Friday, July 6, 2007

Foodie Status

I'm trying to figure out if I'm actually a foodie. To me, this term, "foodie," refers to a class of people who have strong and specific opinions about all things food-related, including ingredients, cooking techniques, restaurants, and wine. To help illustrate my own position on the foodie spectrum, I have compiled the following lists:

Signs that I might be a foodie:
1) I much prefer to make my own pizza dough rather than buy pre-made dough. (As a side note, check out JD's post about homemade vegetarian pizza on his blog, American Life! I've provided the link to his blog in the sidebar. Note to self: Must learn how to create snazzier links in blog.)
2) I avoid frozen dinners. I refuse to become part of the Lean Cuisine brigade!
3) I love really good bakery breads and homemade breads.
4) I love shopping at Wild Oats, my local "natural foods" store in Evanston, IL.
5) I have a newfound love for artichokes. The caveat is that I use canned artichokes; does that disqualify this statement from counting toward foodie status?

Signs that I'm not truly a foodie:
1) I don't like many expensive stinky European cheeses. (Matt, if you are reading this, sorry!)
2) I know almost nothing about wine (sorry again, Matt! But you already knew that...).
3) I feel pretentious shopping at Whole Foods. This feeling doesn't stop me from an occasional Whole Foods visit, but I much prefer the more hippie-esque Wild Oats.
4) I'm perfectly happy to use jarred marinara sauce rather than make my own, although I am curious to try my hand at a homemade sauce.
5) I usually use canned, not fresh, tomatoes in my soups and stews.
6) I haven't decided how I feel about roasted bell peppers. I think foodies in general are in love with roasted red peppers. I can take 'em or leave 'em.
7) I hate mushrooms! (More apologies to Matt here.) Actually, hate is a strong word, but I often dislike them and don't cook with them myself.
8) I own a Rachael Ray cookbook. Does that automatically disqualify me from foodie status?

Since the non-foodie list has more items than the foodie list, for now I shall settle for non-foodie status. Am I still allowed to write a food blog?

2 comments:

JD @ run-thru-life.blogspot.com said...

Rosiecat,
I believe that you are a developing foodie. This is someone who is the developmental stages of becoming a foodie. You clearly show progress toward reaching full foodiehood. Think of how much more lopsided that list would have been 5 years ago....just a thought. JD.

Rosiecat24 said...

Hey JD!

Perhaps I am too frugal to be a real foodie. If I have more money to spend on fancy ingredients, will my foodie status improve?

I don't know. I still like my Rachael Ray cookbook. I still don't like mushrooms. Some things just don't change that quickly. And I still think twice when a recipe calls for some obscure (and often expensive!) ingredient. I'm so picky!