* First food memory: I was in 3rd grade, older sister in 6th. We decided to make dinner – texas hash (combo of canned diced tomatoes, rice, and ground beef) and cake (boxed yellow with my Mom’s recipe for chocolate frosting). The food itself wasn’t spectacular, it was the clean-up that makes me remember everything about that meal. I was unmercifully teasing my sister while we were doing the dishes. She decided to shove me across the room and into the opposite wall. Of course I was laughing the whole time, until my front tooth hit the wall before the rest of my body. As I spit out the plaster that had chipped off the wall into my mouth (old house = no dry wall), I also spit out half my tooth. I’ve been paying for it ever since (dental bills are expensive!), but can’t help but laugh every time I think about texas hash! * Food I remember hating: HAM! I’ve always hated ham. When I was 10, my Mom made an awful ham casserole that I was forced to finish. That night, I got the stomach flu - I’ll spare you the details - and was convinced that I got the flu from the ham. To this day, I still don’t eat ham. * Food I associate with a particular age: My entire life leading up to college – cookies. My Mom constantly baked cookies. There were always a few jars full. I also fondly remember (and miss!) the smell of dinner cooking when I walked in the door after school. I certainly didn’t appreciate what I had in a stay-at-home Mom until I left home. College – (1) Taco Bell, the cheapest food station in the cafeteria; (2) Otis Spunkmyer cookies in the cafe; and (3) Stefani’s Restaurant in Chicago, the first place I ever spent more than $10 on a meal. Oh, and vodka, but I don’t know if that counts. * Favorite person growing up: When I think of my younger brother and food, two things come to mind at the same time: (1) cottage cheese – even at 19, he still eats cottage cheese with every mean, even holiday dinners, and (2) Gerber baby food bananas – this was a daily snack for him until he was a teen.