Nine things I'd like to know about you (and The Perfect Pantry celebrates nine years)

Wow. So much has happened in the past year. The Perfect Pantry moved from country to city, from a large kitchen to a small one, and we traded our herb garden for urban farmers' markets. As we prepared to move, everything in the kitchen and pantry came under scrutiny, and downsizing became known in our house as The D Word.

However, we did it. We downsized, and now my husband Ted and I, and our two cats, have settled into our new digs in Boston's South End. The pantry itself shrunk from a basement full of shelves to just one side of one wire rack in the kitchen, plus a few bins for beans and spices. Still perfect, but lacking the depth of inventory I kept on hand in the country.

Our grandkids come to visit every other week, and I've been able to spend time in the kitchen with each of them, cooking from the pantry. They enjoy helping with food styling for the blog, too.

The Perfect Pantry's nine-year anniversary "cake" -- a real chayote squash, not a cake shaped like a squash (because I know you're going to ask) -- symbolizes all of the wonderful markets within a few blocks of our house. An Asian grocery store, a Syrian market, a cheese store, a fish market, and a large Latino/Caribbean supermarket -- an abundance of riches. New opportunity, new inspiration, new ingredients: I'm excited.

As has become our tradition over the past few years, I'm taking the occasion of the blog's birthday to learn more about you, and share a bit more about me. Please leave your choices in the comments. Here goes:

-----------------

Mild or spicy

Cat or dog

Pasta or rice

Train or plane

Cauliflower or broccoli

Laptop or tablet

Soy sauce or fish sauce

Fizzy water or still water

London or Paris

-----------------

Me:

Spicy (You knew that.)
Cats (We have two, Maggie and Gyllen, who show up on Facebook and Instagram from time to time.)
Rice (I love low-carb pasta, but I'm trying to add more brown rice to my diet.)
Train (Because I love to see the context of where I'm going, when I have the option.)
Broccoli (Because, well... cauliflower. I tried.)
Laptop (Eek. I have both, and use them completely differently. If I could only have one, I'd choose laptop, because I still love having a real keyboard.)
Soy sauce (It's my ketchup; I use low-sodium soy sauce in a zillion dishes.)
Fizzy water (Trying to break myself of my life-long Fresca addiction. Not entirely successful, yet.)
London (Tough choice, this one.)

-----------------

As always, you are the most important ingredient in The Perfect Pantry. No matter how much we have to downsize (ooooh, the D Word), there will always be room for you.

Thank you for being here: for proofreading my recipes and catching my typos; for adding your own twists and taking the recipes farther than I've done; for sharing new ideas, shopping sources, and techniques; for encouraging your friends to visit the blog.

Special thanks to my husband Ted, the world's best candle lighter, taste tester, and general arbiter of blogworthiness when it comes to the recipes you find in The Perfect Pantry. He has tried them all, every experiment, even the ones that don't make the grade. That's true dedication, to the blog and to you.

However, we did it. We downsized, and now my husband Ted and I, and our two cats, have settled into our new digs in Boston's South End. The pantry itself shrunk from a basement full of shelves to just one side of one wire rack in the kitchen, plus a few bins for beans and spices. Still perfect, but lacking the depth of inventory I kept on hand in the country.

Our grandkids come to visit every other week, and I've been able to spend time in the kitchen with each of them, cooking from the pantry. They enjoy helping with food styling for the blog, too.

The Perfect Pantry's nine-year anniversary "cake" -- a real chayote squash, not a cake shaped like a squash (because I know you're going to ask) -- symbolizes all of the wonderful markets within a few blocks of our house. An Asian grocery store, a Syrian market, a cheese store, a fish market, and a large Latino/Caribbean supermarket -- an abundance of riches. New opportunity, new inspiration, new ingredients: I'm excited.

As has become our tradition over the past few years, I'm taking the occasion of the blog's birthday to learn more about you, and share a bit more about me. Please leave your choices in the comments. Here goes:

-----------------

Mild or spicy

Cat or dog

Pasta or rice

Train or plane

Cauliflower or broccoli

Laptop or tablet

Soy sauce or fish sauce

Fizzy water or still water

London or Paris

-----------------

Me:

Spicy (You knew that.)
Cats (We have two, Maggie and Gyllen, who show up on Facebook and Instagram from time to time.)
Rice (I love low-carb pasta, but I'm trying to add more brown rice to my diet.)
Train (Because I love to see the context of where I'm going, when I have the option.)
Broccoli (Because, well... cauliflower. I tried.)
Laptop (Eek. I have both, and use them completely differently. If I could only have one, I'd choose laptop, because I still love having a real keyboard.)
Soy sauce (It's my ketchup; I use low-sodium soy sauce in a zillion dishes.)
Fizzy water (Trying to break myself of my life-long Fresca addiction. Not entirely successful, yet.)
London (Tough choice, this one.)

