Friday Food Fun - Week 18 - Breakfast

1. What time do you wake up on a normal work/school day? 7:30

2. Do you eat breakfast? I don't eat anything usually until about 10:30 or 11:00.
3. Do you like traditional breakfast foods? Which ones? Not early in the morning. Of the traditional foods listed, I'll eat most of them later in the day, but not early. I have never had cream of wheat. It's been a while since I ate oatmeal--the texture isn't appealing to me. I don't drink milk, so I don't eat cereal and milk with or without fruit. I do eat dry cereal sometimes, but only later in the day and only certain ones. I have on occasion made it to McDonalds before too late and bought me a steak McMuffin.
4. Do you prefer lunch/supper foods for breakfast? Which ones? Yes, if I eat anything for breakfast, I'll eat "anything" that I would eat at a later meal...except for breakfast foods.
5. Do you ever eat breakfast for supper? Yes, my parents love it so sometimes that is what we have.
6. What are your favorite breakfast foods? McDonald's steak mcmuffins, hashbrowns, bacon, granola bars.

Friday Food Fun - Week 17 - Fall Festival Foods

1. Do you like cotton candy? Any particular flavor? I like cotton candy. I like cherry the best.
2. Do you like hot dogs? How do you fix yours? Hot dogs are not a favorite of mine, but I do eat them when it's that or nothing. I like them with chili and mustard.
3. Do you like caramel apples? Do you like bobbing for apples? I've never had a caramel apple on a stick but I love to dip apple slices in caramel dip. I have never bobbed for apples, but don't think I would enjoy that.
4. Do you like apple cider? Not really, but I love apple juice.
5. Are there other foods you consider a staple at these events? No.

Friday Food Fun - Week 16 - Seafood

What kind of seafood do you like?

01. Do you like seafood? Yes
02. Do you know anyone who is allergic to seafood? Yes
03. What is your favorite seafood? scallops, sushi
04. Do you have a favorite seafood recipe? no
05. Do you prefer your seafood steamed, boiled, broiled, or fried? I prefer steamed/broiled/boiled.
06. Do you like raw seafood? Yes
07. Do you like sushi? What kinds? Yes, my favorites are crab, caviar, and the seaweed.
08. Do you have a favorite seafood restaurant? The local cheap place (Easley, SC) is Silver Bay. The local more expensive place (Greenville, SC) Red Lobster. The best seafood restaurant I've ever been to was a buffet place in Florida that we went to on our way to Walt Disney World in November 2000. I don't know the name, but it was the best place. If I remember correctly, there was a wooden crab on the front of the building that was bigger than the restaurant.
09. Do you prefer to dip your shrimp in melted butter/margarine or cocktail sauce? margarine
10. Do you like some tarter sauce with your fish, hushpuppies or other seafood? No
11. Do you like hushpuppies? Sometimes
12. Do you like grit cakes? No

Friday Food Fun - Week 15 - Snacks

I love to snack on stuff. What do you like to snack on?

01. Granola bars - do you have a favorite? Nature Valley Trail Mix Fruit and Nut Bars
02. Vegetables - which veggies do you like to snack on? Celery, bell peppers, snow peas
03. Fruit - which fruits do you like to snack on? Cherries, red grapes, peaches, avocados, tomatoes, watermelon, figs, muscadines, scuppernongs
04. Dried fruit - which dried fruits do you like to snack on? banana chips, pineapple
05. Nuts - which nuts do you like to snack on? pistachios, cashews, peanuts (especially boiled)
06. Seeds - which seeds do you like to snack on? sunflower seeds,
07. Creamy things - which puddings, tapiocas or yogurts do you like to snack on? I like a variety of pudding cups and yogurts.
08. Candy - which candies do you like to snack on? Bit o' honey, gobstoppers/jaw breakers, pixie stix, smarties, nerds
09. Cookies - which cookies do you like to snack on? Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate fudge oatmeal cookies, sugar cookies
10. Crackers - which crackers do you like to snack on? Oriental rice crackers, mini Saltine crackers, club crackers
11. Chips - which kind of chips do you like to snack on? Cool Ranch Doritoes, fritos, Scoops, dried sugar snap peas (don't remember what they are called, but they make a good snack - they are chips made out of pea pods)
12. Movies - what snack do you like to get at the movies? soda, popcorn, Nerds rope, chocolate covered cookie dough bites
13. Are there any snacks you like that I didn't mention? I like Oriental delight - it's got sesame crackers and oriental rice crackers and dried green peas in it. I love it, but don't confuse those green peas with the wasabi peas - that is something else that I wouldn't like! I also love cheese - I especially enjoy snacking on string cheese (mozzerella).
14. What are three of your most favorite snacks? I like my snacks to fill me up. I like the trail mixes like the oriental delight. I like chips. I like nuts.

