we want to know wednesday...

While reading my good friend's blog post today, I loved her answers and thought, hey, my blog needs an update. So here we are. What we want to know Wednesday... Because I knew you were all dying for the answers.

1. What is the one thing (food or drink) that you must have everyday?

Water. Always without ice. Plain and simple. Most days I consume 72 ounces of that particular nectar of life. When I was younger, I would only have it to quench thirst and that's it... Now that I've gotten used to it, it's a must have.

2. What is your "go to" food when you don't feel well/need comfort?

When I don't feel well, I don't eat. End of story. Nothing sounds good. If I have to force myself to ingest something, it will usually depend on the illness and how long I've gone without food. But it is different every time.

When I need comfort (since that is an entirely different circumstance), I usually like something sweet. A frosted sugar cookie or a sweet cream/peanut butter/brownie cold stone. Hey, when I need comfort, it's gotta be a substantial treat....

3. Is there a dish that you make that people request when they visit your home/family favorite?

Ok, there may be a few. But to be fair, one is salty and one is sweet. Salty: Avocado corn salsa (otherwise known as cowboy caviar). Can't keep the tortilla chips out of that stuff. Sweet? Caramel layered rice krispie treats. Got that recipe from a great friend and former roommate. Those suckers have certainly changed my life and subsequently the lives of my family and friends.

4. What are 3 foods you have TRIED but do not like and will never eat again?

Wow. Where do I start?
1. Escargot. Why. Since I grew up in Arizona, everyone took Spanish in school. That would have been the smart foreign language to get comfortable with. I see that now (hindsight....) But, no. I wanted to be different. I took French. In 9th grade, my French teacher commandeered some escargot for our class party. I thought, "Why not?" (Is it just me, or is everyone more daring when they are young). I ate one. It had a consistency similar to mushrooms and was drenched in a buttery garlic sauce. I ate it before I even really thought about it. But my friend, Liza didn't. She thought about it WHILE it was in her mouth and she ended up spitting it out. Of course then we got the not so grand idea to dissect the garlicky mass that had formerly been in her mouth. And if I have any advice to give, it would be this: Do not ever (no matter how tempting) EVER dissect a snail. Whether or not you have just eaten one. Take. My. Word. For it.

2. A curry hot pot in Tawain. There are no words, absolutely none, that would describe this fully and give it the justice it most certainly deserves. The picture will have to come later (it's saved on a different hard drive). While having lunch in Tawian (with another American and about 8 Taiwanese girls), and not knowing what was on the menu, the Taiwanese girls ordered for us. A curry hot pot is what they said. Me: "Hey, sounds great, I like curry." The bowl that was placed in front of me sat up over a candle that kept it boiling. Inside was a full shrimp (dead of course but all intact) staring at me with tentacles reaching outward. Besides some neutral pieces of cabbage, there were other, much less familiar, things bobbing around in the broth as well. When asked what they were, the answers were just as shocking as the staring shrimp. The first was fish curd. What is fish curd?!??? The second? (Get your seat belts on). The dark square mass of rice to which I am referring, was in fact rice. It's what it was mixed with that nearly had me passed out. Coagulated duck blood. (blink, blink) I told you there were no words.... By the end of that trip, if it didn't say Snickers, I wasn't eating it.

3. This would have to be Christmas pudding. Sounds harmless enough, right? Not for this girl. Years ago, I lived for a semester in London, England. While there, we each spent 4 days with a family in that country on a "live in". Some people's experiences were better than others. Mine was actually pretty great, but the one thing I literally gagged on was Christmas pudding. A disgusting gelatinous mass of raisins and mushy bread crumbs all together reeking of nutmeg. You would have dry heaved too. I promise.

5. What's one thing that you love to eat that most people would think is weird and/or gross?

I eat ketchup on tacos. True story. Laugh it up. Think it gross if you want. But you won't change my mind. And I have no problem if people hate on it... as long as they've tried it first. Please, after the descriptions of the 3 foods above that I've actually tried, a little ketchup on a taco is nothing....