But this week is about high school. That also seems like a million light years away. High school—- how well do you remember eating in the cafeteria? I was an odd student– I avoided eating in school as much as possible. I’d rather skip lunch and sit in my wooden locker (lockers were open in this school) and read or study. I don’t know why, I just never liked eating in public and I did not like the crazy atmosphere of the cafeteria. Once in a while I attempted eating there, but I always felt uncomfortable.

Name four things you ate in the high school cafeteria.

1. Pizza, if I could muster the courage to eat it in there. The pizza was rather bland, though. But it was one of the most popular menu items.

2. Chocolate milk. Well, I didn’t eat it. I drank it.

3. Hot dogs. The hot dog was one of the few foods that were not bland. Why is cafeteria food SO bland? What do they do (or not do) to make it so tasteless? Anyway, hot dogs were better.

4. Apple cobbler. It was canned apples, warmed and covered with a sugary cinnamon struesel topping. It wasn’t the best cobbler, but it was always the best thing on the menu when it was served.

So how about you? What things do you remember from high school? Me, I’d rather not remember school. I didn’t like it– GLORY BE the day I was free!

Anyway, instead of laying in bed all day like I feel like doing, I decided to try and jump into my normal routine as much as possible. What better way to do it than with a meme?!

Name four things you’ve eaten in a hospital and share if they were tasty or not so good.

I like this question. I wish I could answer it! I have only stayed in hospitals when my children were born, and the last one was born well over a decade ago. And after childbirth, any kind of food looks amazing and anything you do is not remembered very well. So…. I’ll do my best with the very little I can remember…

1. Pudding. I think it was pudding. It was good. Can’t remember if it was chocolate or tapioca.

2. Jello. YUK. I hate Jello, and this stuff must have been scraped off someone’s shoes. It was rubbery, tasteless, and chewy. :-p

3. Breakfast. I usually don’t eat breakfast, but in the hospital I was always so hungry for it. The “porridge” was terrible, even with heaps of sugar added. The toast was cold. But the OJ was good.

4. Tea. I’m mostly a coffee drinker with an occasional cup of tea. Coffee affects babies, so I had to skip it and go with the tea. It was too strong.

The best part of the time spent in the hospital was when the husband brought in a McDonald’s hamburger and fries.

1. What color is the rice in your favorite fried rice?
2. Does your favorite fried rice have bean sprouts in it?
3. Does your favorite Chinese food come in a carton or a plastic container?
4. How long does it take for Chinese takeout from your favorite place to be delivered?

1. This question surprised me. How many colors could it be, white or yellow, right? Or maybe, if you’re an artist or something, you could describe the color as “eggshell” or “ochre.” But then I read Val’s reply and she said “brown.”

Brown?

Ew. I don’t know if I could handle brown fried rice. Brown as in…. dirt brown? Brown the color of horse equipment? Or brown as in chocolate milk brown? I am not much for rice as it is…. I don’t think I could handle brown! The fried rice I get is yellow, a nice egg-yolk yellow.

2. Gee, no. You guys must have some fancy Chinese establishment out there! Here, our fried rice is either plan, veggie, pork or shrimp. And “shrimp fried rice” is an overstatement. It should be labeled as “plain fried rice with maybe half a shrimp.”

3. The rice comes in cartons; the meat and veggies come in plastic containers. BOY are those things hard to rinse (we have to recycle them). How much grease is in that food, anyway???

4. Well, they SAY “Ten minute.” Usually, it’s about 11.45 minutes. Haha, kidding! Not like I’ve ever timed them! hahaha!

Thanks for reading. See you next week!

This week there is one question about Chinese food.

1. What are your four favorite foods from a Chinese restaurant?

Oooooohhhhhh, Chinese food… yummmmmm. I never tried it until I was engaged. I guess my parents never bought it because it was too expensive for a large family? I don’t know. We almost never ate out, never did take out, either. My poor mom, LOL! We never traveled much, either. Can you imagine the travel expenses and motor home repairs for a huge family?

Anyway. I love Chinese food. I haven’t strayed very much from my favorites– they never grow tiresome to me and I really like them. So I haven’t expanded my horizons much. Here’s the stuff I like.

1. Vegetable fried rice, with either roast pork or broccoli. I LOVE broccoli so much– there never seems to be enough of it in the rice!

