A Long List of Love

by Melissa Bell

There is no more sincere love than the love for food. ~ George Bernard Shaw

Here’s is my list of foods and food-related things that I adore (in no particular order whatsoever – it’s all good).

And good thing it’s lunchtime here in EST-land. I'm famished.

1. smoked salmon
2. béarnaise sauce
3. my white chocolate/Chambord truffles
4. cold butter on fresh-baked bread
5. white tuna sushi
6. sweet potato fries with a squeeze of lime juice and a side dip of real mayonnaise mixed with a bit of chipotle Tabasco sauce
7. lemon cheesecake
8. icy cold, silky smooth vichyssoise
9. fresh little oysters
10. dill pickle-flavoured chips
11. Quarter Pounders ®
12. fresh green beans roasted until they get all crunchy like French fries
13. poutine at 3 a.m.
14. cambozola cheese
15. curried chicken salad sandwiches
16. that crazy spinach dip that gets served in a bread bowl that’s made with Knorr vegetable soup mix
17. cherry pie
18. all things Häagen-Dazs
19. overdone baked potatoes
20. homemade macaroni and cheese
21. Kraft Dinner
22. deep-fried pepperoni
23. mangoes
24. Montreal bagels
25. Montreal smoked meat
26. Timbits
27. insalate caprese
28. peanut butter and crisp bacon sandwiches
29. my mom’s butter tarts
30. my mom’s popovers
31. my mom’s tourtière
32. Bloody Caesars made with Bacardi Limόn
33. warm, fudgey brownies
34. Anthony Bourdain
35. Cheetos
36. haggis (really – I love haggis)
37. DiSaronno sours
38. fresh pesto on anything
39. canned corned beef
40. baby carrots pulled right out of the dirt and washed under the tap in the backyard
41. crumpets
42. Earl Grey tea with honey
43. Mrs. Marchant’s chocolate chip cookies
44. chicken schnitzel
45. croissants
46. sour gummi worms
47. Irene C.’s Boxing Day baked beans
48. caramelized onions baked on puff pastry
49. onion bhaji
50. hot lime pickle mixed with mayonnaise and spread on anything
51. perfectly ripe avocadoes drizzled with olive oil, spritzed with lemon juice, sprinkled with coarse salt, and eaten with a spoon
52. canoe trip blueberry pancakes made by Bob
53. homemade strawberry jam
54. fried clams at the Duke (miss you!)
55. cashews
56. SOMA’s chocolates
57. my cornbread stuffing
58. melted old cheddar on dark rye toast
59. taramosalata with warm pita and olives and a big glass of cold retsina
60. Olga’s pizza
61. The Keg’s Billy Miner Pie
62. lemon-dill rice
63. anchovies
64. caviar
65. black pudding and fried bread
66. carrot cake
67. my mom’s steak & kidney pie
68. Bob’s cosmopolitans
69. smoked turkey quesadillas (find at epicurious.com – these are awesome esp. with a big honkin’ margarita)
70. Sheldon’s big honkin’ margaritas
71. scallops wrapped in bacon
72. dates wrapped in bacon
73. La Castile’s lamb chops with mint jelly
74. Lisa’s raspberry crème brulé
75. when visiting Los Angeles, an apple fritter from Randy’s Donuts
76. and an In-and-Out burger later that afternoon
77. my mom’s teriyaki meatballs
78. warm banana bread
79. moussaka
80. Ann and Sheldon’s spring rolls
81. RD’s Thai-inspired mussels (miss you, too!)
82. strawberry shortcake
83. fresh pineapple
84. hot buttered popcorn with tons of Spike seasoning
85. fresh brook trout caught by me and my dad
86. Eggs Benedict
87. grilled ahi tuna
88. George’s little roasted potatoes with rosemary
89. nachos with everything
90. key lime pie
91. Nanaimo bars
92. Kelly’s prosciutto and gruyère spirals
93. ramen noodles
94. Chef Boyardee tinned ravioli
95. my mom’s potato salad
96. soft roasted garlic spread on crusty baguette
97. wild blueberries straight off the bush in Killarney Park
98. Welsh rarebit
99. George’s grilled pork tenderloin
100. “streetdogs”

And Happy Groundhog Day, everyone. Now go eat something you love!