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That's kind of like the "World's Shortest Giant" argument?

That's kind of like a "World's Tallest Midget" compliment?

Or else insinuate yourself onto My Christmas Gift List? SB

I think I read this in the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook? One of the biggest compliments you can pay a Southern baker is to say they have "a good biscuit hand", meaning they possess that special feel to cut in just the right amount of fat to produce flacky light biscuits. SB (who is personally "all biscuit thumbs" )(except dog biscuits )

Chefs has them. Try Penneys too, since they have some sort of cross-branding deal with Chefs. SB

The way the World changes so fast today it's hard for us to imagine thousands of years going by with very little discernible progress being made in eating, or any other aspect of life. The way I look at it, the process of evaluating natural substances for their utilization didn't start from scratch in every instance, but itself evolved over many generations. If a new berry, leaf, mushroom or even animal was encountered, people drew upon their knowledge of the appropriate methods applied to similar berries, leaves, mushrooms and animals. As the basic store of knowledge expanded over the years, the process accelerated exponentially. Advancements in communication, first speech and then writing, further speed up the process by making information transportable. Evolution of anything is a complicated procedure. (ask those poor species that still haven't developed opposable thumbs! ) It depends on, well, everything else. Sometimes finding the best use for a substance is instantaneous, sometimes it takes a while. Turning grain into bread is one of the oldest universal food altering procedures, and it's common throughout the World. Still, I'd guess there were periods of tens or hundreds of thousands of years between the dates these methods evolved in different civilizations? SB (Remember, chocolate was just a drink until about one hundred years ago! )

Sell it on eBay! SB

I just dug into my cupboard and found my saffron. It's Kashmir Mogra Cream Saffron I got from Penzeys. I think it's reputation as exotic and expensive must have intimidated me? Today it sells for $11.49/gram. Not cheap, but no big deal either. I have a recipe for Saffron Bread somebody gave me, so I left the package out where I can easily find it again. SB (also found a bag of nutmegs I forgot I had, and a lot of birthday candles and muffin cups)(saffron and nutmeg birthday cupcakes anyone?)

My favorite stirring and tasting spoon is a very old 9 1/2" (used to be 12") wooden spoon that I use nearly every night. Many years ago I gave these wooden spatulas to my cooking friends for Christmas and I still get compliments on them. SB (wood is good)

Make Steel Cut Oatmeal, aka Irish Oatmeal. Its very hearty! When I have an unusual vinegar flavor I don't care for in regular usage I thin it out with fruit juice and/or water to use as a deglazing liquid. Can't help you with this one. I have some saffron myself that I bought who-knows-how-many years ago and have never used. SB (would be afraid to clean his cupboards )

Although I'm not of Italian descent, it didn't bother me, having read and written stories in a similar vein concerning my own British and Serbian ancestories. Ms Severson's article might be considered a "Rachael-Rayized" version of a serious topic, but I don't think it was intended to be much more than that? SB

Then again, if I were eating a waffle, and the expression "light as a feather" entered my mind unbidden, and I relayed that information to you in writing, it's a legitimate piece of information, trite though it may be. In this instance, perhaps the triteness of this particular waffle-eating experience is exactly what I meant to impart? SB (an exception to a good rule, perhaps, but it's kind of like ....

Homemade are better, in theory. I'm not ashamed to admit that it's a rare day when I can produce a biscuit much better than a right-out-of-the-freezer biscuit by the Pillsbury Dough Dude! SB

"Vast experience" would be appropriate.

Multifaceted? Well-Rounded? Broadly Based? Maybe you can provide the context in which you intend to use the word/phrase? SB

Here's Fannie Farmer's recipe for Boiled Coffee, which uses an egg. Many Old-Timers around here, especially of Scandinavian stock, threw their egg shells into the coffee grounds when they boiled coffee. Then they just kept adding water and grounds. The egg shell supposedly helped neutralize the acid in the coffee. SB (likes strong coffee, but .... )

Here's a recipe for "Birdie Bread" by June DiCiocco of Hideaway Farms in South Carolina that incorporates eggs, shells and all: 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup yellow corn meal 2 tsp baking power 3/4 tsp salt ½ tsp baking soda 1 Tbs sugar 2 eggs with shells 3 Tbs oil 1 cup buttermilk Grease an 8" square pan Mix dry ingredients Wash eggs then pulverize in blender Mix in oil and buttermilk, then mix in dry ingredients Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool and cut into small squares Freeze for storage Optional Additions include Fruits, veggies, peppers, nuts, seeds etc. This is the only recipe I've seen, aside from my Sister's recipe for Dog Brownies, that makes use of calcium rich egg shell. SB

When you realize your favorite discussion board has not just one, but two, threads devoted to an unusual Tutkish candy called "pismaniye"! SB (ain't the internet wonderful! )

I love stories, and I love discussion boards, and I love food stories and food discussion boards, and I'd probably love New York in June, how about you, but I have a hard time adjusting my attention span to read lengthy works on my computer. E-books, which appear to have so much promise, seem to be stuck in the starting blocks, (metaphorically speaking ), possibly for the same reason? I've written several serialized stories on another forum, with mixed results, so I can understand your being somewhat frustrated. I also wonder if maybe most eGullet readers don't feel comfortable offering what amounts to literary criticism, even though they're hardly bashful about blasting Food TV personalities, lousy restaurant service, unhealthy and poor quality foods, etc. I think representing sensuality through food is as legitimate a literary device as expressing sensuality through descriptions of appearance and action, or even by use of dialogue. Expression is expression, in my book. Of course, I love metaphor! SB (appreciates the story, and will make an effort to offer constructive opinions )

Where do you get it? SB (anxious)

Flashback! Flashback! I haven't thought of these in years! Wikipedia notes this confection is also found in Bosnia and Hergonovina, whiich is, due to the ever-changing borders in that region, currently the home of Serbs, so I must have had these many years ago at my Grandma Baich's? I'll check with my cousins who've visited the Old Country in recent years and see what they may know about this. SB (revelling in memory ) PS: YES! They really did "explode"!

I'd say weight.

This theory is quite similar to one advanced by English essayist Charles Lamb in his famous Dissertation on Roast Pig, a work well known to English Majors, and a rather fun read. SB (loves the description, "Bo-bo, a great lubberly boy")

Specifically, as Donovan pronounced it: "E-lec-TREE-cul ba-na-na" SB (can personally attest to the fallacy of the notion )

I just received my first copy of Edible Iowa River Valley, bringing to four the number of regional publications in the Edible Communities Family I've seen. (Edible Twin Cities is my local magazine, and I recieved copies of Edible East Bay & Edible San Francisco from my cousin in Alameda. They share a common format, but even based on my limited exposure, I can tell they all have a distinct local flavor. The Winter 2007 issue of Edible Iowa River Valley contains interesting articles on a Prosciutto maker in Norwalk, IA, buying meat locally and having it custom processed, the somewhat begrudging acceptance of organic meat in rural Iowa, and efforts to reintroduce bison and elk to the State. If I've given you the impression the publication is just about meat, that tells you more about me than the magazine. I will admit though, that it was in the article "Nice to Meat You", (hey, this is Iowa, remember ), by Leah Wilson, that I encountered the word "beeves" for the first time. It's, the plural of beef! The cover photo of a fabulous pig, and several of the other pictures, are the work of the magazine's apparently multi-talented Editor-In-Chief, Chef Kurt Michael Friese, (aka eGullet poster Devotay). I look forward to reading future issues of Edible Iowa, and hopefully obtaining copies of the regional magazines from other members of the Edibles Community. Maybe eGullet members from around the country could organize a trade? SB