2. Beef and snow peas. I prefer Chinese beef to chicken. Chicken is always mushy and tasteless. The beef is good (or maybe it’s just the sauce?). Anyway, I adore snow peas. Yum!

3. Garlic broccoli. It’s VERY spicy, and I really don’t handle spicy food very well. But when I mix the garlic broccoli with the Chinese veggies, it’s so good.

4. Beef and broccoli. Boring, I know. But that broccoli is SO SO GOOD!

I heard the next FFFF will ask about Japanese food. Uh oh! I haven’t tried much Japanese food, except sushi from the grocery store (OH YUM) and saki, like 23 years ago.

I try to avoid ramen noodles, although my son loves loves loves them. The pre-packaged kind (with the small aluminum packets filled with powdered seasoning) are so unhealthy. I don’t like all that sodium and chemical stuff in it. But I think the ramens themselves are “ok.”

But when I buy the ramen and my son cooks them, the delicious smell of them makes me want them.

This week there are four questions about ramen noodles.

1. How do you usually make ramen noodles?
2. What’s your favorite flavor of ramen noodles?
3. Do you add anything to your ramen noodles?
4. Is there a flavor of ramen noodles do you wish was on the market?

1. Like I said, I try not to. But we eat them maybe 2-3 times every other month.

2. Chicken or beef. I dislike the “shrimp.” That’s shrimp, yeahhhhh rrrright.

3. Unfortunately, usually just the powdered seasoning packets. I used to get creative and add small florets of broccoli or kale or whatever. But I’m busy. I don’t make lunch for the kids anymore, they make their own.

4. Hmm, interesting question. Maybe chocolate flavored?!?! LOL. I am pretty happy with the chicken and beef.

How about you?

Well, maybe I’ll make a grilled sandwich, anyway. I can practically smell it now… mmmm…. *floating toward kitchen*

This week there are four questions about grilled cheese.

1. How do you make grilled cheese?
2. What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever put on your grilled cheese sandwich and did you like it?
3. What’s your favorite bread for grilled cheese?
4. Have you ever tried to make a grilled cheese sandwich using a shortcut way? (Think iron, car engine, you get the picture.)

1. If I am going to make one, I’d slather two slices of bread with softened butter or margarine. I prefer butter, but am forced to use margarine if the butter is not room temperature. I’m sure you have tried to hack bits of cold butter on bread, only to mangle the slice beyond comprehension…. Well, then I slap on a slice of REAL American cheese. I like the texture of the cheese more than the taste. I wonder what makes it American? Anyway, I just throw the thing in the frying pan and fry it up until it’s golden brown. I do the other side, and tada.

2. I’m sure I have put strange things in it. I do it with everything else! But I haven’t made these in so long that I don’t remember. *think think think* Oh, I once tried a tomato slice, that didn’t turn out very well. The tomato, when warmed, got all slimy and disgusting. I have also tried tuna and salmon bits on top of the cheese. I don’t think those worked out, either. ….

3. Whole wheat.

4. Uhhhh noooo….. mostly because cleaning the car engine or grill of hardened butter and cheese would be NO FUN. It would defeat the purpose of a quick and easy meal. I always cook with an eye to clean up.

1. What type of pasta is your favorite?
2. Is there a type of pasta that you don’t like at all?
3. What’s your favorite ravioli filling?
4. Do you use regular or no-bake lasagna noodles?

We are big pasta eaters. I recently found out it’s not such a great diet. :-p I grew up in an Italian home, and we always ate a lot of pasta. That, or my mom’s ikky pasta fazool (*wretch*). I loved pasta because it made me feel full, and as a kid, I always felt hungry.

So I usually have huge stockpiles of pasta around. I even got a few medical computer carts type thingies to store boxes of pasta in them, lol!! Weird, I know. I have boxes everywhere. I am sloooowly starting to move away from pasta and move toward healthier stuff, like long-grain rice and more veggies. But pasta dishes are nice because you can either make them long in advance or make them immediately. Because I work full-time, my meal preparation skills are totally gone! I can slap a hearty meal on the table in 20 minutes with pasta, or prepare it the previous day and make it the next. It’s so versatile.

Anyway, on to the meme.

1. I like rotini. I don’t always get it, because it seems that it is not as filling for a household of teenagers who eat mounds of food all the time.