-----------------

As always, you are the most important ingredient in The Perfect Pantry. No matter how much we have to downsize (ooooh, the D Word), there will always be room for you.

Thank you for being here: for proofreading my recipes and catching my typos; for adding your own twists and taking the recipes farther than I've done; for sharing new ideas, shopping sources, and techniques; for encouraging your friends to visit the blog.

Special thanks to my husband Ted, the world's best candle lighter, taste tester, and general arbiter of blogworthiness when it comes to the recipes you find in The Perfect Pantry. He has tried them all, every experiment, even the ones that don't make the grade. That's true dedication, to the blog and to you.

Comments

Mild - My tolerance for heat is pathetic.

dog - I don't dislike cats! But I've always been a dog girl. 3 at the moment.

rice - Tough one! But I have more fun with rice.

Train - When Matt finishes the time machine, we're going on lots of cross-country, sleeping car-based train trips.
I shall bring hat boxes.

Cauliflower - Neither, if I can help it! But cauliflower is less offensive.

Laptop - I like 'em.

Soy sauce - As a vegetarian, there's not much choice (though I can get vegan fish sauce!).

still water - Have been happily glugging copious amounts of plain, ol' water.

London - Were it some other part of France, I might pick that. But as is, London.

Mild or spicy - Spicy!

Cat or dog - dog, but also cat

Pasta or rice - pasta

Train or plane - typically plane, but I wish it was train

Cauliflower or broccoli - either, but cauliflower

Laptop or tablet - both, but tablet

Soy sauce or fish sauce - neither, both, ketchup

Fizzy water or still water - both all day

London or Paris - Paris

Mild, though I prefer medium spice.
Cats
Pasta
Plane. I once took a thirteen hour train trip from Brisbane to Sydney because I thought it would be a good way to see more of Australia. For the same price, I could have flown there in an hour. Never again.
Cauliflower. Preferrably with cheese sauce.
Laptop, though I don't currently have one.
Soy sauce
Fizzy water, specifically grapefuit-flavoured Perrier.
London, because that is where my sister lives.

Congratulations on nine years!

Congratulations on NINE years! THat is soooo impressive!

Mild or spicy - SPICY

Cat or dog - DOG (got three)

Pasta or rice - RICE

Train or plane - TRAIN (but never actually travel by train, very rarely. I am afraid of flying, but face it constantly)

Cauliflower or broccoli - love both equally

Laptop or tablet - LAPTOP

Soy sauce or fish sauce - my newfound love is coconut aminos, too bad it's pricey. But I go with SOY in your quizz

Fizzy water or still water FIZZY, homemade.

London or Paris - PARIS TOUJOURS

HAPPY BLOG BIRTHDAY #9!!

Mild or spicy: i enjoy a good mid-spice range; don't like foods so hot my lips chap when my fork is still 3 inches from my mouth

Cat or dog: used to be a born-again-dyed-in-the-wool cat person until we got our dog several yrs ago....i was converted to the dog way, can't imagine my life w/o my dog....we have both and both are unique in their own manner, so it's a tie with me

Pasta or rice: rice; i like the versatility of rice

Train or plane: train, i hate flying

Cauliflower or broccoli: i like and eat both at least 1-2 times a week

Laptop or tablet: have both, use both for different things, but if i had to choose i'd go with laptop

Soy sauce or fish sauce: soy sauce for a good all purpose sauce/flavor booster

Fizzy water or still water: just plain ol' water for me

London or Paris: london....am partial as i have family there; besides...my french stinks LOL

MIld, dogs! (allergic to cats), pasta, plane (because we have had so many bad AMTRAK trips), both, laptop, soy, fizzy Paris, Paris, Paris.

WOW nine years, it's a been a wonderful nine years of cooking and learning so much from you!

Happy nine years! So glad you started this blog so we could become friends.

And you probably know most of my preferences, but here goes:

Spicy

NO cats or dogs please (although I do like Rand's little dog Dr. Love)

Rice over pasta for sure.

Plane; I like to get there as soon as I can, plus not many train options from here.

Cauliflower, although I love both.

Laptop, but I love my iPad mini as well.

Soy sauce, but I also love fish sauce.

Plain water for me.

Haven't been to either London or Paris, but if I had to pick I would take Paris.

Spicy food. Cats (have 4). Rice. Hate plane travel. Cauliflower, laptops, fish sauce, still water. London or Paris? Answer: New Orleans!

Happy #9 !!

spicy !

pugs !!! ( dogs )

No pasta or rice :)

plane

Cauliflower

tablet

Soy sauce ( watching the sodium though )

Fizzy water

London or Paris ( never been ) I guess Paris

Wow - Happy Anniversary! Time sure flies in a delicious sort of way.

