Ten Foods (That Changed My Life)

There's a lot of list-making happening over on the Facebook these days, some of which has carried over to the blogosphere — occasionally, to good effect. Along those lines, and in any case, the following are ten foods that changed my life — in order.

1. Applesauce — Until I was embarrassingly old to be doing so, I used applesauce as salad dressing. My mom was big on us eating greens every night, and we kids weren't exactly veggie crazy, so the salads. But I never liked dressing — not even fat-laden "Russian" or "Thousand Island" that Wishbone was so fond of in the '70s. I did like applesauce though, and it turned iceberg lettuce into something not quite "salad," which I liked.

Finally, on a long backwoods canoeing trip when I was 16, I was sufficiently hungry enough to eat anything, and I discovered "Zesty Italian" dressing did the trick and that salad wasn't all bad. I've since branched out to a myriad of dressings (still no fan of  "Russian" or "Thousand Island" though), and never have gone back to the 'sauce. Still like it on its own though.

2. Fig Newtons — Perhaps my first love. Sweet without being cloying, chewy yet soft, fruity and exotic (I never saw an actual fig until much, much later) yet whitebread and mundane. The perfect cookie.

As a kid, I'd eat six to eight of these a day and wonder why I had stomach trouble. The answer occurred to me while I was doing a play years later in college. There was a milk and cookies scene required and the actress I was working with and I decided that we both liked Fig Newtons. We didn't figure on quite so much rehearsing. Suffice to say, I don't think either of us felt great after splitting a box of Newtons and a half gallon of milk.

3. Pasta —When I was young, I'd tell my mom I wanted to eat pasta every day. Now, as a grown-ass man, I often do. And it's damn satisfying. Comforting and carbolicious at its most basic, but capable of supporting nearly any taste you throw at it.

4. Cheese — Whether on pizza, or solo, cheese is my constant, my love, my weakness, my habit, my addiction. As my tastes have matured, so has the U.S. cheese market, and what's fresh and available locally these days is a far cry from the orange pasteurized process cheese food product of yesteryear (not that the Whiz doesn't have its place).

5. Sliced bread — Oh, sliced bread, let me count the ways. You make possible the mighty sandwich — and without the constant quest for the ultimate sandwich, life would be boring. From peanut butter jelly time to Vietnamese báhn mì, the sandwich reigns supreme. And sliced bread makes it happen.

6. Salsa — There are two kinds of junk food people — those who like sugar, and those who like salt. I like salt. The thought of downing a pint of ice cream, say, sickens me. But put me in front of a bag of tortilla chips and some nice salsa, and it's good night, Irene.

In some ways, salsa and chips were my entrée into the world "ethnic" food — back when "ethnic" meant Chinese, Italian, or — if you lived in the big city, like I did — Mexican. But Mexican expanded my taste horizon by getting me into the capsaicin arena, which led me to insanely hot stir fries, to curries, to hot and sour soups, and on. And as my tastes expanded, so did availability, to the point now where I am an easy walk from excellent Brazilian, Peruvian, Thai, Indian, Korean, Salvadoran. And I frequent them all.

7. Beer — I've posted on beer before, and I'll probably do so again. Like most things on this list, it took a long time to come around to it, and longer still to appreciate the differences between the good, the bad, and the ugly. What I lack in quantity these days I make up for in quality, and there is some damn wonderful stuff to be had out there at the local these days — and not just the Belgian beer emporiums (though I dig them too).

8. Tomatoes — Tomatoes were the first "vegetable" I really learned to love (this, despite the fact that they're technically a fruit). Sad as it is to say, this love affair did not begin until I was halfway through college. I was tending bar in a great northern Italian restaurant, and when the waitstaff and I would get hungry around 10:00, we'd often just butter up some warm bread and top it with a thick slice of ripe tomato. It was the perfect and ever-available snack.

Nowadays, we grow our own, and there is nothing more perfect than plucking a fresh one off the vine in the backyard, and slicing yourself a chunk while it's still warm from the sun. Possibly my favorite thing about summer.

9. Basil — One of the easiest and most useful herbs to grow. Basil has taught me patience in the kitchen, and the tinkering needed to perfect an oft-made dividend-paying recipe like pesto — the mortar and pestling of which was arguably my first foray into the world of slow food.

10. Fish — And finally, the most grown-up food on my list. And damn tasty when done any number of the right ways. The cholesterol-lowering, heart-healthy protein meant to undo a decade of crappy eating and to keep me alive for the second half of my life. But for fish sticks, I hated it as a kid; love it as an adult. From fish and chips at the pub to Cajun catfish to broiled sea bream to grilled bluefish to raw maguro. When it's fresh, it's nearly all good.