What Foods Would You Take to a Desert Island?

Tonight I was musing about my hypothetical choices for my last meal. Then I returned home to read about Erik M.'s willingness to consider a final menu of a ham salad sandwich on rye, tomato soup, and a single scoop of ice cream with hot fudge. I can't comment on the ham salad at Lagomarcino's, but, like Erik, I would seriously consider hot fudge as the final topping to my final dessert. That is, if I were not able to arrange for any pie.The topic of the last meal has received quite a bit of discussion on the board. It has been the subject of a recent book about the last meals of famous chefs, generously given me by jygach.

Although Mhays has treated us to a "Food Desert" extravaganza, unless I am mistaken, the "Desert Island" scenario has not been fully explored in these pages. Made to choose, say, 3 foods that you would take with you to a desert island, what would these be? The problem seems to be the reverse of the one presented in the "Last Meal" question. In the case of a single meal, one would be free to choose a gallon of whipped cream if one liked, but the circumstances of the Desert Island call for different priorities, practical ones, perhaps. And the mere fact of an indeterminate length of time on the desert island argue in favor of foods that one could tolerate eating on a daily basis for a long time.

So, friends, what 3 foods would you choose to eat if marooned after a 3 hour tour?

Assuming this is a magical desert island where proper refrigeration isn't a problem, wasabi roots are found all over, and the soy sauce trees are ample & always heavy with bottles of Kikkoman, my three desert island foods would be:

1) Cheez-Its for snacking,
2) Assorted sashimi for meals, and
3) Fresh blackberries for the ol' sweet tooth

A weird combo for sure, but these are all foods I could eat & eat & eat for a long time without getting tired of them (judging from past experiences of having eaten & eaten & eaten them without getting tired).

1. cemitas
2. miang kam
3. Italian ice, including the whole cooler from Johnnie's Beef with infinite energy supply

This would be washed down with perpetual micheladas from Xni-Pec and Honest Tea's Peach Oo-la-long.

For most of my life I've had a love affair with cows but in the last 5 years or so I think I've grown to prefer chickens..They are so versatile..You can fry them, grill them, bake them, broil them and even boil them and they're still good. Theres only one way to prepare it in which I hate and thats the dreaded chicken catchatori..Red sauce and chicken do not mix under ANY circumstances.

knowing that I could dig a fire pit, and slow cook or smoke my food:

1) pork
2) beef
3) tequila

An answer from my eight year old son;

1. chocolate
2. apples
3. cheese
4. steak

My list;

1. goat cheese
2. fresh cherries
3. salmon
4. arugula

eggs
flour
apples
potatoes

Beans
Chiles
Tomatoes


Geo

1-miracle whip
2-underwood deviled ham
3 candy corn

Okay seriously
1. soft shell crab
2. fox&obel bread
3. mustard greens

stewed coot wrote:1-miracle whip
2-underwood deviled ham
3 candy corn

Substitute tapioca pudding for the underwood deviled ham and you have my "just kidding" list. I'm still working on my "Ok seriously" list, but right now, I'm gonna go with lemons (for all the fish I get as a freebee, being on a desert island and all), chicken, and tomatoes.

1- Cow - for milk to both drink and preserve as cheese
2- Bull - to help the cow provide meat in the future
3- Beer - to help heal the emotional scars of having to slaughter my own food

Flip

Josephine wrote:the "Desert Island" scenario has not been fully explored in these pages.

We did have a thread about What cookbook you would take to a desert island?. That question I could answer. I'm at a loss on this one.

a better question would be, what would you bring to dessert island?

anyway i'd bring spaghetti and meatballs because i'm simple.

Hmmm...I suppose my answer would be to find foods that can be combined with each other in really versatile ways.

Assuming that the fridge and freezer on the vehicle that maroons me are both in good working order, and are solar powered, I'd say:

Whole Milk (processed in a way that I can make skim, cream, yogurt, and butter)
Eggs (or even better, a few laying hens and a rooster)
AP Flour (maybe self-rising flour would be more practical, I could then give up the baking soda and acids, but it wouldn't be my preference)
Sugar
Lemons or vinegar
Baking soda (also useful if the island is surrounded by jellyfish, yes?)

Though I'd want to consider what forage would be available: Coconuts? Fresh fish? Dulse? Wild Pigs? Ducks? Sea salt?

Hi,

I once was there, in Moscow during the 80's. I brought spices and herbs, because you can have variety in taste with very little effort. For this situation, I would add salt and maybe some chilis. too.

Michelle - you want unprocessed milk to pull off what you need. I suggest asking for a cow.

Regards,

Tell you what, I want to change my options. Given her well-known skills in food deserts, I want to take Michelle, rather than any particular food stuff. She'll keep us well fed. And Sparky too: he can catch the fish in the surrounding ocean!

Geo

Geo wrote:Tell you what, I want to change my options. Given her well-known skills in food deserts, I want to take Michelle, rather than any particular food stuff. She'll keep us well fed. And Sparky too: he can catch the fish in the surrounding ocean!

Geo

Very practical response, though remember her food dessert relies upon nearby mini-marts.

Regards,

Geo wrote:I want to take Michelle, rather than any particular food stuff.

Michele can be pretty tough. You'd probably have to braise her.

Grilled or broiled lobster tails
Strip steak and filet mignon
spaghetti carbonara
apple pie
masala dosa
oatmeal brown sugar and raisins
Ice tea and lemons and good ice
Lemon pound cake
a nice green salad with romaine hold the spring mix