2. Not really. I guess I like them all, or am ambivalent. Of all the pastas, I probably like the plain spaghetti least. It is so slippery and sloppy. I don’t like to wear my food. :-p

3. Meat. I greatly dislike ricotta cheese. YUK!

4. I have used both, and even though the “regular” lasagna is more laborious to prepare, I prefer it enough to use it. The no-bake is too pasty and bland.

All this talk of pasta reminds me that I need to start tonight’s dinner! See ya later!

It’s Friday! Most people like Friday, but it’s not a big day for me. I work at home, so weekends are the same as any other day. I actually like Mondays! I like the fresh start to the work week, etc. By Friday, I’m dragging a little and wondering how to get rid of dark circles after working so hard all weeks long. And my levels of creativity are usually lower. Which is why I like memes, they help give me a little boost.

This week there are four questions about bread.

1. When making a sandwich do you put condiments on one or both pieces of bread?
2. If you could create a type bread you could buy at the supermarket what
would it be?
3. Do you eat the heels/ends from loaves of bread?
4. What’s one type of bread you don’t like?

1. I usually place the condiment on one side, because when I eat sandwiches, I’m usually in a big hurry and am too lazy to do both sides. However, if the sandwich contents are dry (like turkey or tuna), I may do both sides. Yeah, I’ve got it all down to a science. :-p

2. Uh. I think that’s already been done. It seems like there are a billion types of bread out there already!

3. Nope. Too dry.

4. Just about all. I dislike bread. It’s dry. It makes my stomach feel like I ate a brick. I do like flat bread, though, especially with a Greek salad. That’s pretty much the only kind of bread I eat, unless I am eating a quick sandwich.

These questions were great! I hope we get more like these in the future. Until next week!

The question is simple: What are your four favorite kitchen utensils?

I am too lazy to go downstairs and snap photos (and transfer them and edit them and watermark them and upload them and finally link them here, whew). Can you blame me?! It’s easier to get an online nursing degree than to wrangle with all the digital equipment for a few photos. But I do have some favorite utensils.

1. A small plastic spatula. I have had this spatula FOREVER. It’s smaller than the average spatula. With it, I can scrap the sides of the rounded frying pan; I can lift the slices of pie or cake without feeling I’m holding a shovel. It must be, what, 15, 20 years old. I can’t believe it’s lasted so long! I haven’t found a suitable replacement, so I keep it. Maybe when it finally dies on me, I’ll tuck it into my heirloom box for posterity….

2. A large silver spoon with a thick handle. I forgot what name brand the spoon is. Maybe Pfaltzgraf? I don’t think it’s Oneida. It’s another “oldie.” The handle is so strong and thick that I can scoop ice cream with it! All the other weak spoons bend over like spaghetti. :-p

3. I just bought a new utensil, a Mainstays slotted metal spoon. I love it. It’s got a long, sturdy handle, but the spoon is not too large and unwieldy. It’s great for everything…. except serving soup.

4. Wooden spoon. What shall I say? It’s very versatile. I can cook hot foods, mix cookie dough, whap my hand or an errant pet or child (haha!)…

WHat are your favorite utensils?

This week’s questions are about common food thoughts or myths that I’ve heard from other people.

1. Bananas. Do you think the smaller ones are sweeter?
I never thought about that, never heard of that. I always thought color belied sweetness. Now I am curious! I’ll have to try this out.

2. Watermelon. Do you think that if the outside is darker green that it means the watermelon is sweeter?
Another myth that is news to me. I find it difficult to accurately judge ripeness in melons. WHY must melons be so shrouded in mystery? Why can’t modern man– with all his amazing gadgets and technology and fancy spaceships and brake pads and everything– why can’t scientists have invented a melon-o-meter or something?! Why, after thousands and thousands of years, is humankind still rapping on the rinds of melons to determine ripeness??

3. Grapes. Do you think the round globe shaped ones are sweeter than the more ovalish shaped ones?
Probably. My husband, a wine connoseur conniseur connisuer expert says that smaller grapes are sweeter and therefore used for wines. Larger grapes have more water content and are milder, so they are table grapes. Who-da thunk.

4. Pears. Do canned pears taste completely different than fresh pears?
Yes. I dislike processed foods. They have to much sugar in them, and I can’t stand sweetened stuff anymore. When I consume prepared salad dressing, the sugar in it almost makes me gag. So fresh pears are definitely nicer.

What do you think about melons? Are you able to detect a ripe one of not? Inquiring minds want to know!