Darla from Messy Cucina tagged me for the “You Are What You Eat” meme. So here are my Top 10 Favorite Foods in a very particular order (least to most):

• 10. Quinoa - I only just tried quinoa for the first time two weeks ago. But I literally dream about it now. The other night I dreamt that I was eating quinoa and as soon as I woke up, I made some for breakfast. It’s so nutty and delicious and I’m sad that I wasted the first few decades of my life living in a quinoa-less wasteland. I’m definitely going to make up for lost time.
• 9. Red Bull - I’m probably the only food blogger who will list “The Bull” on her foodie wish list. But hey! That’s how I roll! If you’ve never experienced the sublime pleasure of sipping a desperately needed Red Bull, then you are missing out. If you have a headache, the Toro Rojo will fix you right up… 9 times out of 10. It’s seriously like a tasty, liquid-candy version of drugs. Red Bulls are magical and I don’t care what snobby foodies have to say about it Yum!
• 8. Risotto - This is another one of my more recent culinary discoveries. Rich and creamy, risotto feels sinfully indulgent but isn’t actually that horrible for you. I could eat this for three meals a day and in fact I did a couple weeks ago.
• 7. Artichokes - Artichokes have a strong childhood connection for me. My mom made them a lot and it was a family activity eating the leaves and watching my dad delve into the heart. Then he’d split it up for us and it felt like such an adventure. The first time my husband had artichokes was at dinner with my parents. He didn’t know that you were supposed to scrape the meat off with your teeth, so he tossed the whole leaf in his mouth and chewed. Oops!
• 6. Raspberries - I’m not a big fruit-eater, but raspberries are my favorite, followed by blueberries. I love the consistency of raspberries. They’re like gummy candies, but healthy for you.
• 5. Fish (Sushi and otherwise) - I’m not a big meat eater. I’m more of a fish-etarian. (I know that’s not really a word! Don’t worry!) Raw or cooked, I really don’t care. But I probably eat more raw fish than all other types of meat combined. My favorite place for sashimi is Nobu or Matsuhisa. I make a lot of salmon at home.
• 4. Cheese - If I were lactose-intolerant, I don’t know what I would do. Cheese and crackers are a perfectly acceptable meal in my book. My goal for the coming year is to learn all I can about cheese. I can’t wait!
• 3. Avocado - Buttery and rich, how could anyone not like avocado? That’s another snacky food that can be a meal for me. Chips and guacamole is dinner, to my mind. Avocado in salads, quesadillas, and anything else I can think of. My friend Brooke suddenly became allergic to avocadoes in her mid-20s. If that happened to me, I would almost prefer to die. OK, fine… that’s perhaps overstating it, but a sudden avo-aversion would definitely be really hard on me.
• 2. Coca-Cola - I consider myself a Coke connoisseur. My husband loves Red Bull the way that I love Coke. I only drink regular Coke and I will only drink it on ice. From a can, I really wouldn’t waste the calories unless I was desperate. Another food goal for 2006 is to track down the Kosher for Passover Coke that is made with the old sugar formula rather than high fructose corn syrup. I love Coke!
• 1. Dark Chocolate - A day without dark chocolate is like day without a kiss from my husband. I don’t know how else to say it. It’s essential. I keep a bar (or two) of the Trader Joe’s 72% dark chocolate in my fridge at almost all times. All I need is a little square a couple times a day and I’m a happy girl. I used to say that I liked chocolate to be as dark as possible. But I’ve recently tried 80+% chocolate bars and I didn’t like them. So it’s 72% for me, daily.

The interesting thing about my Top Ten list is that it includes a couple of foods that I hadn’t even tried a month ago. I’m sure the list will continue to change with time as my tastebuds change and I discover new culinary pleasures.

That’s definitely something to look forward to…!

Thanks, Michelle, for the tag. So, let’s get down to it. You wanna see my kitchen? I feel like a rap star showcasing his bedroom on MTV’s Cribs. “This is where the magic happens…”

1) Show us your kitchen, and tell us what it is about it that reflects your personality.

