oral fixation

Oh.  No.  Kate Spade sample sale.  Trouble beckons.  Well, it would if I had more money.  If I had another couple hundred bucks I could totally almost justify it to myself.  Especially because there is a bag named after my alma mater.  And in our school color!  Sigh.  I am coveting hardcore.  And I only just got over the Coach Factory sale.  (Which, in Coach's defense, is a way better deal - sorry KS!)

So two quick things.  Something dessert-y to come tomorrow.
First - I don't know about you guys, but I go through food fixation phases (score for alliteration!).  I went through a serious pickle phase while in college, and a (shut up, yes I know the next one will make some of you - boyfriend included - go ew) A1 steak sauce phase when I was around 11 or 12.  I've had bread and dip fixations, caper fixations (after many many years of caper hatred), buffalo sauce fixations, jam fixations (I'm pretty sure having five or six jars of different jams qualifies as having a problem), cilantro fixations, lemon (both sweet and savory uses) fixations, and Biscoff spread fixations (and before you think I'm jumping on the Biscoff bandwagon, I was eating that stuff well before it blew up across the food blogging world).  I still like (love even) all of these flavors, I just don't need everything I eat to be slathered in A1 or topped with pickles (including pickle flavored chips and cashews).  For the most part I'm more about variety and the spice of life and whatnot, although occasionally I need something spicy or tangy to accompany everything I eat in a week and will plow my way through a bottle of Frank's buffalo wing sauce.  It's true.  Some weeks I DO "put that shit on everything".  And sometimes all I can think about are capers, and build entire meals around them.
I love foods that are tasty by themselves but are also blank canvases in a way.  Like mac and cheese.  I have been having a love affair with mac and cheese since I was knee high to a grasshopper.  I eat significantly less of it these days because A) it is not so forgiving to my thighs and B) boyfriend thinks it is gross.  Don't ask.  I don't get it either.  Now some days all I want is plain mac and cheese (the ULTIMATE in comfort food, it's like eating a hug, if I'm eating mac and cheese I probably just want a snuggle buddy, and hugs and kisses) - either homemade or Velveeta reduced fat if I'm feeling lazy and guilty about my calorie intake.  But other days (like today) I want to gussy it up a bit.  Sometimes I stir in some canned tomatoes, some days turkey dogs, some days capers (by far the most winning combo in the list), some days buffalo sauce and a sprinkling of blue cheese.  But I was a little limited in ingredients today - that is on the whole I'm trying to buy fewer processed foods (and yes I know, Velveeta is a ridiculously processed food, I'm not dumb, but I AM willing to give in to a craving) so all I really had on hand was some fresh herbs.  Cilantro.  CilAAANNNtro.  I would rub it all over the house if I thought boyfriend wouldn't put the kaibosh on that.  It smells completely fantastical.  The smell alone reminds me of hundreds of tasty meals I've had.  Thai.  Mexican.  Things boyfriend turns up his nose at.  Yum.  And the taste...oooh baby.  I know cilantro is kind of a controversial herb.  Let's just say I have NEVER met anyone with blinding hatred and disgust for basil or rosemary or dill; cilantro on the other hand...I have met individuals (plural) that won't touch anything they even think has touched cilantro.  It boggles my mind how someone could refuse that earthy, pungent goodness.  Oh well.  More cilantro for me.  So that's what went into the mac and cheese today, and ooohhh it was sooo complimentary.  I get shivers just thinking about it again.
So there's that.  I think I was going to tell you about something else too.  Maybe the steak teriyaki?  Hmmm... well I could, but I haven't actually eaten it yet.  It's still marinading away in my fridge with some more cilantro. And Soy Vey Teriyaki sauce (only the best there is!), a little soy sauce, worcestershire, fresh lime juice and zest, brown sugar, and a splash of rice wine vinegar.  I have high hopes for this.  Although I haven't decided if it's going on the GF (George Foreman) or just in a pan.  Probably GF, although let me tell you, that thing is a bigger pain in the behind to clean than I ever anticipated.