Must Post on Leap Day

So I voted today in the Texas primary (early voting since I will be in Calgary next week). The line was an hour and a half long but I was more than happy to wait. It was so great to see so many Texans out at the polls!! Plus it felt kind of special voting on a leap day.

I've been wanting to do one of the surveys I've seen floating around yall's blogs, originally from Liz at Food Snobbery. Happy Leap Year!

1. If you have to choose between locally grown or organic, which do you usually choose?
This is a toughie. I try to buy a mix of each.

2. Favorite way to prepare potatoes:
Roasted with olive oil and finished with a fancy flavored sea salt and some fresh ground pepper.

3. Do you press your tofu before preparing/cooking it (if you eat soy)?
I am a machine when it comes to pressing tofu. I do it everytime. I even know which cookbooks provide the exact perfect weight on top to not squish the tofu but also provide for maximum drainage.

4. Name your favorite recipe that is a tradition in your family:
My grandmother's homemade bread... which I've never made (backs into a corner with her head down)

5. Any food allergies?
No, which I'm very thankful for.

6. When you want to go to a fancy dinner, where do you go?
We usually go out to either Ruggles or Mark's or Tafia for something fancy. But we always come home for a fancy dessert!

7. When you have a cold, what do you crave?
Mac and cheese. And lots of fruit. And of course chocolate.

8. What kind of water do you drink? (Filtered, spring, tap, etc.)
Tap, put through a Brita filter in the fridge. And I'm very picky in that I like water VERY cold.

9. Name a flavor of soda you'd love to see:
Not a soda drinker myself...

10. If the recipes you ate as a child were compiled into a cookbook, what would the title be?
The Importance of a Family Dinner

11. If you were allowed to grow one food that can't grow in your climate, what would it be?
Lots of stuff grows down here (I think, I am no gardening expert), but I don't think we grow cherries, which I love.

12. Favorite type of mushroom?
Wierd squishy mushrooms kind of gross me out, so usually just creminis or portobellos. Morels if they aren't too pricey.

13. Most frustrating part of your kitchen?
There always seems to be dirty dishes! And I can't seem to keep the darned stovetop clean!

14. Last food you burned?
Quinoa... let it cook about 30 minutes before I started smelling the burning stuff. Took days to clean out of the pot.

15. Usual response to a veg*n's favorite question, "But where do you get your protein?":
I smack 'em upside the head and yell at 'em. (well that's what I want to do) Seriously, I smile and say the usual stuff about veggies, beans, and grains.

16. If you were baking your own birthday cake today, what flavor would it be?
Triple chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse topping and strawberries with nuts and chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Whew! Now who's gonna make it for me?

17. Favorite brand of chocolate chips?
Sunspire Tropical Source, but my Whole Foods stopped carrying them :-( So now I get their vegan brand chocolate chip.

18. You have $200 of your tax return reserved for Williams Sonoma- What do you buy?
I have really been wanting a cast iron skillet. And probably some new frosting tips.

19. Do you plan your menus in advance? Any tips to share?
I used to be really good about this. But lately I haven't, I'm thinking because the grocery store is on the way home from work.

20. You have 3 minutes before you have to leave the house and you're starving- What do you eat?
A spoonful of peanut butter and slosh down some soymilk.

21. If Martha Stewart, Paula Deen, and Rachel Ray got into a fight, who would win and how?
I think I have to go with Martha. She did hard time. Who knows what kind of fights she got into....

22. If you eat oatmeal, what do you add to it before serving?
Maple syrup, ground flax seeds, a dallop of nut butter, any kind of berries I may have on hand.

23. If you got to travel to one country and learn all the traditional dishes there, where would you go (ignore commitments in your current place of residence)?
Certainly India and Thailand really appeal to me. But since it's so close, and I am from Texas and therefore love Mexican food, I think Mexico would be equally as exciting!

24. Favorite late night snack?
Soy ice cream or anything that's leftover in the fridge.

25. Favorite springtime food?
Asparagus... I got some the other week and knew it was too soon. Just wasn't as bright green and crisp.

26. Favorite food-related magazine?
VegNews, but I'm starting to read non-veg ones for ideas :-)

27. Which do you prefer: shoyu, tamari, conventional soy sauce, or Bragg's Aminos?
Tamari

28. What vegetable or fruit do you dislike the most?
I like pretty much every fruit I've had except papaya. As far as veggies go, again, wierd mushrooms, also olives (are those veggies?).

29. Name a holiday food you look forward to all year long:
Not really a holiday food, but chili. It's just not cold here that much to make it :-( Oh, and maybe pumpkin pie.

30. If you could convert anyone to veganism with your magic wand, who would you convert?
I don't really want to change anyone before they're ready...