The Cook Next Door
In little over a week's time, I've been tagged for not one, but two memes. The first of these was the five favorite (cook) books meme. It still has me stumped and looking for a few more special books to add to my list of five. The second, is this one titled 'The Cook Next Door'.
So without further ado, thank you Clare for sending this one my way, and thank you Nicky for dreaming this one up. At least I'm not too far removed from the whole thing, right?
What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?
It was when I was 6 years old. My mom's closest friends daughter got an Easy Bake oven for Christmas. I was over at her house, with my sister, and we all baked a cake for our mothers. We made a huge mess, and yes, as the oldest one I got scolded, but it was memorable nonethelesss.
Who had the most influence on your cooking?
I would have to say my grandmother. She was the one who encouraged me to cook. She took me out to eat often, and took me on my first trip abroad. She was not afraid to spend money on good food, or quality ingredients. I would watch her as she would teach me to cook some of her favorite dishes.
Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?
Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of my earliest experiences. Could you imagine?
Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat
Scaling and cleaning a fish. As much as possible, I will buy fish already cleaned. If I had to do it I could, but why should I if I don't have to?
What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest let down?
My Dualit toaster. It makes perfect toast which is my "favorite" comfort food of them all. The most disappointing purchase was a Microplane grater, it rusted within two weeks of my purchasing it.
Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!
I'm actually more into conventional food taste-wise, so I don't think there is anything that I eat that the average person wouldn't. Sorry. If I can think of anything, I certainly will let you all know.
What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?
Eggs, tofu and rice.
Any question you missed in this meme, that you would have loved to answer? Well then, feel free to add one!
Three quickies:
Your favorite ice-cream…
My all time favorite is vanilla.
You will probably never eat…
I am not afraid to eat anything, however, after I tried it once, I will never eat natto again. Who knows, maybe I'll like it now that I'm older. For those of you that don't know, it's fermented soy beans.
Add 06/22: Balut. For those of you who don't know, it's a 18 day old, fertilized duck egg. So far I've heard that it's eaten in Vietnam and the Phillipines.
Your own signature dish…
Broken glass JELL-O®.
Clare, my apologies for taking so long to post this. For those of you who want to view the "tree" so to speak, read Nicky's post here.
Here are the three that I am tagging for this meme (if they haven't been tagged already):
1. Stef at da*xiang
2. Oslo Foodie3. Cathy at My Little Kitchen
OK, so it seems that Cathy was tagged already. Hmmm...I wanted to tag Santos, but she's already been tagged as well. So how's about....
3. Tara at Seven Spoons.
Hopefully no one has tagged her yet...
Hi Reid :)
As if I mind! You didnt take long anyway :)
Thanks so much for participating, I have been looking forward to reading this since I was tagged! I think it is nice to read information about the bloggers that they wouldnt normally share.. hmm isnt that why N & O started this? :)
But guess what! You forgot to tag people!
xx
Clare
Posted by: clare eats | June 19, 2005 at 10:35 PM
Oh Yeah..
and at least you now where this meme started ;)
Posted by: clare eats | June 19, 2005 at 10:36 PM
Hey Reid
Thanks for the nice little insight into the world of Reid. That's a great mental image of you with the Easy Bake oven too. Awww...cute!
Posted by: AugustusGloop | June 20, 2005 at 03:50 AM
omg! reid, i had EGGS and TOFU as two of my three eatables, but had to pick one because i couldn't bear to part with kimchee and nachos, lol! eggs won out in the end. :)
Posted by: sarah | June 20, 2005 at 07:56 AM
Reid - I enjoyed this - you're not a "vanilla" guy let me tell you that much!
Posted by: Kirk | June 20, 2005 at 05:52 PM
Hi Clare,
It took a while for me to think of who I wanted to tag, but I finally did it then realized that I Cathy was already tagged. I'll just leave her name there, but if I can think of someone else, I'll tag them. I feel guilty tagging the same people over and over, even if I really want to know more about them. Know what I mean?
Hi AG,
Trust me, it was not cute. We were covered in chocolate frosting. LOL!
Hi Sarah,
Nice to hear from you! There were actually so many things for me to choose from, but I really had to pick things that were versatile. I'm Japanese so how could I not pick rice and tofu. And eggs, ahhh well, they are always enjoyable no matter which way they are prepared.
Hi Kirk,
But I am...really! =P
Posted by: Reid | June 20, 2005 at 11:12 PM
Hi Reid, I guess I better get cracking :)!
