A Pick And Mix To Sweeten Sunday

If there is one topic of conversation I find it very easy to talk about, it is food! Foodie questions are so irresistible. So it may come as no surprise that the second parter of my pick and mix of questions from our Queen of Questions, Teresa, aka The Haunted Worsdmith are yet again foodie orientated!

Ten Pick And Mix Questions From Teresa

To Sweeten Sunday:

What do you like on your waffles?

It’s so long since I had waffles! Here in England you can buy a box of frozen potato waffles and serve them with the other key ingredients from a full English breakfast which is a wonderful treat for a lazy morning at the weekend before you go and climb the nearest hillock.

But if I was going to go sweet with waffles, it would have to have some kind of caramel sauce – maybe some fruit like banana.

But to be honest, sweet waffles are such an amazing treat – one that I rarely deserve – I think I would be happy with any combination of fruit or sweet sauce.

It was a perfect snowfall…what do you build?

I don’t think I could resist building a huge snowman.

If there was a big team of us, we would probably try to build an ingloo big enough for all of us to squeeze into.

The problem we often have is that we become so wrapped up in a snowball war, that we ruin the snow! We make it harder to build.

What flavor of potato chip (crisps) do you like?

One of my biggest weaknesses are vegetable crisps – beetroot, parsnip, sweet potato – but I don’t think that’s what you meant.

If it is potato crisps then a strong Cheese and Onion flavour or Sweet Thai Chilli. But I try not to buy any kind of crisps because they don’t do my waistline any good.

Is there a song that gets stuck in your head every time you hear it?

And whenever it happens it is terrible. It’s like having hiccups that won’t go away. It’s especially bad because I know all the words. Oh my goodness, why on earth have I pressed play? I am going to be singing this for days. It will drive me crazy!!!

Do you prefer stage, television, or movie productions?

The theatre is probably the most exciting. To see a live production on stage is fantastic, especially a musical. But I guess television and movie can often have bigger budgets and utilise an array of special effects and tricks of the camera. They often have a much bigger canvass and can pack in details that would perhaps be wasted on stage. I do admire that.

For example, I first saw the famous musical “Phantom Of The Opera” when I was about seven years old. It was actually Mandy’s husband’s uncle Dean who arranged our coach trip to Manchester to see it. I was absolutely blown away by some of the features of the stage production. It was very exciting. I have seen it so many times here in London with friends who were visiting for the weekend that sometimes I forget how exciting it was that first time.

When the film version of the musical was released my excitement was resurrected. I loved all the detail that could be packed into the bigger canvass. One of my favourite moments from that movie is the song “Prima Donna”. It is the biggest treat of the movie for me. So much is going on in the background – a feast for the eyes which cannot be replicated on the stage sadly.

If you could only have one drink for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I think it would have to be water.

I think I would tire of something with a distinctive flavour.

I drink a lot of water. I know I never tire of it. Although I enjoy them, I could go without other drinks easily.

British, American, Canadian, or Australian English – who does it best?

At the moment, it’s the mellow tones of a Goldfinch speaking Australian English that makes my heart flutter.

I am not picky about the way words are spelt…as long as we understand each other – and isn’t that what language is all about? I shall not be narking at you about missing vowels or completely different designations for vegetables.

How do you like your potatoes?

I love potatoes pretty much anyway! I love silky buttery pureed or mashed potatoes, I love roast potatoes, I love fondant potatoes. I made potato latkes last weekend which were scrummy. You can’t go too far wrong with potatoes surely!

One of my favourite potato dishes is dauphinoise – which is like a potato gratin with lots of cream and garlic. Sheer delciousness!

What literary character would be your significant other?

I guess Captain Wentworth…

…hmm, should I explain why? In brief…we fell in love, there was a separation, he would not forgive me, I have never been the same since. The agony and frustration of:

• Is there anything that can heal the breach?
• What are his true feelings?
• Is he trying to punish me because he cannot forgive me?
• Does he mean to be so cruel?
• Does he not comprehend that I could never replace him in my heart?

What is your favourite thing to buy at a movie theatre concession stand?

I am going to confess, a cinema ticket costs so much that I normally would not then waste money on sweets and junk food within the cinema. I always have a bottle of water with me and I might sneak my own goodies into the cinema – peanut M&Ms, or Pringles or Butterkist popcorn.

I know from my own experience that food in the dark is not always a success. I once spilt a whole bucket of popcorn when trying to find our seats in the dark. It wasn’t even my popcorn. I was carrying it for a friend, who already had her hands full.

I have been on cinema dates, where the man I was with was keen on loading up with food for the experience. Don’t ask me why! Personally, I find a cinema date much more enjoyable without food to wreak havoc on all possibilities of romance blossoming.

So one guy ordered nachos loaded with cheese and salsa and jalapeno peppers. That was hardly romantic.  But bless him, he was obviously very hungry. It was like being on a date with Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.

Another guy bought a tub of Haagan Daaz ice-cream and tried to spoon-feed me whilst watching the movie, which all got a bit messy. Another young man threw half of his coke on me.

I make the exception for Goldfinch, who is the most wonderful person to sit next to in a cinema – you will have to take my word for it. He likes salty popcorn, I like sweet popcorn. I clearly love him more than he loves me. He wins! We share a bucket of salty popcorn and I think we have shared a coke too.

Oh I did sneak a box of my favourite snack into the cinema once with Goldfinch. He had never tasted anything like them and was not sure at first. But then he gobbled almost the whole box without me getting a look in!

Aaaaah – I will never have the chance to sit next to Goldfinch during a movie at the cinema again! Sigh! But I have his Odean cinema pass and a guest ticket. He told me if I have any male friends that look like him we could go and see a movie together. To be honest, I don’t want to go on any cinema dates, or any other kind of dates with anyone for a long time. Goldfinch is going to be in my system for a long time to come. When I am ready, I might think about agreeing to go out for a drink with someone, but I am not in any rush.