Friday Food Fun - Week 14 - Candy

What kind of candy do you like?


01. What is your favorite hard candy? Lifesavers and Tic Tacs
02. What is your favorite soft candy? Bit o' Honey and Brachs Toffees
03. What is your favorite type of chocolate? Dark chocolate
04. What is your favorite mint? Wintergreen
05. What is your favorite life saver? Pepomint, Butter Rum
06. What is your favorite gum? Extra Bubblegum (pink)
07. Do you prefer white chocolate or brown chocolate? brown
08. Do you prefer dark chocolate or milk chocolate? dark
09. Do you prefer chocolate or caramel? caramel
10. Do you prefer sweet or sour? sweet
11. Do you prefer tangy or tart? tangy
12. What are your absolute favorite candies? Bit o' Honey, probably
13. Do you have special brand names that are your favorites? Jelly Belly Jelly Beans stand out above the rest of jelly beans, but other candies, I can't think of a particular instance.

Friday Food Fun - Week 13 - Ethnic Food

Well, tell me what kind of foods you like to eat at the following types of restaurants and your favorite restaurant of each type and it's location (so people in your location can eat there too).

1. Mexican restaurant - Los Amigos, Hwy 93, Easley, SC - Taquitos Mexicana, guacamole
2. Chinese restaurant - New China Buffet, White Horse Rd, Greenville, SC - buffet
3. Thai restaurant - Chef's Secret Thai & Sushi, 123 Bypass, Easley, SC - dim sum, sushi
4. Italian restaurant - Nino's, Liberty, SC - appetizer bread, lamb chops, pasta
5. Greek restaurant - Acropolis, Wade Hampton Blvd, Taylors, SC - souvlaki
6. Indian restaurant - ?? have always wanted to try one, but haven't yet had the chance.
7. American restaurant - at a hamburger fast food place, I like a plain hamburger with mayo, mustard, pickles, and meat on bread. Meat and three? - I'll eat just about everything. I love McDonalds on 123 bypass in Easley for hamburgers and the best french fries around. For meat and three, I like 200 Russell St in Easley, SC.
8. French restaurant - ?? Don't know of a French restaurant around here, but I do like frog legs and escargot.
9. Japanese restaurant - Dozo's, 123 bypass, Easley, SC - seafood soup and sushi!
10. Other ethnic restaurant - I don't know of any

Friday Food Fun - Week 12 - In a Hurry

If I was throwing a dinner party, and one of my dishes was ruined, I would throw together my "French onion" soup. It's my version, but I always have the main ingredients on hand.

Beef broth

Any combination of
diced celery
diced onion
can mushrooms
roast beef
black eyed peas

Put it in the microwave and you have a new course for dinner.

Friday Food Fun - Week 11 - Fresh Vegetable Recipes

Tomatoes: I slice them into wedges, sprinkle salt, pepper, and dill and eat them. Yum!

Bell Peppers: Slice into strips and sprinkle with salt.

Okra: I like to cut the ends off and steam them but my family prefers fried okra. They slice them into pieces about 3/4" wide and dip them in buttermilk and then dip them in cornmeal and fry them up.

Squash and zucchini: Slice and saute with a small yellow onion. Sometimes cover with cheese.

Black eyed peas: boil them in a pan of water, lightly salt them.

Green beans: When available, a little fatback lard or bacon is used, or else, beef bouillion cubes. Also when available, throw in fresh baby potatoes! Also good with sliced almonds.

Corn: sometimes boiled on the cob and buttered, but most of it is cut off and cooked with butter and a little salt.

Friday Food Fun - Week 10 - Summer Produce

Friday Food Fun - Summer Garden Produce:
1. What do you grow? This year we didn't grow anything, although we do have one fig bush and one pecan tree and one pear tree. We usually plant at least tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, bell peppers, squash, and zucchini. We used to plant okra, green beans, hot peppers, jalapenos, cantaloupe, black eyed peas, butter beans, lima beans, colored peas, and more when I was little. One year we did green peas. One year we did potatoes. One year we did peanuts.


