The other day I stumbled upon a video about a recent cookbook called Junk Foodie. As the video and accompanying article explain, the basis of the book is making junk food into something with a gourmet flair. Some of the highlighted combinations include Twinkies and potato chips, as well as Reese’s cups enrobed in strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups.

I give the author kudos for creativity…but that’s about where my appreciation for the book ends. Simply put, both of the recipes demonstrated in the video kinda make me wanna vom.

Although I may not consume many junk food masterpieces, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t developed some strange snacking habits over the years. Some of my slightly eccentric favorites include:

• Raw mushrooms with pineapple salsa. Don’t ask me how I discovered this flavor combo, but something about the meatiness of the mushrooms with the fruity salsa drives my tastebuds wild.
• Peanut butter and lettuce. I owe this obsession to my mom—when I was a kid (OK,even when I was a teen), we used to snack on it while we prepared dinner. Best appetizer I’ve ever had.
• Pistachios and chocolate. This one is pretty evident in my daily eats, as I often top my oatmeal with some sort of pistachio-chocolate-fruit combination. I dig that salty-sweet thang.
• Pita chips & Sriracha. Admittedly, this is not one of my snack concoctions—it’s one of Seth’s. He discovered it earlier this week and can’t seem to get enough of it. Maybe he’s onto something?

What are some of your strangest snack-time creations? Don’t be shy—I won’t judge:)

Enough about snacks…let’s get onto the main meals of the day:

Before reluctantly heading out to class (who wants to go to class on a Friday morning?!), I made a quick waffle breakfast. This combo featured ricotta flavored with vanilla, stevia, & cinnamon. I think ricotta might be my newest obsession.

For the midday meal, I made a simple salmon burger. Since I was having seafood for lunch, naturally I had to use my fishy placemat.

With a sad-looking eggplant and an abundance of zucchini hanging around, I knew I needed to make ratatouille for dinner.

Alongside, I made Ellie’s unexpectedly delicious dessert: Peaches with Balsamic Cherries.

My tweak:

-I used raw sugar instead of regular granulated.

This recipe is a winner for multiple reasons: 1) It’s a healthy, fruit-based dessert. 2) It’s ridiculously simple to make. 3) Most importantly, it tastes amazing! That last part is intensified if you happen to have perfectly ripe fruit in the house—both my peaches and cherries were already almost candy-sweet, so the balsamic syrup just took it to another level. Hurry to the farmers’ market today, as both peaches and cherries are in season right now—a perfect time to make this elegant dessert!

OK, I am off to watch Black Swan for the first time…it should make for an intense start to the weekend…

Good night, lovelies!

Filed under: Meals