Peanut butter. About 5 days of the week for lunch, I have what I call a peanut butter quesadilla. It's peanut butter and sliced apple on a whole wheat tortilla. It's not only healthy and pleasurable, but also filling.
Tortillas- Corn tortillas. Also scones. But they're most impressed with the tortillas. I guess because it involves a gadget--a tortilla press--that most "regular" people don't own.
Chic Peas. I use them in soups and stews, pasta dishes (pasta ceci, pasta fagioli) and salads. Marinated with jarred roasted peppers and artichokes, they make a great and quick addition to an antipasto. I use them to make hummus-type dips and spreads for crostini. Drained and dried, with a sprinkling of cumin and smoked paprika, they can be roasted for a tasty and crunchy cocktail nibble. They work in Italian recipes, of course, but also in Greek and Middle Eastern. Just last week, I added them to a lamb tagine. They’re the best!
People always seem surprised by the things I make; lecithin spray, cheese whiz that I can use as a dog training inducement when they get sick of peanut butter, dog food, Frosty Paws, dog biscuits, yogurt, ice cream, fakin' bacon, instant cappacino mix, bagels, pita, crackers, Greek pitas, pretzels, spankopita, spring rolls, tortillas, salad dressings, marinades, speasoning mixes, popsicles, and baking mixes - don't get me started on the mixes!
I'll try to make anything we like to eat at least once!
The standards - pasta, sauces, etc.
The funniest one I got was pita chips. "You make your own pita chips?" I thought that my friend thought I made the pita bread and then the chips, but no, this friend has no idea how to cook that he thought that making pita chips out of pita bread was some huge process. Ha ha!
Most of my friends are no longer surprised at anything I might make -- being a culinary student cuts back on that sort of reaction -- but I have gotten "Why would you make that?" reactions for making mayonnaise, alfredo sauce, sausage, Thai curry paste, pasta, and watermelon roses.
My fiance and his friends are impressed by my chicken parmesan, chicken enchiladas, and burgers. Mostly because I've been a vegetarian for 10 years!
I love a mix of fresh berries with Greek yogurt. My favorites are usually blackberries and blueberries from the local farmers' market.
The most important thing--always--is the company I keep, even if it's just myself. Sharing a little paper sack full of hot salty fries at a fast food joint in the Tenderloin with my best friend who is in serious need of some girl talk is way more wholesome than any multi-grain, fat-free, non-whatever eaten in distress. That being said, a ripe red tomato, just picked and still warm from the garden, sprinkled with a little salt and eaten like an apple over the sink is heaven on earth. Oh, and it doesn't hurt to have a little Devendra Banhart on the stereo and my honey walking through the front door. Yum.
Soy sauce chicken (or duck, gizzards, etc)
Most folks go out to Chinatown to buy soy-sauce chicken but I make it at home. We have a vat of homemade sauce that's been unchanged for 4 years. The batch before stayed with us even longer but we had to dump it since we were moving.
I definitely have a sweet tooth, so when I reach to satisfy it, but keep my health in mind, I'll do one of two things: A big bowl of berries with some Splenda and cinnamon sprinkled on top OR a bowl of sugar snap peas raw or steamed. Mmmm...and the natural sugar is so much kinder on my tummy!
I make my own ketchup too!
I have to agree with Christopher Balla, since I'm in college most people are shocked at anything home-made.
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