2. Do you like everything you grow or is there some stuff you grow only for other people? I didn't like the jalapenos and hot peppers.


3. What are some of your favorite dishes to make with fresh produce (if the recipes are simple, include them)? I love fresh vegetables just cooked. Corn is cooked with a little butter. Green beans are cooked with a little bacon, lard, or bouillion cubes, and during the summer we like to throw in some baby potatoes. Most of family loves fried okra, but though I eat a little fried okra, it's better for you and I enjoy it more when it's steamed. Sometimes, for supper, I will slice up a tomato, a cucumber, and a bell pepper, and I'm happy with just a little salt and pepper on them. Fresh vegetables are awesome.


4. Is there anything you love fresh that you won't eat if it's not fresh? I don't like stewed tomatoes.


5. Are there things you have planted in the past that you no longer plant because you think that store-bought is good enough considering the work you have to do for fresh? Potatoes, green peas, peanuts, green beans, blackeyed peas, lima beas, butter beans, and this year - we didn't plant anything due to traveling and vacations and having a new nephew/grandson that comes to visit.

Friday Food Fun - Week 9 - Cheeses

1. What types of cheese do you like? Swiss, Cheddar, Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Smoked Gouda are my favorites that I can remember.



2. Are there any types you won't eat? Processed American cheese


3. Do you like to eat cheese plain, or do you prefer it in a recipe, or both? Both


4. What is one of your recipes where the cheese is an important addition to the dish? Taco Dip


1 pound hamburger meat                    1 tablespoon chili powder
14½ ounces can stewed tomatoes    8 ounces cream cheese
10 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese  10 ounces sharp cheddar cheese


Brown hamburger meat in skillet. Add chili powder and canned tomatoes. Simmer for 30 minutes. Spread cream cheese in bottom of microwaveable dish. Top with meat sauce. Add grated Monterrey Jack cheese and grated sharp cheddar cheese. Heat, uncovered, in microwave for 10 minutes or until hot. Serve with corn chips.

Friday Food Fun - Week 8 - Ice Cream

1. What are your favorite flavors of homemade ice cream? Cherry, peach, strawberry, oreo, mint chocolate chip, and butter pecan



2. What are your favorite brands and flavors of store-bought ice cream? Birthday cake, butter pecan, cherry vanilla, Black cherry, chocolate chip cookie dough, lime sherbet, and orange sherbet - no "favorite" brand


3. What is your absolute favorite ice cream? probably Birthday Cake ice cream (not to be confused with an ice cream cake which I don't care for at all!


4. If you were making an ice cream sundae, what all would you put on it? Vanilla ice cream, chopped nuts, colored sprinkles, butterscotch syrup, caramel syrup, chocolate syrup, and lots of cherries with some juice.


5. Do you prefer to eat out of an ice cream cone or out of a dish? Usually a dish because it's not as messy.


6. Do you prefer a sugar cone, waffle cone, or regular cone? I love sugar cones!


7. Do you prefer to eat your ice cream during the summer or do you love it year-round? I can eat ice cream anytime of year.
 

Friday Food Fun - Week 7 - Soups

1. Do you only like soup well enough to eat it occasionally during the really cold winter, or do you love it so much you eat it a lot during the hot summer as well? I prefer soup during the winter, but sometimes if it's not too hot I will eat a bowl of soup other times as well.
2. Do you make your own soups or do you usually eat from a can? I usually eat from a can, although there are several soups that I make from scratch also.
3. What are your favorite soups, stews, chowders, broths, or bouillabaisses?
I love Japanese seafood soup, oyster stew, clam chowder, salmon stew, French onion soup, loaded baked potato soup, vegetable beef with barley soup, beef stew, potato soup, chicken vegetable soup, cabbage soup, butternut squash soup, italian wedding soup, tomato soup, and several other canned varieties that I don't remember the name of.
4. Do you prefer heartier stock or simple recipes? Mostly heartier stock.
5. Do you prefer broth or cream-based recipes? cream based
6. Do you prefer milk/cream based or tomato-sauce based recipes? milk/cream based
7. If you have a good soup recipe, please post it.
    I just recently started making this personal version of French onion with a twist.
    1 can beef broth, and based on what I have on hand, diced onion, diced celery, roast beef, and mushrooms. Microwave until hot.

