a friend and i were having a convo earlier about food (tis the food season) and began talking about what we really like more than we poss. should and what we don't like that seems stange to most.

me:

LOVE: mushrooms -- i think they belong on & in everything except cookies, cakes, and that sort of thing --

also, i think i could eat chinese food just about every day of the year.

hate or put up with: french fries -- i reallllllly don't like them but will eat the buggers if i'm broke, really hungry, tired, or its the only thing avail -- but they are like the red onions i immediately remove from salads...

and, my friends think i missed a girl class because i don't like chocolate. it taste like dirty food to me.

peace,
zayne

***edit to add the choc. thing

I think anchovies are the best part of the Caesar salad. I can't believe people pick them out. I can eat those salty fishy hairy little devils all day and all night!

I have never cared for anything really sweet. Candy, chocolate bars, most cakes, pies and cookies -- no thanks. Just give me some fresh berries or a nice tart sorbet.

Well, I dig mushrooms, anchovies, escargot and caviar! I usually can't afford the later...but have been known to splurge ocassionally...

I can't stand walnuts or lima beans...either one will make me lose my cookies...

My favorite is King Crab and Chateau Briand. My least favorite is anything lemon flavored or slimely like raw oysters. I like almost every seafood know to man. I have yet to try abalone, but I'm diing to try it!

I love french fries as long as the are somewhat crispy.

I eat way too much sugar, but I love desserts, especially fruit pies.

I hate things that stink like sour crout (sp?), comche (sp?) and brussel sprouts.

I love biscuits and gravy as long as the gravy is made with sausage. I love crispy bacon. I love mangos in almost any configuration.

I love heavy red wine with a bite and I hate flower white wines.

I love single malt scotch and sweet cigars on camp outs. I hate formal dinners with chicken cordon blue or sliced beef.

I love thick prime rib in au jus. I hate brown beans or salmon patties.

I love dirty martinis and hate foo foo drinks.

I love almost anything grilled or sauted, but hate everything pickled except sweet pickles.

I love garlic and hate bland foods.

I love to sample new foods, Brazilian being my latest.

I love to cook and won't eat a TV dinner for any amount of money.

Pot pie sucks, but make me a apricot fried pie and you will be my friend for life!

I love dark chocolate and can't stand milk chocolate.

I love blackberries, strawberries and raspberries, but apples don't do much for me.

I love honey roasted peanuts, but hate pecans.

I love cinnamon buns, but tofu grosses me out!

I love Häagen-Dazs rum raisin ice cream.

Skoegahom...

Love: Dark chocolate, edamame and all that soy offers, olives (all kinds), blueberries/raspberries, OJ, frosted honey buns, mushrooms & carrots in blue cheese, smoothies, BURRITOS (I easily eat 150 burritos a year).

Hate: the way that soup manufacturers think that all bean-based soups need pig-based substances. As for food to hate... hmm... coconut particles. I love the flavor of coconut, but the shavings remind me too much of finger nails... and I love finger nails... so it all makes no sense...

Put up with: Chinese buffet (it's the lowest on the asian food chart for me)

~fff

I hate mushrooms--I'll hurl if I taste one.
I hate peas (except snow peas).
I hate hazel nuts.
I hate tomatoes (but not most tomato substances).
I hate fast food (except back yard burger and sometimes arby's)

I love onions--they should be in every meal.
I love citrus fruit, ornage, grapefruit, pomelo, oro blanco, tangerine, clementine, you get the picture.
I love natural spring water. It quenches thirst like nothing else.
I love sushi.
I love salads.
I love earthfare, but not their sushi or salads (go figure).
I love unsweetened white tea with a hint of mint.

I should be allowed to eat japanese (hibachi) every day.
mexican and chinese are a close second and third.

I put up with wraps and paninis, but they'e really just to frou frou.

Love:

-- pretty much all food stemming from Mediterranian culture: lamb, olives, eggplant, tomato-ey things.

-- cheese: about the only cheeses I can't do are the ones with peppers in them. I ate too much pepper-jack at a cookout one time as a kid, and now its ruined for me. But feta, buffalo mozz, or BRIE...sweet lord, I could eat brie 3 meals a day.

-- green tea: I drink iced green tea sweetened with honey like its my job. which is good, seeing as i was pretty much addicted to Coke as a teen (which I'm convinced ruined my stomach lining), and now at least I have a beverage I like with lots of good stuff in it.

