Emily's Top Ten: Favorite Foods

I should lay down a disclaimer first... I cannot control myself around most food. I love to eat. I love different tastes and textures and it's rare that I'm not in the mood to eat something.

That said, there are also few foods I won't eat. But since you don't want to take all day to read this post I suppose I can name just 10... especially since I would also hate to wimp out of a challenge.

Fruit. All fruit. I have never met a fruit I didn't like. I make a list of our weekly meals on the refrigerator and I include fruit in each one. Then when I am about to totally devour the pint of strawberries in the fridge I can look and see that if I eat them now we will have no fruit for lunch the next time. And since tugging two small children along to the grocery is not on my Top Ten: Favorite Things To Do list, I put the berries back. Oh man oh man...just scrolling through the google images for fruit made me start jonesing for a kiwi.

Rubbed Dalmation Sage. I discovered this deliciousness a few months ago. I had a coupon and spices were on sale at Publix so I tried some new ones. This is the. best. spice. ever. in eggs. Which brings me to..

Eggs. I know, I know. This doesn't exactly follow the rules of the challenge because it has to be cooked- but so does bacon, so there. I could eat eggs twice a day. Scrambled, omelets, fried, quiche, deviled, on a sandwich, in a bread hole, hard boiled, in cookie batter, in muffin batter, in brownie batter, in cake batter, in a box with a fox. Incredible, edible, eggs.

Chocolate Milk. A total treat. We never had chocolate milk in the house when I was growing up but if you were lucky enough to go to the grocery store by yourself with mom there would often be a small carton of chocolate milk to pass between you both. I still don't stock it in our fridge but occassionally I treat myself and the girls to a bottle at the grocery. And it makes me smile every time. Salsa. Not the kind in a glass jar or large plastic pouring container. It has to be kind in a little tub in the refrigerated section. Forever and ever I didn't like salsa very much. I liked it in restaurants but not at home. But that is only because I wasn't eating the right kind. This stuff plus some tortilla chips or some eggs is a meal for me. Throw in some black beans...omg. Niva and Grant love it too and I really have a hard time sharing.

Vinegar. I buy this vinegar in all flavors and containers large and small. I add it to pie crust, pasta dishes, rice, sour kraut dishes, sauces, dressings, marinades, chicken, eggs(!), salads... I love to make things sweet and sour at least once a week. Eventually I imagine myself making different flavors on my own. (pic with a little shout out to my fave pittsburgh company!) Diet Coke. But only from a soda fountain. Cans are okay if it's over ice but only from a plastic in an emergency situation. And if I find it in a tall glass bottle please don't talk to me until it's finished. I'm obsessed. For some people it's coffee in the morning, for me it's Diet Coke. I know, I know, yadda yadda yadda, it's not healthy, yadda yadda, all that caffeiene...I'm over it. I know and I still love it. Quaker Steak and Lube's Golden Garlic Sauce. This restaurant is a family obsession. We have been known to plan entire vacations around where we can get Quaker Steak wings. A few years ago we all realized we could buy their sauce and use it home and our kitchens have never been the same since. I only make wings once a year for the superbowl but other times I use this sauce on baked chicken or as a sandwich spread. They make other flavors too but this is the best one. Buy it and then try to deny it if you dare. Cinnamon. Did you know cinnamon is a natural blood sugar stabilizer? It is. And it tastes great. Added with sugar on toast. Sprinkled over yogurt or fruit. In pasta dishes. On sweet potatoes. In pancakes and french toast. In cookie batter and cake batter and muffin batter. Yellow Rice. By far my favorite of the rice varieties. I know it has to be cooked but I really just throw it in my rice cooker with some water and it's done in about 20 minutes. And I then I use the large serving spoon that came with my rice cooker and I eat it right out of the pot. Sometimes I throw in some black beans and sometimes I make a bunch so I can share it with my family. I love it hot but I'm not opposed to eating it cold out of the fridge a few hours later or in the morning.