In no particular order, 25 Foods I'm Thankful For and probably could not (and/or would not want to) live without:
- Condensed milk. In Vietnamese iced coffee, of course. In any coffee, really. It was a revelation the first time I had shaved ice with bits of fruit, served with a squeeze bottle of condensed milk. Genius. Perfection. I could eat it by the spoonful. Sometimes I do. That's why I haven't opened the can in the cupboard yet.
- Almond Butter. Creamy. Lightly salted. This, too, I find myself eating by the spoonful. I like foods that fit in spoons. I also like foods that lend themselves to both sweet and savory dishes. Sweet? Spread over toast, sprinkle with cinnamon, add a dollop of blueberry preserves. Magic. Savory? Cook spaghetti noodles. Or any kind of wheat-noodle. While the noods are hot, add big helping of almond butter and soy sauce, and a not-too-conservative dash of sesame oil. Follow with your Asian (or not) pepper sauce of choice. Dinner.
- Half & half. Another item that lends itself to coffee augmentation. I can't help it. Since it's hard to eat by the spoonful, I don't. Sometimes I'm tempted to drink it by the glass. Shots of it would be nice. But I stick to coffee. I should become an athlete again. So that I can drink it by the glass without feeling guilty.
- Pomegranates. They're pretty. They're sweet. They're sometimes tangy. They're mysterious-looking. They're the stuff of myth and legend (literally). And after a day of cream puffs, rich potatoes au gratin, and general glut, they allow me to forget for a minute that I've devoured a week's worth of calories within a few hours. Almost.
- Black Pepper. Or, really, the four-pepper blend that I put into the peppermill a good friend gifted me a few years ago. I love being able to regulate the grind. I love the heat. I love-- I don't know. Black pepper is so ubiquitous that it's hard for me the describe the flavor. It's an earthy kind of fire.
- Red Pepper Flake. It's not just for pizza. I don't feel right making any Italian pasta dish without a pinch of this in the oil along with the garlic and onion. A few weeks ago I forgot that my shaker was broken and accidently dumped 2 tablespoons into one serving of pseudo rice pilaf. I fed it to a gal with Louisiana blood. It caused her pain. She approved.
- Coffee. Does this count as a food? It's a beverage. It's a drug. It's beautiful and bitter. It's dark and shiny. I prefer it strong, but I still give it a chance when it is weak.
- Brussels Sprouts. I have to throw in some of my healthier loves, too, because I do love them and it would be oh, so wrong to ignore the sweet little vegetable that is the brussels sprout. Its name confuses grammarians. And I love tiny versions of things.
- Cherimoyas. They're one of my favorite fruits. I'm glad they exist. They're alien and strange-looking. They ripen suddenly on the counter and then must be devoured. They are sneaky and I love them.
- Granola. I admitted recently to being a bit of closet crunch granola lesbian. I can get into that another time. I love granola when it is composed of big clumps of oats. I don't even really need the dried fruit or nuts (but I love pecans). I keep granola in my car to serve as an emergency snack when I am starving between destinations.
- Pork belly. For all the wonderful things that can be done with it, from braising to bacon-ing. I had ramen with huge chunks of tender pork belly for lunch. I am a well-insulated gal.
- Dark chocolate. Because it just makes me happy. Because, like coffee, it is dark and bitter and irresistible. It's chocolate. Is any further explanation required, really? Please, hold the milk.
- Milk. Speak of the devil. I'm not supposed to be able to consume this stuff without intestinal issues, but for some reason, I can. I don't think I get windy from it, but maybe I'm in denial. I haven't heard any complaints thus far. But I've been single a while.Hmm.
- Cucumbers. Autumn isn't really the cucumber's peak time, but I have to mention him. Mr. Cucumber. Yes, I made the vegetable male. Sometimes, I'm sexist. I like pretty much every variety. Small Persian cucumbers. Long English cukes. Medium cukes grown in Mexico. This is getting weird. Let's move on.
- Butter. It speaks for itself, really, if it's Kerrygold. Irish. So far, I haven't experienced a butter to top this one. I'm open to suggestions. One of the best things in life is well-toasted bread with a healthy slathering of butter.
- Old-fashioned doughnuts. This is a recent thing. I didn't realize how much I loved them until I had them very fresh from a couple of very nice shops. There's a place in Culver City that makes chocolate-glazed old-fashioneds that I would consider trading a considerable piece of my soul for if I hadn't just eaten three creampuffs. The tender texture and the tang of the buttermilk make a dangerous combination for a coffee lover.
- Eggs. Over easy. Sunny side up. Soft boiled. Hard boiled. Creamily scrambled. Poached. Deviled. In salads. In ramen. A la carte. I love it all. Why haven't I died of heart disease yet? I'm going to do some jumping jacks.
- Beets. Another recently discovered love. I knew I liked those cold, little red cubes at the salad bar, but I never knew they could be so amazing. Roasted with a little vinaigrette, garnished with goat cheese, on a bed of arugula. The tiny ones, roasted, don't even need salt. And they make your pee red.
- Whiskey. Okay, another drug which I'm adding to this list. How about this be a list of consumables? I've come to really like whiskey. It's good in sauces, sweet or savory. It's good with a little ice. It's good with gingerale. It's good. Dark liquor. I like it. Yes, it has put hairs on my chest. Two. Or three.
- Vinegar. It's good for pickling. It's good for adobo. It's good for taking the edge off of stinky dried Khmer fish (with a little crushed garlic in it). The main reason I'm thankful for it, though, is because it's so versatile. I love cleaning with vinegar. It doesn't smell like a fresh fake pine forest, but I don't wonder about inhaling it or getting it on my hands. I hate wearing gloves. (Again, closet crunchy granola lesbian rears her all-natural head.)
- Rice. Short grain. Long grain. Sticky. Dry. Fried. Steamed. Boiled. In porridge. Under a sunny side up egg. Drenched in curry. In a pilaf. In biriyani. It's all magic. Maybe it's 'cause I'm Asian. Maybe it's 'cause rice is just good. I think it's the latter.
- Lemons. I eat them. I am not as fond of limes as I am of lemon. I could put lemon on practically anything and everything. I have dreams of lemon tarts. I eat slices of lemon. I squeeze lemon over chicken, fish, beef, into yogurt. Someone get me a lemon tree?
- Brown sugar. So I guess I have somewhat of a sweet tooth. And a fat tooth. Maybe it's just a pleasure tooth. I weaned myself off of using brown sugar in my coffee lately because I am constantly around sweets of all shapes and sizes these days, but brown sugar, dark and sticky, is my go-to sugar for coffee. And my life partially revolves around coffee, so brown sugar needs to be on this list.
- Cheddar cheese. Smooth, but aged enough to have those little crystals that crunch amidst all the sweetness. Rich. It's another of those dairy items that I'm not supposed to eat or be able to eat so much of, but I tend to, anyway. Nothing can stand between me and my dairy, not even genetics.
- Pears. Yes, I'm ending on pears. Because this is a recent new love, too. Before 2010, I'm not sure I ever ate pears as a snack, crunching into them when they're under-ripe, or wiping their juices from my chin when they're at their peak of softness. They're good with cheese. They're good with chocolate. They're good with whipped cream. They're good by themselves, if they're good. Pears. Fruit is good for you, and tasty, too. Don't be such a rebel. Eat fruit.
But let's just think happy thoughts as we gorge ourselves for the next six weeks, shall we?
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