-- sushi: though probably not "authentic" stuff. i'm not too much for pretension, however, so I don't care if it's not the same stuff they eat in Japan, or if I hold my chopsticks wrong...who cares? I mean, do you think Japanese people go to "American" restaurants in Japan and say, "Oh, I will have a *fork* please..." Sheesh. Anyhoo, I love spicy shrimp roll. I could eat spicy shrimp roll every day.

-- soul food: I am many things, and one of them is unabashedly Southern. Fried chicken, black-eyed peas, fried okra, grits, etc. I love fine French/Italian/Greek/Asian/whatever cuisine, but I can't really think of a situation where I'd turn down chicken 'n' dumplings in favor of something else.

-- Good wine: I think there's enough posts out there where I talk about this.


Hate:

-- Many vegetables: I eat plenty of veggies: asparagus, snow peas, spinach, eggplant, tomatoes. But there are lots and lots that I can't even swallow a mouthful of without hurling. A short list includes brussel sprouts, carrots (though I like carrot juice, go figure), artichokes, beets, cauliflower (merciful heaven, I can't think of many things that taste worse than cauliflower), etc. Oh, and those awful, AWFUL little green "sweet" peas that must have been invented by Lucifer himself. Who decided that every TV dinner, pot pie, and hearty stew known to man needed those terrible little dingle berries? God, I HATE little green peas.

"Diet", low-fat, or low-carb anything: If you're diabetic, I guess I understand. But if you're just counting calories, then please ditch all the artificial sweetners. You'll lose more years off your life by all the cancer-causing chemicals in fake sugar than you will be just eating that one piece of chocolate cake. "Diet food" is one of the biggest rackets in history. There's plenty of healthy food that is made everyday by the Earth. You don't need Healthy Choice to add or take away a bunch of crap.

-- Super-spicy food: I like a lot of curry dishes, and I make my own barbeque sauce that's pretty spicy. But I don't get the people who go to a sports bar and order the basket of wings with radioactive hot sauce. Eating is a very pleasurable thing for me--I don't understand why I'd want to associate mind-altering pain with the experience.

-- Tequilla: sorry, just can't do it.

-- Most big American beer: New flash guys--it tastes like water. Light beers were bad enough, but "ultra" beers and that Bud Select crap...seriously, if you don't like beer, just don't drink it. Don't pay good money for something that tastes like someone intentionally tried to make something that sucks, and then when they were done watered it down to where you couldn't even taste the suckiness.

-- veal: on top of the way the little baby cows are treated, it just has a weird texture. I'll cook it if someone wants it, but I don't eat it.

the only things i really refuse to eat are mushrooms and eggplant. there are things i don't prefer, but will deal with if presented with them.

has always been interesting to me how many peeps HATE mushrooms. they are like the food from the gods to me.

brussel sprouts -- hate the way they make my house smell while cooking them -- but yummmmm, yummy, yummmm!

fun reading,
zayne

Oh NO!!! I though we were gonna be friends!!
Goes to weep in her Baba Ganoush,
~m

Things I love: 'shrooms (especially portabellos), butter, EVOO, cheese (just about any kind), whole grain pastas, brown basmati, whole wheat tortillas, berries of any sort, salmon, chicken, turkey, ostrich, seafood, hummus, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts (clean them, spread them on a baking sheet, drizzle with EVOO, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast - your kitchen won't smell), asparagus and or winter/summer veggies done the same way - yum!, cranberry chutney.

Things I dislike: liver, french fries, cooked spinach, white rice, white pastas and breads, margarine, american cheese, sugary things.

Cher

In a world where we wouldn't suffer the consequences of dietary indiscretions:

Special loves*:

*(I only eat these things when I am off my 'know-better' wagon)

Potatoes (esp. potato chips and french fries)
Chewy breads (italian, french)
Gooey vanilla cream stuff (like coconut cream pie, et al)
Ice Cream (except chocolate or coffee)
Cake, cookies and pie
Yorkshire pudding
Pasta and cheese, ie: lasagnas, alfredos
Pizza w extra cheese.
Eggnog
Milk chocolate covered cherries (liquid centers)

Dislikes:

Coffee
Dark chocolate
Shrimp, lobster, crab (any crustacean-like animal)
Liver
Garlic
Anchovies
Oysters
Mussels
Other slimey seafood
Malt
Beer
Wine
Liquor
Jerkies
Tripe
Giblets
brain
tongue
smelly cheeses

