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I went to a talk she gave last night while on tour for her new book. She read selections from it as well as taking questions from the audience. I'm not sure that I'll read it since it would be preaching to the choir but she came across as very genuine and invested in what she was advocating. Unlike many localvores, veg*ns, or environmentalists she does not sound shrill or preachy despite her obvious leanings. Her arguments are not those of doom and gloom but rather that moving towards a lifestyle such as the one she details opens up many opporunities to find joy in life and reconnect with community. It is also heartening to hear that her family will not be abandoning their new lifestyle just because the year is over.

I have a recipe for a whole wheat beer bread that takes an hour from start to finish. It's 100% straight forward and I'm amazed how tasty it is. Killer toast also.

If anyone reading this has not tried a toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you absolutely must before replying. Toasted PB&J is one of those things you crave that nothing else can satisfy.

I'm pretty new to the whole cocktail idea, and my two favorites are a good stiff G&T or gimlet. I have no taste for sweet drinks and so I don't have much luck getting drink suggestions from friends. Still, I'd like to pick up a few ideas of other drinks to order at the bar. Also appreciated would be ideas for cocktails to make at home that don't require many special ingredients or equipment (G&Ts are great like that!). Thanks for any suggestions!

I'll second that vote for Alton Brown's chewy recipe. It isn't a 'different' chocolate chip cookie; just a damned good one. The Recipe

There is a wonderful carrot and parsley salad in "Moosewood Cooks at Home". It's basically shredded carrot, a ton of chopped parsley, and a dressing of lemon, garlic, and cumin. The parsley-cumin combination is really delicious; slightly smokey and sharp. PM me if you would like the recipe, but it's pretty easy to improvise.

I had a similar experience in college in that I because deeply interested in cooking despite my roomates' utter lack of similar values, tastes, or understanding. They never got into it along with me, but it was fairly obvious why. Both came from a background of boring, least common denominator food; a mixture of both mediocore home cooking, low end restaurants, and packaged food. More than anything though, I think that my interest in cooking comes from growing up with a homecooked meal every single night. A meal that we sat down, as a family, to eat and talk over. I didn't recognize its value at the time, but that isn't the point. Now, years later, all of these things I make, and even just the act of cooking, links me to those times and those people. When we reunite we share our new recipes, and sit down to eat a meal. It's sort of a lifelong storyline. Even though I am cooking for myself most of the time it stems from that expectation that food should be something you cook yourself not out of duty but because that is what food is. If it's something new and wonderful, I can look forward to sharing it with friends and family. I suppose my argument would then be, if you come from a background where food was just food or, even worse, something to be ashamed of, then it is harder to take an interest in cooking. If it was of poor quality it becomes even harder. Food's significance and importence is hard to describe and, like language, it's hard to pick up after you've gotten past a certain age. As soon as our culture chose convenience as its number 1 priority we started a self perpetuating cycle of kids not having the basic 'food education' and in turn not passing it on to their children.

This one is too easy. It was at my grandmother's house, but it wasn't her cooking. She is a wonderful cook, it's just that on that day she had guests, generous guests from Virginia. My parents, sisters and I all went to her house for dinner. The guests had brought a real delicacy that night I was informed: real Virginian salted ham. "Oh boy", I thought, "I love ham!". After the first bite I quickly began to suspect I was the butt of some cruel joke. This wasn't food, it was solid sodium. After bite number two my suspicions were edged out by the gurgling I was beginning to feel in my stomach. I jumped up and took a few lurching steps from the table before vomiting all over the lawn. My body was taking drastic measures to ensure none of that vile substance remained inside of me. Ugh, the taste of that ham was like slightly porky sea water. Perhaps saltier. I excused myself profusly, explaining I had been at a movie earlier in the day and probably eaten too much candy. I hadn't actually had any, of course, but it would be rude to point out just how vile that speciman was. I think I earned permenant good-behavior points with my parents for that one. My mom confided later that she had barely choked her way through her half piece.

?? Is that something you could typically get in those European places listed? The only place I've ever had whale meat is Iceland - and haven't seen it in any other country I've been to in Europe....although I haven't been to Norway and I guess I've never specifically looked for it, either. As for my suggestion (not particularly unique or exciting) but you should try foie gras in France - depending on where you're from and if it's banned there. And, agree with Si on the Epoisses. cheese, cheese, cheese! ← I know that Norway has it, along with a limited whaling industry. I saw it for sure in the fish market of Trondheim last summer, though I image you would find it in Bergen, Oslo, etc. It's impressive looking stuff; almost black in appearence and expensive as sin:)

For years I've made hot chocolate with the basic components of cocoa powder, mlik, and sugar with variations on that base. I've tried milk powder, skim, 1%, 2% etc. depending on what I have in the fridge. For all the permutations as the cocoa cools it forms a 'skin' on its surface. Generally it forms once, you scoop it off, and it never really reappears. I'm guessing this is something due to the protein in the milk. Is there a technique that eliminates the formation of this? It doesn't affect the task but it can sure supprise you when you take a sip and this mess gets stuck on your lip...

The perfect late night snack! I generally don't like cereal for breakfast; I don't find it filling enough unless it's a heavier cereal like grapenuts. If it's later on though, and all I want is something a little less substantial and crunchy, cereal is hard to beat. Often it's a competition between "Do I want toast ... or cereal..."

Well, I suppose this will be my first post I'm planning on making a batch of this in the next couple of days. I have two questions first regarding the ingredients: 1. I could not find brown bean paste. I did find broad bean paste and when I asked the clerk he said they were the same thing. The only ingredients are "beans" and "salt" so it's a fairly simple product. Was the clerk right? 2. I could not find the ground szechwan pepper. I did find whole dried szechwan pepper however. Will this work if I just grind it up or do I need to toast it first? Many thanks; this looks delicious!