Despite my nutrition know better, I’m still a burnt foods aficionado. While I totally get carbon and health issues, burnt foods enliven my palate and propel my picks. Maybe why: Burnt’s not taste like bitter, but sensation that tingles your insides—in a respectable way.

I could eat white potatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner—and often do. Fried for breakfast, chipped for lunch and mashed for dinner. Often the reverse.

I ate whole eggs daily and still love a runny yolk. But egg whites? Never. I didn’t get their glamor.

I first ate little fishes on Île de Porquerolles off the Mediterranean coast of France. And then boquerones en escabeche in Spain. And then flying fish in Barbados. And then whitebait in England. And then blue anchovies in Chinese markets.

I never met an artichoke until I first met my mother-in-law. Ata toney French restaurant, no less. Up until then, I didn’t know what an artichoke was or what you did with it.

I know why I don't lust mayonnaise like many of you. My mother used mayonnaise on her hair. And then put the jar back in the refrigerator. Alongside the usable condiments. Ugh!