Most other foods I can take or leave with neither craving or aversion.

yes, I am strange, I know.

mushrooms, pistachios, provalone, muenster, goat cheese, green peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, most things peanut butter and chocolate, clementines, most things cream cheese, strawberries, cherries, gyro, raw spinach, cheese cake, shrimp, asparagus, fries with ketchup and mayo, wendy's junior bacon cheesburger with lettuce only, coconut, coconut-curry chicken, peanut sauce, moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, this cheese spread, these cookies

every ingredient in a rueben..rye bread, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, corned beef..that dressing. gross. brussel sprouts, olives, tapioca pudding, yellow mustard, peas, dark chocolate

Special loves:
Cheese...all of it...stinky or otherwise
Dark Chocolate and port
Butternut squash (soup or raviolis! YUM!)
Sweet potatos
mushrooms
GARLIC
Curries (esp with coconut milk)
Sticky Liquors (like ameretto, kalua, irish cream, rum cream, etc)
Juice (specifically orange, but I am a juice junkie all around except for grapefruit:P)
Sushi (of the veggie persuasion)
Peanut sauced Thai food

Things I can't abide:
Meat
Fish (The smell alone makes me lose my appetite)
Grapefruit
saurkraut
very cheap booze
canned mushrooms

me too! how do people eat that?
also--i'm not a big fan of melons.
and tomato juice smells like vomit to me.

Its simple really. 2 rules.

1. No food touching other food.

2. (per my mother) Never put anything blue in your mouth.

not even blueberries???

Likes: almost all seafood except crab (allergic!), asparagus, berries, mango, dark chocolate, green tea, jasmine tea, Poland Spring water, Chinese food that isn't fried, sushi without raw fish (veggie sushi, but not with fake crab!), guacamole, fresh Mexican food, salads with lots of those tender baby green leaves, bagels, pretzels

Dislikes: any kind of red meat (mammals), cookie dough icecream, oreos (the filling tastes greasy!), anchovies, most fried things, pies that have too much sugar, spongey white bread like Wonder Bread, donuts

Likes: Turnips! How could I have forgotten turnips. Raw or cooked - they are yummy.

Thanks to you Zayne I have a batch of winter veggies roasting right now, and they smell absolutely lovely: baby carrots, sweet spud, onion, turnips, button mushrooms all drizzled with EVOO and sprinkled with salt and coarsely ground black pepper. THANKS!!!

Cher

Well, OK...I finally had to Google EVOO. I thought it was an exotic root or herb. Sheesh!
Extra Virgin Olive Oil rocks. Great for dipping with crusty Italian bread.

Sorry, Trudes, I shouldn't have abbreviated. Glad you found out what it is, and yes, it is yummy to dip crusty bread in.

Cher

Love:
Coffee
Chocolate
Fresh olives ... stuffed with feta is AWESOME
Good bread
Danish
Chocolate
Sauteed spinach
Garlic
Olive Oil
Roasted red peppers
Nathan's hot dogs
Carvel Ice Cream
Homemade guacamole
Strawberry shortcake
Italian Wedding Soup
Mutsu apples
Fresh basil
Fresh mootz

Hate:
Chili on spaghetti
Melted cheese on most everything, except pizza
Swiss cheese
Mushrooms (they can kill me)
Green peppers
Salty soups (i.e., almost all canned)
MSG
V8
Tomato juice
Salsa from a bottle
Celery
Ceviche
Grapefruit

Put up with:
Ballpark food
Restaurant nachos
Premade burgers (quickly going into the hate category)

How could I have forgotten blueberries! They may be my favorite food of all! Also, oh, yes, mushrooms of all kinds, turnips, red potatoes, vegetables roasted on the grill, especially with fresh herbs and sliced red peppers too! Favorite Chinese food: Buddah's delight with bean curd....mmmmm

no no no margarita! we still can be! i promise!
actually, it's the texture of eggplant that i hate so much and so i can handle baba ghanoush. admittedly, it's not my favorite...

mwah,
kelly

i won't tell bill so he doesn't feel the need to disown you.

peace,
zayne

death by mushroom?