Yum!

Friday Food Fun - Week 6 - Appetizers

Spinach-stuffed Mushrooms

½ pound small button mushrooms
kosher salt
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped fine
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ pound fresh spinach leaves
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon parmesan, fresh grated
3 wedges Laughing Cow Swiss cheese
**Could use 1½ ounces of cream cheese

Preheat broiler. Remove stems from mushrooms and scoop out gills, if preferred. Sprinkle mushroom caps generously with kosher salt and set aside. Heat oil in pan and add garlic. Once garlic is aromatic, add spinach and salt to taste and sauté until wilted. Remove spinach from heat. Chop spinach mixture with Laughing cow or cream cheese and distribute between mushroom caps. Sprinkle with a bit of both cheeses and place under the broiler until the cheese starts to brown and bubble.

Tastes: Friday Food Fun - Week 5 - Beach Food - Seafood

1. What is your favorite seafood? Probably scallops, but I also love shrimp, crab, lobster, oysters, clams, and I like fish but not as much as the rest of these.
2. Are there certain seafoods you won't eat? No, but there are some that I've never had the chance to try. I will say, because of the way that most of it is prepared, I'm not crazy about deviled crab. I do eat it, but most of the times, I can't taste the crab...all I taste is the spices and so it's not seafood-y to me. Plus, they usually use a lot of onion and that overpowers everything else, so it's not one of my favorites.

3. Are you allergic to any seafood? Not that I'm aware of. I do, however, have a cousin who is highly allergic to seafood, among other things, and he can't even have his food prepared on the same surface or with the same utensils.
4. Do you prefer fried or broiled seafood? Broiled.
5. Do you like sushi (cooked or uncooked)? Yes!

6. What is your favorite seafood item? Well, I'm a sucker for a good bowl of clam chowder or oyster stew, some fried clam strips, or some boiled shrimp dipped in melted margarine, but really any combination of broiled seafood is bound to make me happy. I did find a really good seafood soup at a local sushi restaurant that has lobster, crab, shrimp, scallops, and fish cake in it and it has what tastes like a steakhouse seasoning flavor to it. Very good soup.

7. Do you have a good seafood recipe? Well, when I fix fish at home, I usually simply spray some butter on it and sprinkle it with parsley flakes and then pop it in the oven.

8. When you eat at the beach, do you go out to eat for your seafood, or do you fix it yourself? We usually do at least one shrimp boil (with corn on the cob, sausage and spice bag), but we always go out at least one or two times for a good seafood meal.
9. Is there something other than seafood that you consider to be "beach food" that you always have at the beach? We usually buy sandwich fixings for lunch. I usually like to have a bag of pistachios at the beach. I eat them other times of the year too, but there is just something about a vacation that says enjoy what you eat and what you do, and I love pistachio nuts, so that is one of my treats.

Tastes: Friday Food Fun - Week 4 - Fruits

1. What is your favorite fruit? Cherries is my #1 favorite. I also like pineapple, muscadines, red grapes, peaches, watermelon, honeydew melon, figs, and kiwi.
2. If you like fruit salad, what is your favorite combination of fruits to use. I don't care much for fruit salad. But, any combination of my favorites would be fine. You could also add red apples, strawberries, oranges, bananas, cantaloupe and white grapes.
3. Do you have a fruit theme in any of your non-edible items (like clothing, jewelry, handbags, towels, wallpaper, etc.) I have cherry towels and washcloths, 3 cherry purses, a cherry billfold, cherry earrings, a cherry slide, pineapple slide, watermelon slide, and apple slide for my silver chain necklace, a cherry duffle bag and tote bag and several cherry shirts.
4. What is your favorite fruit juice? I like red grape juice, apple juice, and fruit punch made from cherries, apples, grapes and oranges.
5. What is your favorite fruit-flavored ice cream? I love homemade cherry, peach or strawberry ice cream. I like storebought cherry vanilla and black cherry ice cream and lime and orange sherbet.
6. What is your favorite fruit recipe?
There is a delicious fruit pizza recipe that is very good. You make a sugar cookie crust. The sauce is cream cheese. You could probably blend in a little powdered sugar to give it a different thickness. Then you layer slices of the fruit for the toppings. It's very good. You can choose which fruits you want to use. I also like to dip red apple slices in caramel dip and that is much easier than making a fruit pizza.
7. Are there any fruits you don't like? I do not like lemon, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, mango or papaya. There may be others that I haven't tried.

