while my thoughts are marinating...

...i'm going to do this cooking survey that i swiped from Nichole and Rebecca. ha ha. thoughts marinating. cooking survey. get it? lame, i know, but so are my efforts to organize my thoughts into an actual post with meaning. or that, at the very least, makes sense. but the natives are getting restless and i've gotten more than one pointed remark about updating so... here ya go.

1. Favorite milk?
the kind we call ice cream. or cheese. i'm not a big fan of drinking milk, but i do use 2% in my cereal.

2. What are the top 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook this season?
this season?? i plan my meals no more than a week in advance. i have *no* clue what i will be specifically cooking. i do know that i tend to cook more "comfort foods" now than in the past season though when it's too hot to cook anything you can't either grill or cook very quickly on the stove top. i have already made stuffed shells and meatloaf patties since the weather has been cooler.

3. Topping of choice for popcorn?
just enough butter for the taste without making the popcorn too soggy or your fingers excessively greasy & a teeny tiny bit of salt.

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
while i know that they have happened, i can't seem to get any to surface. this may have something to do with the fact that i cooked nothing but plain pasta, grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, chicken tenders & cheese quesadillas for five years--and those are tough to mess up. the most recent kitchen oops i've had was when i was making cupcakes & forgot to add the water to the mix before i started mixing (did you know that cupcake mix, eggs and oil make chocolate cement?) but that is hardly what i would call a disaster or a failure. i just dumped it out & started over.

5. Favorite pickled item?
just regular old cucumbers. they can be dill or bread & butter or hearty garlic though. mmm... pickles.

6. How do you organize your recipes?
i am slowly getting them all assembled on my recipe blog.

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal?
i have a garbage disposal but i use it cautiously. when i was growing up, though, my grandparents had a compost pile. if i lived in the country, i would.

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods...what would they be (don't worry about how you'll cook them)?
ice cream. raspberries. tomatoes.

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
i think about 75% of my childhood memories involve food in some way. my Gram was an incredible cook. we ate like kings. i had fresh produce from the garden & orchard, and their home-canned counterparts all Winter long. there were Sunday dinners and holiday feasts and big family potlucks. i cooked with her in the kitchen as far back as i can go in my memory. if you forced me to pick one, i would have to condense it to time spent in her kitchen with her.

10. Favorite ice cream?
can't have just one! there is mint chocolate chip... and black raspberry... and chocolate mocha silk... and coffee... and Tagalong Cookie...

11. Most loved kitchen appliance?
it's more of a utensil, i think, than an actual appliance but i don't know how i would survive with my mezzaluna chopper.

12. Spice/herb you would die without?
basil.

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time?
i'm pretty sure that would be the Betty Crocker cookbook that covers all the basics. it's a handy resource, from time to time, but i can't honestly remember the last time i made a recipe from it...

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly?
raspberry. although my Gram made tons of homemade jams & jellies (blueberry. blackberry. currant. apple. peach. grape. plum. strawberry.) and i have never found a store bought jam or jelly that could compete.

15. Favorite recipe to serve to a friend?
i don't really have a favorite recipe... i think it would depend on who i was cooking for & what they like!

16. Do you eat tofu?
i've had it once--but i have no idea how to actually cook it. i was served it as a guest. the jury is still out. sometimes it takes me a few tries to determine a verdict. in this case, it's the texture i am considering.

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)?
probably dinner. i rarely cook breakfast foods and lunch is typically leftovers or something quick & easy.

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator?
a turkey-shaped basket and a cornucopia filled with dried Autumn flowers. ooo, wait right here. i think i have...

yep! photos!


19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking.
ice cream. fresh chopped herbs in ice cube form. frozen peas.

20. What's on your grocery list?
at the moment? ummm... just a Sunday paper, granola bars, apples and butter. the week is young though. it will grow between now & Sunday's shopping trip.

21. Favorite grocery store?
Publix. it's the best one we have in my area. i miss Stop & Shop though.

22. Name a recipe you'd love to try, but haven't yet.
there are tons i have tucked away in draft form on my recipe blog. i don't post them til i've tried them & liked them though. however, i can't really link to them since they are only drafts...

23. Food blog you read the most.
i really like the recipes they post on Chop. Stir. Mix.

24. Favorite chocolate?
See's. hands down. it's a food group unto itself. and a miracle food group at that.

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately?
you would have to define your terms. i don't buy anything extravagant by my standards.

26. What vegetables do you enjoy most?
mmm... veggies. peas. corn. carrots. zucchini. summer squash. brussel sprouts. broccoli. cauliflower. green beans. asparagus. peppers (raw only though). tomatoes (yes, i know... it's a fruit). potatoes. really, it's much easier to ask me what i *don't* like: winter squash of any variety and onions.