Much to my husband’s dismay, I love fruits and veggies. He swears he’s some sort of super-taster and that all fruits and veggies are bitter, but I just think he has an adverse reaction to anything that is good for him.

Obviously, he wouldn’t enjoy this week’s Four Foods on Friday, because he’s crazy anti-veggie man.

1. Fruits and veggies. Do you prefer them peeled or not?

I used to be a strictly peeled fruits and veggies kind of person, and I do occasionally enjoy taking the skin off my apples, but I have learned to love crispy roasted potato skins and peach fuzz.

2. What’s your favorite fresh fruit or vegetable smell?

I don’t think fresh veggies smell all that great, but I’ll take a wiff of a fresh cut watermelon or pear any day.

3. What’s the worst food smell you’ve ever smelled?

When I lived in Indianapolis, I worked in the same building as Oceanaire, and one summer their grease trap backed up and I was never able to eat there again. They had terrific food, but after smelling what the remains of fried fish smell like, I couldn’t stomach it.

4. Share the recipe for the dish that you love to smell cooking in your oven.

Sugar cookies! I made several batches a few years ago, and the house smelled fabulous for days. I’ll have to remember that smell, because sugar cookies are too much damn trouble to make and that fresh baked smell will not be coming from my house again!

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

NOTE: The cookies taste way better when you let the dough chill overnight, and taste even better when you take the time to roll the dough out and cut it into stars and snowflakes. Seriously. It does!

My new foodie lifestyle has led me to discover some great food blogs, one of my favorite being Smitten Kitchen. I read all the recipes, but have never tried to make any of them, because even though they all sound delicious, they all sound a bit uppity, too.

This week, one recipe caught my eye as being extra yummy and not too pretentious, even if the recipe does call for flakey sea salt to sprinkle on top. The Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies look like crispy crunchy oatmeal heaven, and will be my cookie of choice the next time I get the baking bug.

Crispy Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 6 ounces good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.

2. Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape bowl again. Gradually add flower mixture and mix until incorporated Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

3. Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about ¾-inch thickness.

4. Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie

5. Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

Everyone knows that Gulf oysters are amazing little creatures that hold beautiful pearls. How many of us has been suckered into stopping at those little oyster shacks on vacation where you’re guaranteed a pearl in every oyster? It’s so much fun trying to determine which oyster has the biggest pearl or the pink pearl or the black pearl.

Could you imagine if oysters produced other gemstones? A diamond in this one! An emerald in that one! A few ruby’s in the little one over there! A sprinkling of topaz in the oyster hiding in the corner! I’d be dripping in jewels, and I’d have a full stomach, because you can’t let a yummy Gulf oysters go to waste!

The Website BeOysterAware not only has some great tips on who should avoid oysters and why some people should avoid oysters, they have fabulous oyster recipes on how to prepare oysters from raw to fried to grilled. Just because some people should avoid raw oysters, doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy a crispy oyster sandwich or a warm grilled oyster!

You can also learn a lot about how oysters are harvested and processed, and amaze your friend with your oyster knowledge over a fabulous oyster dinner!

I get a lovely email reminder to participate in Four Foods on Friday and I still forgot to get my entry in on time.

1. Bacon. Chewy, crispy or burnt?

Specific situations call for specific bacon. BLT’s get chewy bacon. Breakfast spreads and salads get crispy bacon.

2. Mayonnaise or miracle whip?

If I’m eating out, it’s mayonnaise. If I’m making a sandwhich at home, it’s Miracle Whip. Don’t ask me what the difference is, I’m just fickle.

3. What green vegetable is used in Italian Wedding soup?

I’ve never had Italian Wedding soup, but I know the answer is celery, because there is no vegetable I hate more than celery so I know exactly what recipies it might have snuck into.

4. Share a recipe that you use Italian sausage in.

I’m a newlywed, so give me time to build an arsenel of recipies. For now, I fry up some Italian sausage and add it to a bottle of spaghetti sauce to make it feel like homemade.

I’m a little shocked to admit that the Lean Cuisine brick oven pizzas are pretty tasty. Ten minutes in the oven, and my roasted garlic and chicken pizza was crispy and gooey. Quite enjoyable for dieting!