In June of 2008, Neil Pasricha launched his 1000 Awesome Things website. I, along with much of the internet addicted world, was turned onto his site soon thereafter. The backstory and premise is this: Neil was reeling in the after effects of some serious emotional gut punches. Rather than wallow in his sorrow any more than he had to, Neil decided to pick up the pieces and share positive tidbits with the world. If you want to hear the story, you can watch Pasricha’s TED.com talk.
1,000 Awesome Things is a blog and now book(s) that espouses the simple pleasures of life. It’s an amazing collection of items that will tickle your inner child, sooth the oldest of souls, and inspire even the most inglorious of people. His words remind me of something a very talented writer wrote to me not too long ago: “We’re having one of our rare, cloudless days that pelts your skin with sun and envelopes your limbs in a warm breeze peppered with the scent of the salt air.” Reading Pasricha feels like that.
The books just kick ass. Buy The Book of Awesome right now and then buy The Book of More Awesome just as soon as you are done. Even if you aren’t a reader, or even if you’ve heard of this book and decided not to buy it – change that immediately.
So why the mention of this book on a food blog? Well, many of us take pride in the joys that food brings with it. Whether it be the consumption of cake during our formative years, the sharing of a really delicious meal during those early months of courtship, cooking for someone special for the first time, having your parents make it “just the way you like,” late night snacks, or that momentary smile brought about by “that bite.” 1,000 Awesome things has a TON of food moments.
So here is a list of those food related moments from 1000 Awesome Things. Pretty cool that Neil can’t go more than a few days without mentioning food! Keep in mind, we still have another 184 things to hear from Neil as I’m writing this!
All this simply proves something I’ve felt for a long long time: food is awesome!
#192 A la moding anything
#195 Burps that taste good
#197 Chugging cold milk after chocolate cake
#200 Actually making the right amount of spaghetti
#202 Pulling a shrimp out of its shell with your teeth without the tail breaking off
#203 When everything you’re cooking gets done at the same time
#214 Eating a taco without anything falling out
#218 Drinking from the hose
#225 Peeling a hard boiled egg and getting a big chunk of shell all at once
#239 That bite with all the toppings in it
#241 When everyone you’re eating with at the restaurant agrees you made the best choice
#242 When the mug you’re warming up in the microwave stops with the handle pointing towards you
#246 When you’re looking for a friend at the grocery store and then suddenly spot them at the end of an aisle after running all over the place
#247 Drinking anything besides wine out of a wine glass
#249 Putting a slice of lasagna on a plate and having it stay all together
#251 When none of the peas fall off your fork on the way to your mouth
#254 Finding a chocolate egg way after Easter
#255 That guy who brings treats to work on Friday
#257 Eating a free sample of something you have no intention of buying
#262 The smell of the barbecue
#276 Waiters and waitresses who know the menu really well
#283 Eating the thing you’re cooking while cooking it
#295 Location based snacks
#303 All the food that comes out of a pig
#307 The Sniff Test
#314 Watching bartenders work really fast
#323 The sound of a freshly cracked egg hitting a hot frying pan
#329 Twisting the lid off the jar after nobody else could
#333 The day your cafeteria serves the best food they got
#334 The first meal you eat after a cold
#336 Getting the perfect ketchup to fries ratio
#344 Lazing on the couch after a big holiday feast
#348 That moment near the holidays when there’s suddenly cookies, chocolate, and candy everywhere
#351 Drinking with Grandma
#363 Correctly guessing the secret ingredient
#373 When you think you’re out of candy but find one more left in the package
#392 Catching the ice cream truck
#397 Eating the first freshly baked cookie from the oven even though it’s way too hot
#410 Edible dishes
#416 When you try cooking something new and everyone likes it
#418 Carrying the ice cube tray you just filled up all the way back to the freezer without spilling
#430 Eating ridiculous things for breakfast
#434 Pizza soulmates
#435 Food ogling
#455 Digging a hole in your mashed potatoes and filling it up with gravy
#459 Forks
#463 The sound of a cork popping
#466 Using milk instead of water
#471 The moment at the bar when everyone starts singing together
#474 When someone who doesn’t like pizza crust gives you their pizza crust
#475 When your guests do the dishes even after you told them not to
#476 Biting off the last piece of the popsicle without losing any of it
#481 Licking all the flavor off your fingers
#494 Cutting your sandwich into triangles
#501 Picking the fastest moving line at the grocery store checkout
