On a deserted island with only one food to eat...

If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would that food be? The rules of this question are simple: You can pick your favorite food, it can be cooked, and it can be raw, but it cannot include condiments or sides. For instance, I love pasta with a red sauce and a nice crusty bread on the side. The pasta and sauce are fine, but no bread.  What would be your go to food?

I am always wondering what my favorite food is, and there are many times when I eat something and, in that moment, that food becomes my favorite. Early on in the pandemic, I had a span of five weeks where I was eating oreo cookies every day. Not just a few, but an entire sleeve and some days two. With that said, let’s be clear, if I am stuck on an island and can only eat one food, they would not be it. I actually got addicted to the sugar which was why I continued to eat them. It’s been two months since I have eaten an oreo.

For me, it is very hard to decide what would be that one food, only because I love so many foods from so many cultures.

Italian food. Well, it’s in my blood given half of my family tree is from Calabria, and I love everything Italian.  I love pasta so much I could literally get naked and roll around on the floor with it all day long.  I love all different sizes and shapes. I really enjoy when pasta is cooked that perfect 8 minutes and served with a nice sauce. Then, leave some in the refrigerator for the next day. Be clear, you can eat it cold, or fry it in a pan, which is also amazing. Lasagna is also a favorite of mine since I am a little boy. I know this one is not novel or inventive, but certainly I could eat pizza all day every day from here to eternity and back. I do not need anything special either, just make the pizza with a nice simple sauce and cheese and then safely get out of the way or you could lose a limb.

Chinese food. I do not think there is any other food that is so universally fantastic. My favorite could be General Tso’s tofu and yes, I could eat it for breakfast every day. I also love a good lo mein but please do not let there be too much extra liquid, I think that ruins the experience. Of course, fried rice with amazing veggies and freshly chopped spring onions. Also, please, if there is anything that is necessary, make sure there is plenty of duck sauce.

French pastries. Are they a food? For me they are. In the bakery I used to take the scrap dough from croissants and make chocolate filled rolls from them. Can you imagine those amazing flavors melting in your mouth? Of course, I would want croissants with an amazingly creamy cream cheese. Am I allowed to say creamy cream? I wonder if that is redundant.

There are many other foods too of course but I do not think they come in contact with those that are repeatable day in and day out for the rest of my life. I imagine even with croissants I could get tired from them over time. Interestingly enough, you will notice I have not listed veggies, or fruits. There is one in that category but I will save that for later.

I am not sure what the purpose of that exercise is or what good it does, but because I love food so much, I have no problem playing the game, my one food on an island alone for the rest of time.

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Now that you have picked the food that you would want to eat every day of your life, morning noon and night, do you have a recipe that goes with it, or do you like when others prepare food for you? I have been cooking all of my life and I love it. I also have been baking all of my life too and have these same feelings. I think if I were to have one of the foods on the mention list every day, I would want someone else to prepare them for me. Of course, I am on the island alone so they would magically appear every day. I would though, give them my recipe and make sure it is done just the way I like. With pizza, I really love a thick outer crust with a thin crispy bottom. When the crust on the outside bubbles up, for me it is the best. I also love it cold so I have no problem with delivery being one time a day and I just continue to enjoy throughout the day cold.

Now that I give this some more though, and something that was never factored into my game before, I will have certain stipulations for the island as well. Mountains and beautiful sandy beaches are a must. If I am eating pizza all day long I will for sure need to go into the mountains on hikes to keep from becoming as round as those pizzas. Because I love swimming and the sea, I want to do some free diving too. My days need to be adventurous. This is the beauty of Mallorca. We have amazing mountains and there are two hundred sixty-two beaches. With that many, I think I could spend the year circling the island and spend nearly every day on a different beach. The longer beaches I spend two days and the shorter ones are passthroughs.  

I cannot say for sure why this is, but I am very hungry as I write this blog entry. I imagine writing a blog about food is going to put me in this cycle quite a lot but that is a journey I am happy to take.

And now, my ultimate choice. This food I have loved since I was very tiny. I have eaten it in competitions as a kid. I love all varieties of it and most of all, I love how no matter how full I can be from eating a large quantity, two hours later I am relaxed as it is ninety-two percent water. If you have not guessed by now, my go to food, the one I could eat all day, every day, for the rest of my life, without anything special added, changed, or done to it, would be watermelon. I love them all. With seeds, without seeds. Round or oblong.

Something that just occurred to me is if I am on a deserted island with watermelon, there is a good possibility that I could naturally extract some salt from the sea and sprinkle it on top of the melon. WHAT? Are you really telling me you have never had watermelon without salt before? Lucky for you this entry is just about over. Go and get some melon, make a few slices and very lightly sprinkle some salt. You can, and you will, thank me later.