There’s writing prompt at Wordpress today asking “what are your favourite types of foods”. To be honest, it would be easier to list the foods I don’t like, rather than foods I like best - because I’ll pretty much eat anything (within reason). We’ll ignore that they have written both types and foods as plural.
On various holidays I’ve tried snails, octopus, squid, buffalo, and ostrich. Bizarrely, the ostrich was a Chinese takeaway in a small fishing village on the Firth of Forth in Scotland - figure that one out.
Over time I’ve figured out that I’m mildly allergic to fish. I can eat it if forced, but it has the bizarre effect of both making my nasal cavity hurt, and emptying the entire contents of my body within an hour (lovely). The nasal cavity thing has always struck me as strange - perhaps fish doesn’t get on with the alien implant or something.
I do hope there’s an alien implant up there - it would explain a lot.
I guess I really should answer the question at hand - what food types do I like?
Freshly baked bread. Oh my word. We bought a bread cooker years ago, and had to stop using it because we were starting to upset the balance of the planet’s gravity. It has a timer, so you can have it mix, prove, and bake it’s contents overnight - so when you wander into he kitchen in the morning, it’s filled with the smell of freshly baked bread. Magic.
Pizza. I think the predilection for pizza really comes from the software development background - where food becomes fuel - and the less obstacles between having something that needs cooking, to something you can eat (and that tastes amazing) makes a difference.
Next up would probably be Spaghetti Bolognese. Famously the first thing that young men learn to cook in order to impress their suitors. Later on you also learn that most kids love spaghetti bolognese too, and that it’s one of the cheapest, most nutritious, filling, tasty, and unctuous meals you can make. It can easily be modified to become vegetarian, or gluten free too.
Cottage pie. I’m not sure if it’s the same thing everywhere - the British version is essentially a beef and vegetable casserole topped with mashed potato, baked to brown with grated cheese across the top. It’s a winter favourite - for all the same reasons as Spaghetti bolognese (and a great way to trick kids into eating vegetables).
Lasagne. Oh my word, what I’ll do for a well cooked lasagne. Layers of pasta filled with meat, roast vegetables, or both.
Curry. It seems a bit wrong to just write “curry” because you’re grouping together all manner of cultures and cuisines in the same word. I do love curry though - probably siding with either Thai, or Indian curries above others. I don’t choose the really hot ones, because I don’t like paying for them the next day - but love the social side of curry - tearing and sharing bread - perhaps with a drink or two to accompany it.
One thing that has stayed with me from my earliest days living on my own - and that I sometimes make for my own children (and they love) is beans on toast, with cheddar cheese grated across the top. When I first met my other half, she was aghast that I pretty much relied on beans on toast several times a week, and set about teaching/forcing me to eat several other things - which is how I learned to cook bolognese, chilli, curry, and eventually roast dinner too.
I suppose, being British, it would be remiss of me not to list roast dinner too. After a cold day, sitting down with family to eat roast potatoes, steamed vegetables, and a roast meat of some description is hard to beat. Yorkshire puddings are probably the Crown Jewels of roast dinner, but incredibly difficult to make consistently - thankfully they can be bought ready-made these days.
Just reading back through the food above, I’m pretty basic, aren’t I. I don’t like fussy food - I can’t be bothered with it. I like warming, filling food. Home cooked food. It’s a running joke that I’ll often read a menu no further than “Stake and Ale Pie” in a pub. Don’t laugh - you can judge a pub or restaurant by their steak and ale pie.