties, as before that I had convinced myself I was allergic to oysters, mussels, scallops, etc. (I wasn’t – I’d just had two cases of bad shell fish related food poisoning). As it turns out, while I’m not a huge fan of oysters, I do love steamer clams, especially when they are cooked in a broth heavy with wine.
Steamer clams - and a great view on the Columbia River.
My least favorite vegetable (ok – I frankly kind of hate it) is yellow squash. I think it’s the only veggie out there that I don’t like and am really reluctant to eat. No matter how you prepare it (and even raw) it just has that slime texture to it that I cannot abide. The one sort of exception was the time I used a yellow squash hybrid for a veggie in a puff pastry with lots of cheese and walnuts.
Share in the comments – what are some of your foodie confessions? What foods do you hate the most? Which ones do you love the most? What are some of your favorite travel and food memories?
1 comment
I’ve got to say that I’m a little shocked by the instant coffee confession. I’m not a coffee snob but there are lines I just can’t cross. I’m with your husband on the coffee options. And, since you ask, here’s a confession or two - the strange British habit of baked beans on toast is really not a bad thing and the Basque drink of red wine and cola is not as bad as it sounds either (but make mine a decent wine and an artisan cola on a hot, sunny day - I’m so refined). I’ve never combined tuna and papaya - I’m definitely going to try that. One memory at random - sitting in a vineyard in the Loire valley watching a kingfisher dive into the river while drinking a glass of wine from that same vineyard and eating a ham baguette (I don’t think there was any cheese involved that day).