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Toronto Star – February 15, 2006 Hopheads unite online The Bar Towel is the online leader of the beer scene in Ontario By Jon Filson --------------- Pudding without the politics By Jennifer Bain Recipe: * Ashura (Noah's Pudding) --------------- Attacked by spices Judy Gerstel reviews Taverna Nikkos in Woodbridge. --------------- Serenity is served at buffet Christian Cotroneo reviews lunch at Mantra on Elm Street. --------------- Jelly can be sophisticated By Susan Sampson Recipes: * Champagne Gelatin * Dark Roast Coffee Gelée --------------- The news on chili powder By Jennifer Bain Recipe: * Ancho & Fennel-Spiced Beef Tenderloin --------------- Hot chocolate coffee a winner in Turin By Susan Sampson Recipe: * Bicerin

You can't get blood from a turnip. Would you like some fries with that shake? That apple didn't fall far from the tree.

Coffee is another product that is harvested by slaves, including children. I prefer paying more money for Fair Trade Certified coffee than non-certified coffee, and I would gladly do the same for chocolate. I don't think any human being, regardless of age, should be beaten or abused just so that I can buy cheap stuff. Unfortunately, not everything is labeled (yet), and for many people (including me) it is easy to not think about what isn't right in front of us.

Boston Globe – February 8, 2006 Win a heart with chocolate With Valentine's Day fast approaching, we put six mail-order cakes to the test -- and found a few that had us swooning By Joe Yonan, Globe Staff --------------- Charcuterie holds cure for run-of-the-mill meals By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff --------------- SHORT ORDERS Koo Koo kachoo Middle East treat Digging for truffles Standard decor, standout fare --------------- In the Market: Pineapple What it is, how to cook it, and where to buy it. Recipe: * Pineapple upside-down cake --------------- The life of the party? Chocolate. By Bridget Samburg, Globe Correspondent --------------- Sifting through sweet complexities By Andrea Pyenson, Globe Correspondent --------------- Recipe: * Caffe Umbra's fudge torte --------------- Making the best of a bland situation Recipe: * Rustic roasted tomato salsa

Toronto Star – February 8, 2006 Fancy fish eggs By Jennifer Bain For more information: * Where to find caviar alternatives --------------- Squash can imitate spaghetti By Amy Pataki, Dining In Recipe: * Pesto Spaghetti Squash --------------- Say it with edible flowers By Jennifer Bain Recipe: * Molten Chocolate Cakes --------------- Tea and chocolates may tickle fancy of fine food lovers By Susan Sampson --------------- Heartbreak Grape is complex By Gordon Stimmell, Gord on Grapes --------------- Lovely liver pleases the heart Recipe: * Sautéed Calf's Liver With Mustard-Shallot Sauce --------------- A beer with roots By Jon Filson, Suck It Back

Toronto Star – February 1, 2006 Sweet on sourdough By Susan Sampson For more information: Tips and Recipes Recipes: * Sourdough Starter * Fail-Proof Sourdough Bread * Sourdough Silver Dollar Pancakes * Ham & Cheese Toasts With Jalapeño Cream --------------- Something for every wine drinker By Gordon Stimmell, Gord on Grapes Includes inexpensive wines to pair with grilled salmon steaks with dill, osso buco or grilled veal chops, or roast lamb with mint sauce or jelly. --------------- Have a Super Bowl of chili By Susan Sampson Recipe: * Turkey Chili with Beer & Lime --------------- A great use for stale bread By Jennifer Bain Recipes: * Papa Al Pomodoro (Stale Bread & Tomato Soup) * Garlic-Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes --------------- South African twist to this burger joint Judy Gerstel reviews Burger Hut on Sheppard Avenue. --------------- A helping of nostalgia Christian Cotroneo reviews lunch at Patris Restaurant on Danforth Avenue. --------------- Pancakes with lemon lift Recipe: * Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Boston Globe – February 1, 2006 Ready, click, eat! Students study their meal delivery options By Joe Yonan, Globe Staff Nine Emerson College students put websites that offer local restaurant delivery to the test. --------------- Dried corn is a sweet discovery By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent Recipe: * Creamed dried sweet corn --------------- Sofrito gives food a rich Latin accent By Lisa Zwirn, Globe Correspondent Recipes: * Spanish sofrito * Stuffed squid with caramelized onions * Pollo al chilindron --------------- Mixing mushrooms makes a festive and flavorful dish Recipe: * Mushroom ragu --------------- For sweet winner, toss dried fruit into the mix Recipe: * Fig, golden raisin, and date focaccia --------------- Exotic mushrooms Where they are, how to use them, and where to buy them. Recipe: * Sauteed shiitake caps