First of all, the yellow walls show you that my favorite color is yellow. I grew up eating in my mom’s yellow kitchen, so when I finally had my own house, yellow seemed like a natural choice. We have white tile countertops and the grout is hard to keep clean, so we’re hoping to someday get slab granite countertops. The pink dish towels don’t match our earth-tone decor at all, but I just thought they’d be fun and different and since I’m the only one who cooks in there, it might as well be girly! Above the cabinets, I have three handmade topiaries that I got at the Scripps Ranch Farmer’s Market several years ago. They are blueberry, lemon, and green apple. The blue radio to the left of the sink is there because I like to listen to Dr. Laura while I make my lunch. It’s kind of 70s to have an old non-digital radio around, but that’s the best solution I’ve come up with! The chamsa on the far right is a symbol that basically looks like a hand pointing downwards and it offers protection. It’s supposed to ward off the evil eye. So, don’t even try to give me bad cooking vibes cuz I’m protected!

2) Open a cupboard, take a picture, and tell us what’s inside.

You’ve already seen my pantry, so let me show you something else…

When we moved into this house, we increased our kitchen storage space by 400%! My husband was thrilled because this means that he got a whole cabinet section that he could dedicate to liquor. I told you all that we are lushes, so now you better believe me!

My favorite part of this photo is the tequila in a brown paper bag with the note on it that says, “For use only with Albert & Lydia.” That’s my brother-in-law and his wife. They’re our drinking buddies. We’re famous for our Dance Party USAs in the living room. It’s total debauchery in the comfort of your own home. Try it some time!

3) Show your favorite kitchen appliance

I don’t know how people live and cook without an immersion blender. When a recipe says to dump half of a batch of soup into a food processer and puree it, do people really go through all that hassle? If you don’t have one of these, you really need one! It was actually a bridal shower gift from my little sister, so it’s practically vintage by now. I’m sure they have fancier, better versions available today. But this one still works for me.

4) Take out your favorite ingredients, the one you always have stored

The photo is pretty self-explanatory. I’ll just say that I can’t live without pine nuts on hand, my husband survives off of hummus and whole wheat pita, and isn’t my little olive oil pourer cute? I keep the bulk of my olive oil in the fridge so that it doesn’t go rancid. I read that somewhere and I listen to the advice. Maybe it’s not necessary… who knows?

5) Your favorite cooking/baking tool

This KitchenAid mixer was a 30th birthday gift from my husband. Attached to it was a card that said, “Now go back me some cookies!” I want to bake cookies for that boy for decades and decades to come!

And a little bonus, if you don’t have one of these meat-tenderizer tools, you should get one.

I don’t use it for tenderizing meat, though, because I don’t really cook meat at home. This tool is weighted and it’s perfect for opening garlic cloves, crushing garlic, crushing nuts, and probably dozens of other things that I have yet discover. I love it!

Thanks for touring my kitchen!

The scene of a lovely meal in Kobe, Japan in April 2005

My husband arrived home last night from a 16-day trip to Tokyo and Taipei. I’m so happy he’s back safe and sound. I almost forgot how much fun it is having that boy around! I hope to persuade him to write a little report about all of the exotic and fascinating food he ate abroad. (Any tips, Catherine, for getting the Mister to food blog?!?) I thought I was an adventurous eater when we visited Japan earlier this year, but from what he tells me of food in Taiwan, I’d have a hard time!

Anyway, this is just to explain why I am taking the easy way out with my post today. I was too excited and occupied last night when he returned, so you’re getting the good ol’ 23/5 food meme. This is the one where you go to your blog’s 23rd post, find the 5th line, and then extrapolate some hidden meaning from it. I’ve barely completed 23 posts, but #23 happened to be from my weekly wrap-up feature called “Favorite Foodism.” Here’s the fifith line:

It’s been so exciting for me to see how people from all over the world share a common interest for food. I guess it makes sense since we all eat!

This line makes me think about how thrilling it’s been working on this blog over the last month. Since the food blogging community is so well-organized, active, and supportive, it’s been fairly painless for me to insert myself into the scene and build up a little audience.

