Who knows if it's growing older, or a change in eating habits that alters our tastes, or if it's the evolution of the very buds themselves, but our sense of what we like best to eat really does change with time. What was once odious to my palette is now awe-inspiring (raw onions, blue cheese). Which leads me to the roasted red pepper and its friend, the cheese of a goat.

Not so very long ago I was not so much a fan of either. I asked for roasted red peppers to be taken off a lamb sandwich once and the chef looked at me incredulously. He had every right, bien sur. Likewise, I used to think goat cheese was overused and overrated and too sweet. Do not ask me what was wrong with me, as these previous, staunchly held perceptions seem positively insane-o to me, now that I am in the full rapturous throes of a love affair with the two.

It started with a sandwich that I ate in the park one sunny day on a blanket. I probably could have fallen in love with sawdust, so ripe was the setting for romance, but it was this red pepper and goat cheese sandwich that did me in. I was so distracted, so much a goner, that my attention was completely stolen from whom the bell was about to toll. And then I just laid in the shade, hand on contented belly. 

Back in my kitchen on a Sunday night, standing corrected, it was time to make the next day's lunch.  Salad was up at bat, and I believe there is a triumvirate of ingredients for perfect salads. Take a fruit or a vegetable; add a sprinkling of complementary cheese; top with a handful of toasted seeds or nuts (while this formula works, it need not be strictly adhered to). So with my goat cheese and roasted red pepper in confirmed seats on this lunchtime flight to Deliciousville, there was only one thing to add: toasted pecans. Believe me when I tell you there were no delays or turbulence before reaching our destination.  --Sarah McColl

The comments want to know what foods you once hated but now live for.

Roasted Red Pepper, Goat Cheese, and Toasted Pecan Salad
Serves 1

½ 5 oz. container of mixed greens (you'll use this as your "lunchbox"--how's that for recycling?)
1 red bell pepper
1 oz. crumbled goat cheese
1 handful pecans

Turn the flame on one of your burners up to medium and set the red pepper right on top. Let it sit there until that side is charred and black. Then rotate the pepper to char on the other sides. Once it is black all around, remove it from the heat and place it in a paper bag until cool enough to handle. 

While you are waiting for the pepper to cool, place a pan over low heat and toast the pecans until they start to release their oils and are quite fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and coarsely chop.

With the pepper cooled off, slip the charred skin right off and thinly slice the pepper, discarding the ribs and seeds. Add to the mixed greens along with the goat cheese and pecans, and toss with your favorite vinaigrette.