My Philsophies

My Philosophy of Breakfast
Breakfast should be the same thing every day. What it is may change seasonally.

My Philosophy of Meat
Cows are not for eating.

My Philosophy of Fish
All fish are for eating, even shellfish – even though, yes, they are filthy filters for all the ocean’s poo. It's gross. Try not to think about it.

My Philosophy of Wine
Red wine is for drinking. White wine is for cooking. Sparkling wine is for girl parties. Wine is not for chewing, therefore sangria is out.

My Philosophy of Candy
If it’s not chocolate, it’s not candy. The exception to this rule is licorice, both black and red. Candied nuts would be another exception, except they are snacks, not candy. And if they are nuts, they really should be covered in chocolate anyhow.

My Philosophy of Coffee
Strong coffee must be consumed every morning. Espresso can be consumed at the end of a fantastic meal. All other coffee drinking should be reserved for special occasions and special treats.

Coffee requires milk with fat, not skim milk, and does not require sugar. If the coffee is bad, drink it black. It’s a bit more palatable that way.

It’s better to make coffee too strong than too weak. Strong coffee can stand a shot of hot water, but weak coffee just gets dumped down the drain.

Also, “Frappuccinos" are not coffee. They are milkshakes.

My Philosophy of Cheese
The more it resembles tofu, the more I want to eat it. Examples of cheese that resemble tofu are: farmer’s cheese, paneer, quark, haloumi, boricua, buffalo mozzarella, and to a lesser extent chevre, queso fresco, and feta or other eastern European and Greek “farmer’s” cheeses.

All those cheeses are unaged or minimally aged. As for aged cheeses, I still prefer ones that are minimally aged, such as Ementaler, Gruyère, and muenster.

If a cheese is aged much more than three months, it has to be a hard cheese, like Pecorino Romano, which is one of my very favorites.

My Philosophy of Music
Everything recorded by The Beatles and everything recorded by David Bowie before 1990 are songs I would like to sing to at karaoke.

This has nothing to do with food.

My Philosophy of Traveling
I’ve traveled a lot, and I’m proud of it, but now I’m tired of traveling… until I hear Paul Simon with back-up vocals by Linda Ronstadt singing “African Skies,” from the album Graceland, which is Paul Simon’s best album ever, and then I kick myself for not going to Africa while I was living in Europe.

Maybe another time.

Also, traveling is vitally important to expanding one’s tastes.

My Philosophy of Eating
As Michael Pollan notes, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Since 2008, I have been eating a lot more plants. And every morning about a half hour after I’ve had coffee, it shows.