twirlgrrl | Food meme

Stolen from

resist_2_exist because I can't think of anything I'd rather talk about right now than food.

What's the last thing you ate?
Half of a little Trader Joe's pizza with Kalamata olives and feta on it; I split it with Blue.

What's your favorite cheese?
I love cheese, especially halloumi and smoked gouda, but my absolute favorite is Goudkuipje smeerkaas (Dutch spreadable cheese.)

What's your favorite fish?
Mahi mahi or tilapia.

What's your favorite fruit?
Mango, pineapple, nectarines... can't choose just one.

When, if ever, did you start liking olives?
Mmmmm I've always loved them!

When, if ever, did you start liking beer?
I've always hated beer.

When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish?
I've never eaten shellfish.

What was the best thing your parent/s used to make?
Favorite dishes of my mom's: Beef stew, beef stroganoff (no mushrooms please!), grilled cheese sandwiches, tuna casserole, tacos, fried rice, and the best fried fish I ever ate.

What's the native specialty of your home town?
Sourdough bread and Ghirardelli chocolate.

What's your comfort food?
It depends on what I'm going through and what my body is doing. It could be a chocolate milkshake, a burger, pizza, grape Kool-aid, a grilled cheese sandwich, avocado toast, peanut butter/grape jelly/butter on toast, steak, breaded and fried Dinner Cuts (fake meat from Loma Linda foods)... generally something fatty or sweet.

What's your favorite type of chocolate?
Generally semi-sweet to dark.

How do you like your steak?
Medium well, filet mignon.

How do you like your burger?
Well done, with lettuce, onions and mayo only.

How do you like your eggs?
Hard boiled, salted and mashed onto buttered toast.

How do you like your potatoes?
I think hash browns are my favorite.

How do you take your coffee?
As milky, sweet and chocolatey or caramelly as possible.

How do you take your tea?
Usually with a little bit of honey or raw sugar at home. Plain, at Asian restaurants.

What's your favorite mug?
My Hello Kitty in San Francisco mug from Beth.

What's your cookie of choice?
Chocolate chip, a little chewy with golden crispy edges, lots of chocolate. I am always in search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Those double fudge cookies at Mrs. Field's are pretty good too.

What's your ideal breakfast?
French toast, hash browns, hot chocolate, fresh orange juice, bacon.

What's your ideal sandwich?
Usually a club sandwich, no tomato. Sometimes a turkey sandwich with lettuce and mayo, or turkey and pastrami if the pastrami is lean. Oh, or a reuben, mmmmm!

What's your ideal pizza (topping and base)?
Tomato sauce, mozzarella, green olives and feta.

What's your ideal pie (sweet or savory)?
Fresh peach pie. Sweet, obv.

What's your ideal salad?
Chinese chicken salad or Cobb.

What food do you always like to have in the fridge?
Peanut butter, butter, milk, cheese, zucchini, spinach, chopped garlic, capers, green olives, Petrini's salad dressing, jam, eggs, berries, takeout containers of rice, teriyaki sauce, ketchup.

What food do you always like to have in the freezer?
Trader Joe's pizzas, whole grain waffles, mango chunks, bean and cheese burritos, lots of Morningstar Farms fake meat products.

What food do you always like to have in the cupboard?
Popcorn, instant oatmeal, breakfast cereal, canned soup, canned beans, honey, dried fruit, nuts, pasta, jarred pasta sauce, vegetable and olive oils.

What spices can you not live without?
Salt, pepper, Lawry's seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion salt, furikake

What sauces can you not live without?
Hot fudge for ice cream, BBQ sauce, teriyaki, a mild hot sauce for burritos.

Where do you buy most of your food?
We're trying to go to Trader Joe's first these days since we spend so much less there. After that, Safeway, and rarely Rainbow for stuff we can't get elsewhere or to pick up some good organic produce. TJ's is not the best place for produce but Safeway sometimes has some decent stuff.

How often do you go food shopping?
Once a week or less, unless we run out of a staple or need more produce.

What's the most you've spent on a single food item?
At the store? I don't know. I guess like $120 on a bottle of champagne, once upon a time. Is that food?

What's the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own?
Probably our knives. We don't have anything really fancy.

What's the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen?
Evan bought a new tabletop grill (like the Foreman grill, but not) the other day. It's gigantic and does not fit on the kitchen counter. :(

What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without?
The toaster, and a 10" skillet.

How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients?
Not very often! I'm working on doing it more. I make my son's school lunch almost every day, does that count? And we're cooking lots of vegetables at home these days--you have to start with raw ingredients for that.

What's the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients?
I've been away from home so this doesn't count! Um... zucchini I guess, about a week ago.

What's your favorite thing to make for yourself?
Toast.

What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig, chicken and turkey?
I had lamb once--my father-in-law served it and I felt like I had to eat it to be polite. I have had capon, is that different than chicken? I'm not the most adventurous meat-eater.

What's the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor?
I don't remember but it was probably recent.

What's the last time you ate something you'd picked in the wild?
Maybe blackberries from over the fence in my backyard or in a local park, so that would have been... um... when are blackberries in season?

Place the following cuisines in order of preference (greatest to least):
1. Chinese
2. Italian
3. Japanese
4. American
5. Irish
6. French

Place the following boozes in order of preference (greatest to least):

resist_2_exist just listed the same booze 6 times, so I don't know what the original choices were, but it doesn't really matter because I don't really dig hard liquor at all anymore. I used to like vodka. If pressed, I might have a little bit of Buttershots on ice. I absolutely HATE tequila and gin... everything else is, like, meh.

Place the following flavors in order of preference (greatest to least):
1. Garlic
2. Lime
3. Ginger
4. Basil
5. Aniseed

Place the following fruits in order of preference (greatest to least):
1. Pineapple
2. Strawberry
3. Apple
4. Melon (only watermelon or honeydew; I hate canteloupe with a fiery passion)
5. Banana

Bread and spread:
Whole wheat toast with avocado/butter/salt, hardboiled egg/butter/salt, chunky natural peanut butter/butter/grape jelly, or butter/apricot preserves.

What's your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order?
In'N'Out is the best. Hamburger with onions, no tomato. Fries. Dr Pepper.

What are three of the best dining-out experiences you've had?
Teatro Zinzanni for our 5th anniversary--the entertainment more than the food, but so fun!!
Lunching alone while pregnant at Burma Super Star--I lived 2 blocks away so I did this often.
The flank steak special at Q, that one time with Jana. DIVINE.

Favorite cookbook/s?
The Joy of Cooking
Martin Yan Quick & Easy
Betty Crocker cookbook (with the red picnic-table cover)
Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Vegetarian Indian Cooking

Got any favorite food blogs?
I watch