Marsha at Always Write has a Wednesday-Tuesday challenge going on, this week’s sense being taste. Quotes and food are a great combination and there are thousands of quotes about food to be easily found on the internet. I like this one to start:
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
I love fresh fruit, especially berries. I like them on my homemade granola, directly in my mouth, and in the case of blueberries, in my blueberry crisp, the latter a dessert often requested by family. Eating them in any form makes me berry merry. 🙂 (Or, if you’re in Britain, perhaps it makes you Mary Berry!)
This granola recipe comes from my uncle Jerry, well-known as a watercolor artist. That second link will take you to images of his work. But I think this granola recipe is just as much a work of art.
Jerry’s Granola
7-8 cups oats (not quick oats
1 cup each of these raw nuts: sunflower seeds, chopped cashews, chopped pecans, and chopped almonds (I recently used raw slivered almonds and loved the results.)
1 cup honey
1 stick butter
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Melt butter and honey together and pour over oats and nuts. Mix well.
Spread in a sheet pan with sides.
Stir every 10 minutes until mix is browned a bit.
If you want to add raisins or other dried fruit, add once you’ve put the mix in a large bowl (or bowls) to cool. Otherwise they’ll get too done.
Enjoy! Oats are quite good for you as are nuts, so enjoy with the milk or yogurt of your choice or as is for snacking.
“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”
― Ruth Reichl
Our younger daughter spent some time in Japan years ago and quite some time learning Japanese. Okonomiyaki is a fantastic food taste from Japan, sort of a Japanese omelet or maybe more like a frittata. This one from Chicago’s famous Girl and the Goat was fabulous! You can read my post about it as well as find a link to a recipe here.
It’s really difficult to know where else to go with a food/taste topic as I’ve had so much great food and made some myself. Not that I create recipes but I’ve managed to find a few good ones over the years. I learned how to make homemade ravioli and my signature dish, my husband’s term for the meal you use to “seal the deal”, is probably spaghetti carbonara. In the mid-seventies between my junior and senior years in college, I spent almost an entire year in Europe. While in Brindisi, Italy on our way to Greece, the woman I was traveling with and I met two Italian men. I think they might have been expecting more from the encounter than they got, but I got spaghetti carbonara for dinner and my life was never the same. 🙂 (The highlighted link will give you more of the story but also the recipe.)
“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”
― Charles M. Schulz
I have to agree, although my choice is dark chocolate. One of the things I love about France and Europe in general is that desserts are just sweet enough to add to the taste but not overwhelm the way they often are in the U.S. Whipped cream is cream that’s whipped, not cream whipped with lots of sugar. Pastries in France are amazing (and of course the bread is too.) Or you can sit somewhere like this (we did)…
…and enjoy a regional salad like this (different location, though.)

For some reason, I’m now thinking about heating up the quiche I made last night and seeing what sort of salad a/o veggies I have to go with it. We have some lovely Portuguese red open and dark chocolate for dessert. Cheers and one final quote:
“Humor keeps us alive. Humor and food. Don’t forget food. You can go a week without laughing.”
― Joss Whedon
Always end with a smile! Yours is the first post I’ve read this morning, Janet, and it’s taken me ages, dipping in and out of recipes. And I haven’t got past my first coffee yet! Let me know when you’re next making carbonara. It’s a favourite but some places make it with a cream sauce- totally wrong!
I’ll be making carbonara soon and I agree–cream sauce is totally wrong!!! An abomination! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the post and hope the day’s gone well too.
A pretty damp day 🤣💟 We were supposed to walk but just went for the farewell lunch instead. We’ll see them tomorrow and do the walk 🤗💕
I need some breakfast and right now after reading this. 🙂
I know what you mean and I’m on the road. 😳. Not finding anything like that out here!
Now I am hungry!
😁
I’d love to try that Okonomiyaki. Looks good!
It was amazing! The other two people I was with ordered something else and we tried everybody else’s food and everyone was blown away by how good mine was.
I LOVE Raspberries! And I have to say the Radishes also jumped out at me 🙂
Hopefully they didn’t hit you when they jumped out, Jennifer. 😉
I love berries, too. I haven’t made granola or a quiche in a long time. I try to like dark chocolate, but it’s an uphill battle. Your photos are wonderful but they’ve made me hungry… so thanks. 🙄
You’re very welcome, Ally. 😁. The granola’s easy and good. I have it almost every morning, often with berries.
This post has made me hungry. Have frozen blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries in the freeze we grew right here on our 3 acres. Need to get some out and try the recipe you added to this post.
How wonderful to have all that homegrown fruit!
Everything looks delicious. Your salad is gorgeous. The colors are so beautiful. The granola sounds so doable and delicious, I’m going to definitely try it. What is smothered all over those gorgeous berries? What a privilege and treat to the taste buds to get to live in Europe for a year. Friends of ours were stationed in Brindisi years ago, so after they had been there almost three years, we journeyed over there to see them. By that time the entire family was fluent in Italian. It was such a grand experience, almost like traveling with natives because they had lived off base in a neighborhood that shared an outdoor kitchen oven. Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures, recipes, and ideas, Janet. Yummy!
I’m ready for lunch now! Miam!! I love French chocolates, cheese, and bread! Regarding blueberries I love them baked but not so much raw unless frozen. They taste like bananas to me, and the skin …but, the texture does me in.
All those things are great. We should do a trip to France. 😁😁😁
Yes! I’m in!!😀
❤️
This post is making me hungry!
I’m having pasta w/ homemade sauce (no meat) for dinner for sure!
Did you? Was it good? You could do this without the bacon and or would still be tasty.
Oh yeah! It was very tasty. We eat a lot of tomato based sauces. Love it!
great post, love the last quote 🙂 I am getting to be really good with pastas, did salmon pasta last week , delicious 🙂
I love pasta. Yours sounds delicious.
[…] WQW: Five Senses: Taste, Food, Recipes […]
[…] THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER THING […]
Thanks for playing along with WQW, Janet. Featuring YOU from last week – https://alwayswrite.blog/2022/03/16/wqw-40-st-patricks-day-green/
Thanks. It was fun. 🥰
Indeed. I would love to plan a trip to the Botanical Gardens you talked about.
Tohono Chul in Tuscon? You’d love it. Just go before it gets too hot. If you want to go during the week sometime, maybe we could drive down together.
That would be so fun! Let me see if Cindy will watch the animals. Vince goes back to Scottsdale for about five more days to finish up. So I could drive down. When are you available?
Probably not until April because Mom’s memorial service is Saturday, I have to get serious about getting tax stuff organized and to our tax man, etc. I wish I could do sooner but I think not.
I worries. You have a lot on your plate. We are probably going to CA in April and our condo is rented for all of April. So no place to stay. Let me see what I can work out though.
I could probably do Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday next week as long as my husband can cover for me at Dad’s. Text me if one of those works.
[…] WQW: Five Senses: Taste, Food, Recipes […]
I enjoyed that first quote. I love berries too. I love making homemade granola. I haven’t made it in awhile, but I need to.
Thanks for the visit and comment, Kirstin. The granola is delicious. I’ve been eating it for years. Even if you don’t use this recipe, if you don’t have too much sweetener, it’s a great thing to eat in the morning, especially with some berries on top.
[…] WQW: Five Senses: Taste, Food, Recipes […]
[…] WQW: Five Senses: Taste, Food, Recipes […]
[…] WQW: Five Senses: Taste, Food, Recipes […]
Wow! It looks delicious. Thank you 😊🌳🌍
You’re very welcome. 🙂
janet
😊🌳🌍