The Awesome Food Award

Well, I've been nominated for the Awesome Food Award by the delightful MissMarch. Thank you, Miss March! I don't usually do this sort of thing, but it was fun to fill out the questions and think up my own. So, here goes: 

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you, as well as link back to their blog. 

2. Answer the 10 questions provided.

3.Come up with 10 more questions that relate to food.
4. Nominate at least 5 people.

5. Let those people know they've been nominated.

Haha! Let's see. I don't have anyone to nominate, so...I'm going to have to break rules 4 & 5. But if you like answering questions, feel free to answer mine in the comment section below. :)

1. Which do you prefer, salad or bread?

Depends on the type. I LOVE French and Italian bread, but I don't eat “air-bread” and I'm not crazy about my homemade spelt rolls, either. On the other hand, I'm not fond of the traditional “lettuce-with-veggies” salad, but I love salads with some variety (try adding nuts, fruit, and cheese---so good!).

2. As a child, were you a picky eater or did you like to try new things?

A bit of both. I usually preferred what I was used to, but I would try new foods if they didn't look too weird. Sushi is about the strangest thing I've ever eaten (and some of it is pretty good). When confronted with a miniscule octopus at a Chinese restaurant, I was not, however, able to choke it down or even put it in my mouth. (I tried.) That was just going too far.

3. What was one meal you abhorred as a kid?

Oatmeal.

4. Do you prefer cooking or baking?

Cooking. I enjoy eating baked goods, but I tend to let things burn when it's in the oven and out of sight. Cooking on the stovetop is fun and easy and you get to taste things as you go along. :P (Of course, you can do that with cookies too. Cookies are always fun to make.) Cooking is also easier with a baby on your hip 24/7! You can do things one-handed cooking, but baked goods often require kneading or mixing, and Dean always wants to be held when I'm working in the kitchen (cute little stinker!).

5. Are you the sort of person who always has your meals planned out, or do you tend to toss things together at the last minute?  (Or if you don't have your own home yet, how do you imagine you would be?)

Well—sometimes I have the meals planned out for the week and sometimes I don't. Usually I don't, and then it's toss-something-together-quick-before-hubby-gets-home. I'm trying to get more organized, though!

6. What is one of the worst (or most hilarious) food-making blunders you've ever made?

I'm pretty good at burning things...I don't have a particularly funny story to share, though.

7.  Would you rather have steak or ice cream (or both together, like Pollyanna)?

Ice cream, of course! Preferably mint, chocolate, or root-beer, but almost any kind is fantastic. :)

8. What is your favorite kind of cake?

Either a coffee-flavored chocolate cake or a cheesecake. Maybe the cheesecake. I just love that creamy texture...

9. Do you eat combinations of food that other people think strange?

Well...normalcy is relative, isn't it? I love coffee and chocolate together. My husband most decidedly does not! But on my side of the family, coffee and chocolate are a natural combination. Other weird combos...erm...ketchup on eggs? I don't do that very often—once in a blue moon. But it's good.

10. What is your favorite meal of the day?

My favorite meal is dinner, since we get to eat together as a family. It's also the meal I put the most work into (so it's usually the yummiest).

All right – here are the questions I came up with:

1. Favorite beverage?

2. Culinary Christmas traditions?

3. Favorite snack?

4. Favorite healthy food?

5. Favorite unhealthy food?

6. A healthy food you know should eat (but won't)?

7. A healthy food you are (at least mildly) interested in trying?

8. Culinary traditions you want to start in your own home (at Christmas, or any other holiday)?

9. Favorite ethnic dish?

10. A new desert you'd like to try?

And now, the Dean:

This is Dean learning to use a fork. This is also Dean stealing Daddy's breakfast with one fell swoop! And finally, this is Dean eating his second breakfast (the child must be related to a hobbit somewhere).

This has nothing to do with food, but...it's too cute not to share. ;) This is Dean playing peek-a-boo! <3