Catching up on Memes (The Cook Next Door)

This is a fun one at Delicious Days, called The Cook Next Door. From the map below the posting at the site, it appears that most everyone has participated. I'm such a latecomer. The original blog entry was in June.

Here are the questions and my responses:

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?

Growing up at my Dad's house, we had a library of soft-cover cookbooks that I would page through to pick out new things to make or eat. I'm sure I cooked earlier than this, but I remember helping Dad make popcorn the old-fashioned way in a pot with oil at the bottom, shaking it back and forth, constantly. He had been a soda jerk a very long time ago, and knew how to cook "diner food," and taught me how to do the same. Not sure how old I was, but I couldn't have been more than 12.

Who had the most influence on your cooking?

The soft-cover cookbooks at Dad's, Mom's little recipe cards from the Temple, and Internet cooking/recipe sites.

Do you have an old photo as “evidence” of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?

People were lucky to get photos of me at all. :) You won't find many of me period.

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?

In the Meme below, there's a culinary confession about animal food anatomy that answers this question. It's not so much a phobia as an aversion.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest letdown?

Great appliance: the immersion blender
Great gadget: OXO hand-wind can opener
Let-down gadget: the tool that's supposed to cut carrots into curls -- it didn't work, and it sliced the side of my index finger straight down to the knuckle.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!

Not sure how weird it is, but I add peanut butter to my hot oatmeal and museli.

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?

Cheese, most likely some swiss holey variety.
Guacamole -- my chunky version made with salsa verde
Carob coconut cashew squares

Three quickies:

Your favorite ice-cream…

I started making my own recently -- fat and sugar free. It's definitely not the same, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do for your health. I'm still developing flavors, but like the entry above, I favor the carob cashew flavor.

You will probably never eat…

Oysters (edit: forgot snails!) -- same as the original meme I mentioned above. Also, I won't eat scallops and poultry.

Your own signature dish…
Rice and beans