Confessions

Our grocery list always includes a frozen pizza. And tortilla chips. I often buy meat or fish that is already frozen. I have made crab salad with canned crab, and I recently discovered that canned tuna can be quite delicious. And there are always canned beets in my pantry.

Over our weekend at King Arthur Flour and in Norwich, VT, it was fun to chat about our “guilty” food pleasures as well as foods that we don’t like or can’t eat. Scallops, all types of seafood, dairy, chocolate, the list included all sorts of things, and when you think about it, it is really not all that surprising.  Everyone has a different palate, a different sense of what is good, different cravings, and while we all might agree that fresh baked bread is amazing, some of us might leave that bread behind if offered something else, say a plate of raw oysters. (Me!)

My biggest “guilty” (in quotes because I don’t feel guilty at all!) pleasure is no doubt tortilla chips drowned in the hottest sauce I can find. My current love is Goya habanero sauce, and because not every store sells it, I am on a constant hunt for a replacement or do my best to stock up whenever possible.

As someone who loves to buy local, fresh food and who lives for changes in season when new produce is available, I wondered about posting my canned beets salad, the creation made after a long, tiring weekend away from home when little else was available.

Canned beets, some almost-too-old heirloom tomato slices, the end of my Naragansett Creamery feta, some walnuts that have been in the fridge for a couple of months, a shallot, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar later, we had a light dinner that felt great after lots of indulgence.

The good, the amazing, the bad, the ugly, it’s all part of all of our daily lives. Being a food blogger doesn’t mean that I don’t sometimes make ridiculously unhealthy, processed meals, and it certainly doesn’t guarantee that everything I cook turns out well. . . but I am having a good week 😉

What is your “guilty” food pleasure, or what would people be surprised to find in your pantry?

P.S. I had dinner at City Table and drinks at the Mandarin Oriental last night. . . recap to come! I won’t stay on the canned food for too long! 😉