Mild or spicy: mild for my spouse, firey hot for me

dog (specfically greyhounds, rescued, such couch potatoes)

Pasta or rice: brown rice or potatoes (diabetic, white rice or pasta mess up my blood sugar)

Train, if I have the time (especially in Europe)

Cauliflower or broccoli: both, all

tablet(s) ... iPad & Nexus 7

Soy sauce, low sodium for subtle, Tamari for bold

Fizzy water, got to have bubbles !

London, to visit
Paris, to dream of living there ... retiring there.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY-
SPICY
DOGS--GOLDENS
BOTH PASTA & RICE
PREFER PLANE, BUT, LOVE GOOD TRAINS
BROCCOLLI
APPLE MACBOOK AIR
BOTH SOY & FISH
WATER
LONDON

HERE'S TO THE NEXT 9 YRS
GORDON/STOWE

Mild
Dog
Pasta
Plain
broccoli
laptop
soy sauce
WaterWater
Paris

Congrats, Lydia!

Mild
Dog
Rice
Plane
Broccoli
Tablet
Soy Sauce
Fizzy Water
Paris

Mild or spicy - Love spicy but right now, due to a minor digestive ailment, it's mild.

Cat or dog - Love both but for the past 22 years, it's been only cats.

Pasta or rice - rice

Train or plane - Planes but for Japan & England, it's definitely trains.

Cauliflower or broccoli - Enjoy both!

Laptop or tablet - Desktop supplemented by an iPod touch and an Android smartphone. I'm connected!

Soy sauce or fish sauce - Soy sauce.

Fizzy water or still water - Still water all day long. Fizzy for special occasions.

London or Paris - Haven't been to Paris yet so I will say Paris.

Congratulations on your 9th anniversary! I wish I could remember how I found your blog? It's on my favorite cooking blogs. I've used many of your recipes. They always came out well. I have your RSS feed on my desktop.

med spicy..(tum can't take too much anymore
Love both, never had a pet
pasta.(am diabetic..rice not good)
train
cauliflower..broccoli doesn't like me
only PC
soy sauce
both..don't drink soda except seltzer.
London..lived in UK for 5 years..Paris is beautiful but
YAY YOU 9 years!!!!

Mild or spicy - always spicy, love the heat but also all the flavours - not particularly fond of Thai food because it is usually too heavy on the heat, not the flavours

Cat or dog - got my first dog at age 60. Cindy will turn 6 this summer. Love her.

Pasta or rice - pasta but since going low carb, slow carb, am eating very little of this.

Train or plane - train for pleasure, plane for speed if needed.

Cauliflower or broccoli - can't choose, love them both but cauliflower is more versatile

Laptop or tablet - can't choose because they serve different purposes - if I were inputting I would choose a laptop for the keyboard but if I am just reading, a tablet is easier.

Soy sauce or fish sauce - fish sauce

Fizzy water or still water - still water or club soda with lime, don't do any other kind of 'pop'

London or Paris - Paris for nor particular reason - have not been to either

Spicy
no pets
Pasta
Train
Broccoli if I have to choose - love both
Laptop
Fish sauce
Fizzy water
London

Spicy! And the older I get, the spicier I like it.

Dog. I've had both, loved both, but gun to my head? Dog.

Pasta Pasta Pasta!

Plane, because there are too many places I want to go that you can't get to via train.

Broccoli.

Hmmm...tough one...laptop?

Soy sauce.

Fizzy water. Or still. I love both!

London or Paris. Florence? Only because I've never been to either London or Paris but if I had to choose: Paris. (Because, food!)

Happy anniverary!

Mild

Dogs - Yorkies and Mini Schnauzers

Rice

Plane

Cauliflower and Broccoli

Laptop at the office. Tablet at home.

Soy or Fish Sauce - Neither, Mayo and Dijon Mustard

Plain Tap Water for me.

London

Mild or spicy=spicy

Cat or dog=cat

Pasta or rice=rice

Train or plane=plane

Cauliflower or broccoli=broccoli

Laptop or tablet=laptop

Soy sauce or fish sauce=fish sauce

Fizzy water or still water=fizzy water

London or Paris=Paris

When I retired to Honolulu I left house in RI with two kitchens and purchased a condominium with a small galley kitchen and limited storage but you can’t beat the beach ocean water view from behind the kitchen range. I am remodeling the kitchen with all high efficient GE Profile series appliances; GE Advantium® over the range microwave with microwave, speedcook, convection, broil, warm and proof modes; GE slide-in induction range (90% more efficient than regular gas, quartz or electric ranges) with true European convection oven and a warming draw.