Gettin' Hungry?

This year for my birthday (which by the way was 13 days ago), one of the gifts that I received was a gift card to my FAVORITE restaurant, The Stinking Rose.

Today, I used the card and enjoyed a FABULOUS meal. I mean really, ANYTHING with GARLIC is destined to taste DEE-LISH!

GARLIC is most definitely one of my favorite things to eat, and I have seven more foods that rank pretty high up there too. So...you guessed it...I'm gonna list them here.

AVOCADO. Simply delicious. Sometimes I eat avocado by itself with just a little S&P. Othertimes, I have it in salad or with tacos, enchiladas, and let's not forget GUACAMOLE. YUM!!!

ARTICHOKE. I love it marinated and added to salads. Really love it as a warm dip. And with melted butter...oh my! YUM again!!!

CRAB. Although breaking crab legs open is a bit more work than I like to do for my food, once those bad boys are cracked and that LONG piece of leg meat comes out...all that work is worth it. Dipped in cocktail sauce, or melted butter. Ooh wee!!! Then there's crab dip, and crab cakes. Shut yo' mouth!!!

DARK CHOCOLATE. Oh, there are many things I could say about this one, but I'm gonna keep it clean. I will say that I used to HATE dark chocolate. Thought it tasted bitter. Now, I LOVE dark chocolate (with all of its antioxidants) and when I eat milk chocolate now it tastes like I'm eating straight sugar...YUK. So yeah, two thumbs up for dark chocolate.

GARLIC. I just can't say enough about garlic. Interestingly, I didn't discover garlic until I was an adult living on my own. Growing up, my parents NEVER used garlic. At least not fresh garlic. Maybe garlic salt or garlic powder...maybe, but that's a BIG maybe. I remember tasting it in food for the first time and wondering what it was in the food that was making it taste SO DARNED GOOD. I found out that it was garlic and began cooking with it. I use it in practically EVERYTHING that I cook. Baked dishes, sauteed dishes, soups, stews...pretty much everything except for sweet dishes. Oh, and I eat LOTS. So I'm sure that I reek! But of course, you know the rule about funky folks...they can never smell their own funk. So although I am 100% positive that I reek of garlic most days, my kids are the only ones who straight out tell me, "Mom...you STINK!!!" To which I reply, "I may stink, but I'm NEVER sick. When was the last time I had a cold or flu???" Crickets. Their answer is always the same, "You don't get sick." EXACTLY! They're never sick either. Why??? Because momma loads them up with garlic. Thank you very much! So yeah...garlic...yeah.

KALE. This is another food that I discovered as an adult. Four years ago to be exact when I was diagnosed with my "special" retina issues. My retina specialist was HORRIBLE and basically told me that I would eventually lose my eyesight. Yeah...that was a pretty heavy blow. So in a panic, I ask what can be done to keep that from happening. His non-caring answer was, "nothing". Gee...thanks for nothing. So, I began researching on my own. First of all, I am a woman of faith and I believe that the same God Who made these eyes will sustain the vision in these eyes. So, PRAYER was the first order of the day (and still is...EVERYDAY.) Then I began reading about the benefits of dark leafy greens and KALE was at the top of the list. I tried it in salads but didn't care for it very much that way. Then...I started roasting it. BINGO! I pretty much eat roasted kale every night now. Layer it on a cooking sheet, drizzle with a dab of "EVOO" and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Pop it in the oven til it gets crispy and ENJOY. So good!!!

PERSIMMONS. Yep...another adult discovery. I had my first persimmon two years ago and FELL IN LOVE! Where had this amazingly delicious fruit been all my life. I couldn't get enough of 'em. And since I discovered them toward the end of their season, there weren't many left...so I rationed them. Yes...that's how good they are. Difficult to explain their flavor so I would just have to encourage you to try one when they're in season again (usually around November-ish).

So there you have it folks. My seven FAVORITE foods. If you've been following the blog, you know that I ALWAYS do things in sevens. That's just my number.

Now...Let the DIALOGUE begin: What is YOUR favorite food. You don't have to list seven but it sure would make me happy if you would at LEAST list one (so I don't feel like I'm just talking to myself).

Talk to me!

Til next time...