#502 Fully justifying whatever terrible thing you’re eating
#524 When your fries order has a few onion rings stashed in the mix
#534 Catching food in your mouth
#542 Wrong colored foods
#543 That separate compartment in your stomach for dessert
#559 Getting to McDonald’s right when they’re switching from breakfast to lunch
#563 Watching cream go into coffee
#575 When the guy with a full cart of groceries lets you go ahead because you’re only buying one thing
#579 Eating the ice cream stuck to the lid of the carton
#582 When the guy at the deli counter gives you a free taste
#586 That one old guy in the grocery store who knows exactly where everything is
#592 Your mom’s scrambled eggs
#595 Anything on tap
#606 The Kids Table
#613 Your tongue
#626 Riding home with a box of pizza on your lap
#627 When your friends working in fast food restaurants give you a little extra
#639 Carrying all the groceries in from the car in one big trip
#643 The sound of steaks hitting a hot grill
#657 Memories of McDonaldland
#665 Fitting every last thing in the dishwasher
#667 Tips
#672 When you drink from a bottle of water that’s been sitting for a while and you hit the cold, insulated spot in the middle
#677 When you’re awkwardly standing by yourself with a full cafeteria tray of food and then suddenly spot your friend waving at you
#678 Sneaking cheaper candy into the movie theater
#679 Old school sugar cereals
#683 Finding a Styrofoam container with last night’s restaurant dinner in your fridge
#692 Eating the crusts of the sandwich first to save the middle part for last
#693 Waking up really thirsty in the morning and finding a glass of water you can reach from your bed
#697 When chopsticks come apart perfectly
#709 Waking up to the smell of sizzling bacon
#719 Shoving handfuls of popcorn in your mouth really fast and spilling it everywhere
#721 Drinking anything through the little hole in a coffee stirrer
#726 Eating the part of the cookie that fell in the milk
#734 When the free bread they bring you at the restaurant is warm
#740 Drinking those little ice crystals floating in your freezing cold glass of Coke
#745 When someone gives you their last piece of gum
#749 The quiet satisfaction of settling the group bill after dinner
#756 Getting the booth side of a restaurant table
#760 Really, really selling it while barbecuing
#761 Eating the extra fries at the bottom of the bag
#762 The moment at a restaurant after you see your food coming from the kitchen and before it lands on your table
#770 Grabbing the cereal bowl with both hands and slurping up all the sugary milk
#777 Reading the nutritional label and eating it anyway
#782 Mixing cookie batter with your bare hands
#789 Putting potato chips on a sandwich
#793 All the food that comes out of a cow
#808 Coming home after a long day to the smell of someone cooking dinner
#816 When the late-night pizza order arrives really, really early
#830 Salt
#833 Pouring a drink where the bubbles go right to the top but not over
#839 Really good candy with your bill at a restaurant
#846 Sneaking McDonald’s and hiding the evidence
#852 The smell of the coffee aisle in the grocery store
#853 When your microwave pops microwave popcorn perfectly
#856 The Perfect Chicken Wing Partner
#860 When the vending machine gives you two things instead of one
#863 The Perfect Egg Crack
#864 Mastering the art of the all-you-can-eat buffet
#869 Slurping hot soup on a cold night
#870 When you get the milk to cereal ratio just right
#874 The Five Second Rule
#882 A good floss after a tough steak
#887 Talking about how much the meal you’re eating at home would cost at a restaurant
#893 Orange slices at half-time
#899 The smell of frying onions
#902 Roasting the perfect marshmallow
#906 Drinking a glass of cold water right after eating ice cream
#908 Peeling an orange in one shot
#909 Bakery air
#911 Getting served breakfast in bed
#915 When there’s leftover cake in the office kitchen
#927 A really cold glass of water on a really hot day
#928 Eating foods you loved when you were a kid
#930 Finally getting a piece of popcorn that’s been stuck in your teeth all day out
#933 The first scoop out of a jar of peanut butter
#935 Eating cookies like Cookie Monster
#941 The Universal Fry-Sharing Policy
#949 Ordering off the menu at fast food restaurants
#953 When cashiers open up new check-out lanes at the grocery store
#965 Building a stack of pancakes that looks just like the front of the box
#968 Barbecue lighters
#972 Any food that requires Wet-Naps and a stack of napkins to eat
#978 Putting the toppings on a hot dog bun before the hot dog
#983 That pile of assorted beers left in your fridge after a party
#984 Eating the last piece of dessert somebody left at your house
#985 Eating things past the expiry date
#987 Picking the perfect nacho off someone else’s plate
#992 Being the first table to get called up for the dinner buffet at a wedding
#994 Waiters and waitresses who bring free refills without asking
#999 That last, crumby triangle in a bag of potato chips
#1000 Broccoflower