Like any new blogger, I’m fairly obsessive about checking my stats every couple minutes. Due to the glorious nature of the internet, I notice a lot of visitors from all around the world. I’m sure every blogger enjoys this phenomenon, so I’m not saying I’m unique. I’m just noting that it is such a fun and unexpected thrill of food blogging!

Of course we have the standard U.S., Canada, and many of the most familiar European countries. But I’d like to give a shout out to the foodies who are following this blog from more exotic locales, such as:

• Australia
• Brazil
• Estonia
• India
• Israel
• Jamaica
• Kuwait
• Lithuania
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Pakistan
• South Africa
• Uruguay

Blogging is such an amazing hobby. If you’ve ever considered starting a blog, I’d highly recommend it. Michele from Oswego Tea was my very first visitor and commenter, and she told me that first day how much fun it is and how she’s made three good friends through the experience. You don’t really believe it until you do it yourself. I’m starting to believe!

So, thank you to everyone who’s been so supportive of this venture. It means the world to me.

Thanks again to Catherine of Food Musings for tagging me for the Basic Juice food and wine meme. Also, thanks to Beau for allowing me to report on a marini-related meal, rather than wine. I feel honored and I’m so excited to participate in my first meme – even though I’ll admit that I barely understand what the word means!

So basically, the topic for my meme contribution is… The Best Martini-Enhanced Meal I’ve Eaten in the Last 30 Days.

One of the best meals of my life, much less in the last month, was at Todd English’s restaurant at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. It’s called Olives and it is crazy-good.

It was our second night in Vegas, and we’d already enjoyed our traditional first night meal at Nobu the day before. So we didn’t expect to indulge in another top-notch meal. Little did I know, when we casually strolled into Olives on a whim, that I would later be hard-pressed to decide which meal impressed me more. The two meals – Asian fusion and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine – could not be more different. But both meals blew our minds and complicated our lives because now we can’t go to Vegas without eating at these restaurants, which limits our ability to try new places. Oh the troubles we have! Don’t you feel sorry for us?

The reason our evening at Olives stands out most in my mind is that my husband Daniel stumbled upon the best martini he’s ever had. I’m not much of a classic martini drinker, so in my mind I didn’t really see what could make one superior to another. But when Daniel tried one sip of his dirty martini garnished with green olives hand-stuffed with heaping blue cheese, I looked at his face and I knew he was having a special moment with this cocktail. The bartender there takes his cocktails seriously. He’s won awards for many of his creative concoctions. His classic martini is made with gin only, no vermouth. The drink set the stage for a fabulous meal

Anyway… here’s what we got at Olives:

Olives’ House Bread with Green and Black Olive Tapenades – Tart and buttery, then spread on olive-oily focaccia. Wow.

Greek Flatbread - Whipped hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, oregano vinaigrette feta cheese, marinated olives - A simple concept, expertly done.

Me: Butternut Squash Tortelli - Brown butter, sage, parmesan cheese hand-wrapped in large homemade sheets of pasta– One of the most unique , rich, and indulgent entrees I’ve ever had, this dish inspired me to buy a Todd English cookbook and try my hand making these at home. I’ll have to report on that adventure another day!

Daniel: “Best Scallops He’s Ever Had” – I don’t know the official name because it’s not on the web site, but they were cooked to ideal tenderness with a tad bit of crispiness on the outside. Perfect…

Dessert: Homemade cookies and ice cream - Simple and homey, the perfect finish to an exquisite meal we’ll never forget.

If you appreciate a good martini and enjoy well-done cuisine, give Olives a try. We walked in around 9 p.m. on a slow Vegas weekend without reservations and got a great table. Next time, I’d like to reserve a table on the patio, which overlooks the expansive Bellagio lake and fountain show. That’s the only thing I could think of that would make it a more memorable meal.

And to complete my meme responsibilities, I’d like to tag… Michele from Oswego Tea and Robyn from The Girl Who Ate Everything.