Tastes: Friday Food Fun - Week 3 - Salads

I love a good salad. At home, we use a salad mix (preferably with radishes, carrots, snow peas and a mix of lettuces). We add celery, hard-boiled egg, cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, black olives and/or green olives, and pickles. I use a Balsamic Vinegarette. This makes a very good salad. Sometimes, we'll add a little ham, turkey and swiss cheese to make it a chef salad. But, my ideal salad is a little different. First of all, I don't use a lettuce base. I put mushrooms, uncooked green peas, soybeans, chickpeas, fresh crumbled bacon, pepperonis, fresh Parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, sunflower seeds, black olives, green olives, pickles and ranch dressing. Yum!

Tastes: Friday Food Fun - Week 2 - Pizza Toppings

  /

1. What are your favorite pizza toppings?

     Mushrooms, Black Olives, Green Olives, Garlic, Italian Sausage, Ground Beef, Pepperoni

     Ham, Shrimp, Chicken, Bacon, Different cheeses, Artichoke Hearts

2. Do you prefer thin crust or thick crust? Thin crust

3. Do you prefer Deluxe pizza or a pizza with just 1 - 3 ingredients (which ones)? Deluxe

4. Do you eat any unusual toppings on your pizzas? Artichoke hearts, shrimp

5. Do you prefer tomato sauce or another sauce (which kind)? alfredo

6. What is your favorite dessert pizza? I love the pineapple dessert pizza at Pizza Inn but I've also had a fruit pizza that had a sugar cookie crust, cream cheese sauce and slices of fruit on it, and it was also very good.

7. Do you prefer pizza from a restaurant, from the freezer or deli section, or homemade? Restaurant - Pizza Inn or Applebee's (VeggiePatch Pizza)

8. Describe the perfect pizza for you. My perfect pizza would have a thin crust, alfredo sauce, mushrooms, black olives, green olives, garlic, ground beef, Italian sausage, shrimp, and several kinds of cheese. After it was cooked it would be sprinkled with diced tomatoes and freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.

Tastes: Friday Food Fun - Week 1 - Eggs

Friday Food Fun
1. If you decorated eggs, post a picture of them. (Notice the glitter on the close-up.)

2. What is your favorite way to eat eggs? (Scrambled, fried, hard boiled, soft boiled, sunny side up, Eggs Benedict, egg salad, etc.) My favorite way to eat eggs in Eggs Benedict. But, I am not much of a chef, so my next favorite, much easier way to fix eggs is sunny side up.

3. If you have a unique way of eating eggs, please describe your recipe.

    I like to sprinkle dill and paprika on my sunny side up eggs.

4. Do you have a funny story about eggs?
    I was dyeing some Easter eggs, something I haven't done for probably 25 years. I made a batch of hard-boiled eggs (something I had never done by myself before). Well, apparently, even though I recently read the recipe (because I'm working on a cookbook for my mom) and thought I remembered it (thought being the operative word), I didn't.  After I took my pictures of the eggs I had dyed so beautifully, I wanted to eat one of my eggs, and I cracked it open to find out that it was not cooked completely - slightly runny. I cracked the next one open -- same thing. Soon, I had a plate full of cracked open eggs, and I thought, well, at least I can tell people I have a recipe for Easter egg salad.

5. Do you know of clips from TV/movies with eggs?

**I Love Lucy - This is a funny "I Love Lucy" clip where Lucy stuffs "eggs" in her shirt. It was stated that (at the time) it had the longest recorded audience laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixkijZYcPE8

** Napoleon Dynamite - Napoleon Dynamite at the chicken farm - eating an egg-stra special lunch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMdGOGtUg7k

** Bridget Jones' Diary - Her mother gets a job demonstrating an egg peeler product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oikVHGRsA2c

6. Do you know any egg-related web pages/blogs?

    **American Egg Board - home of the incredible, edible egg

    http://www.aeb.org/
     **An Article for The Florida Times
     http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/041703/dst_12290327.shtml

Have an Eggs-cellent Easter!

Friday Food Fun