Well if we're gonna list all our favorite & least favorite foods:

Yum
whole wheat linguine with tomato/basil sauce and turkey meatballs
real wood-oven-baked thin crust pizza with roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella
homemade gaspacho, minnestrone and lentil soups
fresh whole grain Italian bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil
fresh oysters dredged in seasoned cornmeal and fried, with remoulade sauce
blackened catfish
seafood gumbo
hot and sour soup
shrimp fra diavolo
shrimp Savoy (sauteed with butter, olive oil, shallots, parsley & white wine)
tuna au poive, seared but mostly raw
real barbecue brisket and baby back ribs (smoked 10+ hours)
spicy tuna roll
herb-roasted Cornish game hen with baby red potatoes and steamed broccoli
homemade Cincinnati-style 4-way chili with black beans over spaghetti
Texas-style beef chili
the Thermonuclear Wings at Bidwell Tavern
chicken marinated in homemade jerk sauce and slow-cooked on the grill
fried soft-shell crabs with Tabasco and homemade tartar sauce
fresh mussels steamed any number of ways
Spring greens with broccoli slaw, tomatoes, mushrooms & lite Mediterranean dressing
incendiary chicken & green beans in Thai curry
Thai salads without peanuts or peanut sauce
Hunan style lamb stir-fried with mixed vegetables
hacked chicken in spicy ginger & scallion sauce
lamb vindaloo
marinated lamb kebabs with veggies on pita with cucumber yogurt sauce
Indian breads
fresh-made chicken fajitas
falafel on pita with tahini sauce
a nice aged NY sirloin grilled medium-rare (on rare occasions)
fresh tomatoes, squash, peppers, etc.
mushrooms (when I'm not eating with Fred)
roasted garlic
red beans and rice
grilled artichoke hearts
asparagus steamed in water & white wine and marinated in red wine vinaigrette
ratatouille
beefsteak tomatoes & mozzarella with fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil
olives of any variety
homemade guacamole
anchovies
well aged cheese, especially manchega
feta
stuffed grape leaves
fresh berries (except cranberries)
unsalted sunflower seeds and pistachio nuts
kiwi and mango sorbet
plain lowfat yogurt with berries and granola
coffee and pistachio ice cream
cappuccino and iced latté
Kona coffee (I love you, Michelle)
fresh fruit smoothies
low sodium V8
tomato juice
most real beers and ales
margaritas (on the rocks with salted rim, or married to Dan)
good French champagne
this here 1989 vintage Barolo my brother-in-law gave me for Christmas

Yuk
cabbage and brussel sprouts
cottage and ricotta cheese
iceberg lettuce (boring!)
cranberry sauce
American "cheese"
turnips
donuts
liquor
liqueurs (except Frangelico)
sweet baked desserts

In general, I think most processed and convenience foods have way too much salt and sugar in them.

keith,

will you cook when you and mr.s ny come to visit? i'll buy beer (or something).

peace,
zayne

There was a night I thought the mushrooms were going to kill me, but that was in the 70's and who can really remember what really happened back then?

Luckily for me, there isn't a whole lot that I don't like. There are some things that are better than others.

One thing that I love, (this is only for special family gatherings) are those little smoked oysters, from those little tins. Put one of those on a nacho cheese Dorrito and I'm in heaven! I know, it makes no sense. My dad started my brother and I on it when we were young. My dad, my brother and I are the only ones that ever eat them. Everyone else just misses out. More for us!

Nasty little allergy of mine.

Likes…
Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate
Chicken
Crab Rangoon
Green Bean/Wax Beans
Potatoes – Baked – Mashed – French fried
Ice Cream
Asian Food

Dislikes…
V8
Tomato juice
Soup
Olives
Canned Peas
Canned Corn
Gravy any kind on any thing
Spicy Cheese
Liver
American cheese
Oysters
Mussels
yellow mustard
hot dogs

Since I have been Pregnant…
Love…
Steak
Buskin’s Jelly Filled Doughnuts
Green Bean/Wax Beans
Potatoes – Baked – Mashed – French fried
Ice Cream
Milk

Hate…
Chicken – any kind in anything – hate it with a vengeance and I can’t stand it and just the smell makes me want to hurl.
Cincinnati Chili
Mushrooms
Buffalo Sauce
Peanut Butter (early in my pregnancy I could not get enough of it but now I hate it)

newest loves:
cinnamon waffles
morning star farms sausage style meal starter crumbles

peace,
zayne