Rankings

Oranges are my favorite fruit, and if I didn't see another one until next winter, I'd be OK with that.

There are a million little decisions through which we can make our lives a smidge happier. Sometimes we may not even know we can make them. Most grapefruit just happens. There it is, showing up in the fruit cocktail.

Grapes are the only part of a fruit salad that stays safe from the tyranny of cantaloupe runoff. People generally prefer grapes once they've been made into wine, but eating table grapes can also be a good time. The grocery store is chock full of them, and although they’re all similarly roundish, they’re not all created equally.

More so than ice cream, a popsicle is the ultimate summer food. It’s the platonic ideal of refreshment in the 98-percent humidity of a train station in a way that dairy will never be. Dairy prefers a breeze.

I grew up on toaster waffles.

I use tahini at every meal, nearly every day. The toasty, creamy sesame seed butter adds depth to everything from vinaigrettes to smoothies to quick breads.

Cheese. Just saying the word makes you smile—and not because photographers ask us to say it when we pose. No, cheese is the miracle that makes pizza and quesadillas and cheeseburgers so delicious and, frankly, it’s even better on its own. But, unfortunately, we can’t stay home all day and gnaw on a half-pound wheel of gouda or emmentaler (or, wait, can we?).