baroness

Foreign Policy magazine has produced its first-ever Food issue, with articles such as 'Eat, Drink, Protest,' 'The Baguettes of War,' and 'How Food Explains the World'. HERE is a link to their online content.

As suggested above, your best bet may be paint - match the walls to blend it in, or choose an accent color. I have the original/silver color, black, and white in various rooms. The white feels much less 'industrial' than the others.

Eggs were generally smaller in those (pre-factory) days. Some of my mother's favorite recipes from the classic red & white Betty Crocker binder of the 1950's actually specify egg sizes - usually Small or Medium. Therefore, you may need a bit more dry ingredients (or less egg). You may be overmixing as you suspected; older mixers were not as powerful as today's.

I'm with you. Only water - and tea, if there is a caffeine 'emergency' - are consumed in MY car!

I use a large, shallow bowl or platter of fruit that needs ripening (pears, for example), or items that are best stored at room temperature (tomatoes) or can tolerate it (lemons).

That's true here as well. Some of the grocery stores offer a small discount for each bag YOU provide; I think it's 5 cents for reusables and 2 cents for plastic.

"Two peas in a pod, we are (though I'm not allowed to eat peas during Passover . . .)" Is the ban on peas because they are kitniyot?

Pierogi, you've summed up my overall thoughts as well. I hope that Spice Coast doesn't get too far from its roots!

Sure - many lefties and those of us who are ambidextrous!

Switch it to standard for the area - hot on the left. You are not the only one using the faucet - what about the safety of your family and guests?

Richard, I found them in a local Asian supermarket. No matter where I shop, I check out the tea department! BTW, I re-steeped the leaves that I'd used 'western' style and found the second steeping wonderful as well. So, I picked up their Tung Ding and another package of the King Hsuan. I'll be looking for the rest of their line.

According to NECCO Click here!, the candy does contain peanut butter. I don't think I've ever tasted one...

Middle Eastern cuisine may, or may not, be "show-stopping" but is certainly delicious at room temperature: dolmas, tabbouleh and other salads, hummus, spinach & cheese pastries, cheeses, myriad olives...

I brewed my first pot 'western' style - 9 grams/2 rounded tsp. of leaves to about 450 ml of water for 4 min. The leaves were green and indeed in a tight fist shape when dry, but almost fully opened during steeping. The liquor was pale but very aromatic. Delicious!!! tea, with floral notes and a slight toasty base. Now I can see why the booklet included times for multiple infusions. I'll try that soon. According to their literature, this is a fairly new tea: "King Hsuan, also named Formosa Tea No. Twelve, is one of the revolutionary new varieties of tea plants formulated in 1981. It has become famous for its uniquely smooth, sweet, fragrant flavor married with a traditional refreshing aroma. It has a cool, silky texture. Semi-fermented and unscented, King Hsuan draws and extraordinary refreshing flavor. It is masterful integration of modern cultivation and nature." I'm impressed with the quality/price ratio and will most likely try other teas of this brand.

I picked up a 'tin' (round tube with two vacuum-packed bricks within) of JustMake King Hsuan Oolong, a semi-fermented formosa tea recently. The literature included the chart below, with suggested amounts of leaf and steeping times. However, there is no indication of the amount of WATER. Any ideas?

Thanks, Teo. Here is a link to the Italian part of their website, with the same bottle of Delicato I am being offered: Click here!

I haven't had those things in 50 years, but a bag jumped into my cart the other day ... it was very hard to share them. I like the flat, half-moon variety that are prominent in the stores right now for Passover.

I received an 'invitation' to buy six half-liters of Carli EVOO for 29.99, supposedly half-price. Is this oil of decent quality? Their literature reminds me of the Gevalia coffee offers; but I do not see terms for future shipments. Thanks for your thoughts.

Me, too!

The first health food store I visited was Cayol Natural Foods in downtown Minneapolis. It was one of the few places in town to buy almond paste, so my Mom and I were regular clients. They had the most wonderful frozen yogurt (this was before the craze with FY chains, etc.) that actually had the TANG of yogurt. It was refreshing on its own, or with the real fruit/nut/granola toppings.

I like brown sticky/sweet/glutinous rice and brown jasmine rice; I use Sanyo micom/fuzzy logic cookers (usually on the Quick setting, not the Brown setting).

Egg whites are NOT vegan. There are coconut macaroon recipes that contain sweetened condensed milk instead, but that's not vegan either. Several recommended books: Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Dairy-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero The Vegan Scoop: 150 Recipes for Dairy-Free Ice Cream That Tastes Better Than the "Real" Thing by Wheeler del Torro

I find overuse of coloring offensive. Among the 'normal' looking bagels at a reception yesterday, there were aqua/blueberry, pink/strawberry?, and suspiciously vividly yellow/egg culprits.

I inherited my grandmother's Salton tray. Still works like a dream. The Salton trays show up at charity rummage sales fairly often; I have three for hosting buffets.

I am SO stealing that excuse for my huge spice/condiment/cookbook/gadget/small appliance/Fiestaware collections!