Posted by: OsloFoodie | June 21, 2005 at 12:25 AM
Hi Reid,
An Easy Bake oven - how fantastic! I always wanted one of those - it was like the holy grail of kid cookery - but alas, my parents did not agree. Too bad you don't have any pictures of that experience to show! ;)
Posted by: Melissa | June 21, 2005 at 01:44 PM
Reid, vanilla is my all time fav too! It's like really nice steamed rice---- great on its own =)
As a asian vegetarian, I am a bit frustrated about the lack of taste of tofu in Hawaii. ( think chiko mentioned it too in her blog?). So my question is where do you buy your tofu? I bet it's not Mori-Nu for sure ;p
About your natto-phobia, haha, you are supposed to be Japanese aren't you ;p To add more horror----I eat natto with mayo and wasabi @_@??
Posted by: vegimouse | June 21, 2005 at 08:12 PM
Reid, vanilla is my all time fav too! It's like really nice steamed rice---- great on its own =)
As a asian vegetarian, I am a bit frustrated about the lack of taste of tofu in Hawaii. ( think she who eats mentioned it too in her blog?). So my question is where do you buy your tofu? I bet it's not Mori-Nu for sure ;p
About your natto-phobia, haha, you are supposed to be Japanese aren't you ;p To add more horror----I eat natto with mayo and wasabi @_@??
Posted by: vegimouse | June 21, 2005 at 08:14 PM
Covered in frosting! Even cuter! lol
And btw, I don't like natto either. I eat practically everything but not-to to natto!
Posted by: AugustusGloop | June 21, 2005 at 09:04 PM
Hi Oslo Foodie,
I'm so interested in hearing your stories...so yes, most definitely! =)
Hi Melissa,
My sister begged my mother for one, but my mother refused. I guess that's why they always used it while we were at my mom's friends house.
If I had any pictures, I wouldn't admit it. I would be embarrassed.
Hi vegimouse,
I pretty much buy my tofu anywhere especially since I don't eat it plain too often. But I have to agree that the lack of flavor is a bit sad. Maybe you can try making your own. I heard it's not too difficult, but I haven't yet tried it myself. Maybe soon. I'll need to get my hands on some raw soybeans first.
As far as natto is concerned, a lot of people I know like it. I just couldn't handle the stickiness the first time I tried it.
Hi AG,
Well, I don't know how cute it would be now, but back then, I'd say it was more funny than anything else. =)
Me too and I don't know why. Maybe I'll try it again sometime. The only other thing that I would never even attempt to eat is balut (I hope you don't ask what it is).
Posted by: Reid | June 22, 2005 at 12:01 AM
Oh gads Reid! Take his word on the balut AG, don't ask! As a kid, no one I knew had an Easy Bake, BUT, I did have a friend who had the "Creepy Crawlers" machine. Remember that? It was also a little "baking machine" but you put "syrup" into molds and baked it to a sort of licorce consistancy. That was a blast and a half!
Posted by: Jo | June 22, 2005 at 05:49 AM
Haha - I've had balut. More than once! I wouldn't say I love it, but the juice inside is very sweet.
Put it this way. I'd rather eat balut than natto! =)
Posted by: AugustusGloop | June 22, 2005 at 01:57 PM
OH YUCK AG! =oP ::laughing:: Well, it can't be much worse than snails I suppose. Or crispy fried crickets. I think I'm gonna crawl up in my garden and eat nothing but tomatoes for the rest of my life! ;o)
Posted by: Jo | June 22, 2005 at 08:09 PM
Hi AG,
You have! Are you sure we're talking about the same thing? Here's a link to what I'm talking about:
WARNING! Please view at your own risk.
http://tblogs.bootsnall.com/theglobaltrip/updates/DSC01316balut3.shtml
It's a Filipino and Vietnamese delicacy that consists of a fertilized duck egg which is served after 18 days (I think).
If we are talking about the same thing, how did you like it?
Hi Jo,
Do you know what balut is? I could not bring myself to eat this. Ohhh no!
Posted by: Reid | June 22, 2005 at 11:20 PM
::shudder:: Yeeesss! I know what it is. I checked it out online and yep, what you said... ::shudder::
Posted by: Jo | June 23, 2005 at 06:05 AM
Hi Jo,
I'm not sure if my friend was teasing me, but they said that you could feel the feathers...that was just wrong! To each his own though.
Posted by: Reid | June 24, 2005 at 12:57 AM