I came upon this questionnaire when I was surfing the web for sites on vegan cooking. I don’t remember the site or I’d link to it. If someone knows the source, do let me know. This will be the last of the food posts for a while, I promise.

1. Favorite non-dairy milk? WestSoy Plain Organic Soymilk

2. What are the [next] 3 dishes/recipes you are planning to cook?
Steamed Broccoli, Tofu Burgers, Tempeh-Potato Patties

3. Topping of choice for popcorn? Salt

4. Most disastrous recipe/meal failure?
Brownies which I made from a mix using EnerG Egg Replacer instead of real eggs

5. Favorite pickled item? Dill Kosher Spears

6. How do you organize your recipes? By category such as main dish or dessert

7. Compost, trash, or garbage disposal? Trash

8. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring 3 foods…what would they be? Bread, Cheese, Tomatoes

9. Fondest food memory from your childhood?
Pillsbury cinnamon rolls which one took out of the cardboard cylinder and then baked

10. Favorite vegan ice cream? Vanilla Tofutti

11. Most [used] kitchen appliance? Breville electric kettle

12. Spice/herb you would die without? Cinnamon

13. Cookbook you have owned for the longest time? Diet for a Small Planet

14. Favorite flavor of jam/jelly? Sorry, I don’t eat jam or jelly

15. Favorite vegan recipe to serve to an omni friend? Enchilada Bake

16. Seitan, tofu, or tempeh? Tofu

17. Favorite meal to cook (or time of day to cook)? Dinner, which I start at 4 pm

18. What is sitting on top of your refrigerator? Rice cooker and blender

19. Name 3 items in your freezer without looking. Boca burgers, phyllo, pie crust

20. What’s on your grocery list? I’m all set for this week

21. Favorite grocery store? Whole Foods

22. Name a recipe you’d love to veganize, but haven’t yet. Mashed potatoes

23. Food blog you read the most (besides Isa’s because I know you check it everyday). Or maybe the top 3? I only read two blogs and neither is a food blog

24. Favorite vegan candy/chocolate? Newman’s Own Sweet Dark

25. Most extravagant food item purchased lately? French press coffee maker

[Update on Dec 17: I may have found the source, a blog entry from Liz in St Paul. Tracy in Nova Scotia has posted a hilarious send-up of this questionnaire on her blog. ]

Often when my friends and I decide to go out for dinner, we don’t have anything specific in mind, and we ask each other, “What do you feel like having? Chinese? Mexican? Thai? Indian? Vietnamese?” and the list, which is comprised mostly of ethnic cuisines, goes on. Of course, I’m basically a foodie, so I’m enthusiastic about almost everything, from soup to nuts (not sure if that’s the right expression).

But if I were forced to state a preference, it would be for Mediterranean cuisine. Oddly enough, for someone who grew up in Hawaii, I call wheat rather than rice the staff of life. I love bread and pasta, and also cheese, which is not a mainstay of Asian cuisines. Although I never ate them as a child, I love lentils and garbanzos. My favorite vegetable is the tomato, and I also happily consume cucumbers, onions, garlic, and mushrooms. High on my list of desirable fruit are melons, apricots, dates, and pomegranates. Then there’s the olive, which is in a class by itself. The Mediterranean world has also given us lemons, almonds, walnuts, and pistachios, all of which I eat avidly. Finally, there are the vineyards which yield hundreds of varieties of wine.

So, what shall we eat tonight? Pizza or spaghetti sounds really good! I’ll drink to that.