The List of Deliciousness

The idea machine was pretty close to empty today, so when I consulted an old “ideas” document you can imagine my surprise when I discovered this not quite brilliant but passable idea scattered amongst mostly outdated blog prompts. It was going to be a random assortment of people, places and things that I am always happy to stumble upon (among other things, the charming Eric Ripert and the hilarious Allison Janney were on the list). However, after reviewing the list, it became clear that since most of the items on the list were food or food-related that it had to become the list of deliciousness. These tasty treats are presented in no particular order.

Marshmallows – Straight up true love. They don’t need to be in a s’more or a krispy treat. If they are, I will still love them, but unadulterated, fresh mallows are a real delicacy. There is a reason the magnet on my fridge reads ‘money can’t buy happiness but it can buy marshmallows, which is kind of the same thing.’

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese – I never came down with the blue box blues because I ate Kraft Dinner all the time. Homemade mac is delicious but it lacks that orange, powdered cheese flavor that my palate has come to love. Lest you think I’m a child in an adult’s body, my tastes have evolved. I now prefer the three cheese, white cheddar or spirals varieties. And while I don’t eat it nearly as often as I used to, I still make sure there is at least one box in the pantry. Just in case.

Homemade Pizza – Frozen pizza never was and never will be a thing. I grew up eating homemade pizza. I now have the family dough recipe memorized and when I whipped up a batch last night it was one of my best. Don’t get me wrong; I love Blaze Pizza, and most other chain restaurant pizzas are far from disgusting to me, but there is nothing like a homemade pie.

Cereal – One of humankind’s greatest inventions. I crave it. I need it. I must eat it every day. The best part of college? All day access to cereal. There was a period of time wherein breakfast, lunch and dinner were accompanied by a side of Cracklin’ Oat Bran. The worst part about vacation? The potential cereal dry spell. Give me a cheap hotel with a continental breakfast and those weirdly hard to operate cereal dispensers over a five star hotel any day. 

PB&J – It has been almost a decade since I began enjoying PB&J for lunch on most of the days that end in ‘y.’ This sandwich is salty,  sweet and pure perfection. And while I am a classic frugal shopper - I despise the shopping trips where I must buy toilet paper, literally money down the toilet - peanut butter is the one thing that must be name brand. Preferably Skippy but Jif in a pinch. And never grape jelly. 

My dad may have a heart attack at the amount of sugar on this list. No, he won’t. He doesn’t eat sugar anymore and is the healthiest human alive. For real. This may not be a list of healthy foods but everything in moderation. Other than cereal and PB&J I don’t eat these with any frequency. Oh wait, I made pizza last night, made a batch of Kraft dinner on Friday night and ate marshmallows for a snack this afternoon…An atypical week for sure.