I think that any restaurant other than diners ought to have a computer on site, so I do think they should be able to whip out a dozen printed sheets of the specials in just a few minutes. But the blackboard works for me too. At least then I can make a mental note of the prices and have an idea of what the server will be telling me. Otherwise, I can never keep the specials straight and end up rarely ordering them. I am terrible at making menu choices. Everything always looks good to me and I often have a difficult time choosing one meal. Not having to rely on hearing and understanding the server helps make my decision easier.

If money was no object, I'd say go Starbucks-y: Pair a clear plastic cup with one of their cardboard sleeves. Instead of the sleeve protecting customers from hot coffee, it would protect them from a cold shake. However, I'm guessing that wouldn't be cheap. I do like the paper cup idea over styrofoam, but that could be just because I am no fan of styrofoam. Shalmanese makes a good point when he talks about taste. Perhaps getting a few of each type of cup and tasting your shakes in them would be a better approach than trying to figure out what looks better. In addition to telling how they taste, you could judge how cold the cup gets and how long the shake holds it shape.

I do think about energy consumption when I prepare food, but it has little to do with saving money. For me, it's about saving electricity so that there is enough to go around for everyone. Especially since dinner preparation usually is done during peak electricity consumption times. Your techniques are about the same as mine. When I am roasting meat, I serve roasted vegetables at the same meal so I can fully utilize the oven. I use the microwave and toaster oven for small portions. I also have a small oven so that I am not using unnecessary energy preparing food for only two people. This is a really good point. I'm thinking about using my small chest freezer again for this purpose. It will allow me to grow more food and buy more from local farmers' markets in the summer and fall to freeze for use all winter. Although this will up my consumption of electricity, in the long run it will save because, as you pointed out, I'll be eating more food grown locally rather than imported from other countries.

I usually know in my head how much a restaurant bill should be and only look at it good if it is higher or lower than I expected it to be. If there was a problem with the meal, such as never receiving an item I ordered, I do check the bill to be sure I didn't get charged for it. Grocery stores and "super" department stores that sell food are the worse. Things scan wrong often, and sometimes -- depending on the store -- you are treated as though you are a criminal trying to get a lower price. When things scan wrong, often the cashier cannot fix it so you have to go to customer service. Then they send a clerk to check the price on the shelf, because you obviously wanted to wait in line for ten minutes to scam them out of $1.00. But I suppose these stores know what they are doing. When my mom worked at a grocery store (more than a few decades ago), the owner kept a broom leaning up against the checkout area. The cashiers were instructed to charge everyone for the broom, and when someone complained that the broom wasn't theirs, to refund the money immediately. The owner knew a certain percentage would pay for the broom and either never figure it out or never both to get their money back. I think it's the same with this big chain stores -- they know a certain percentage of people will not notice incorrect scans, and of those that notice a certain percentage won't bother waiting ten minutes at customer service for an error of a dollar or two. But fortunately not all stores are like this, and I do business with those that don't make customers jump through hoops to get small errors corrected.

I really like the latest version of the logo! My only comment is that the H in Hamburgers is a little close to the 9. Maybe you could make the space between them a tiny bit bigger or shorten the H a tiny bit. Very nice!

Boston Globe – January 25, 2006 Just like Lao Lao used to make Creating Chinese dumplings is all in the family By Alison Arnett, Globe Staff --------------- A noodle master gets in the swing By Diana Kuan, Globe Correspondent --------------- Throw a dumpling party, let the guests do the work By Kimberly W. Moy, Globe Correspondent Recipes: * Mushroom dumplings * Chinese dumplings Boston-area restaurants where the dumplings are made in-house: * Oh my dumpling --------------- Joy of Baking: In a French classic, meringue sails on a sea of custard By Andrea Pyenson, Globe Correspondent Recipes: * Floating island * Floating island pudding --------------- About plonk Plonk of the Month: New wave Spanish reds Includes five $10-and-under red wines from Spain. --------------- In the Market: Quail What it is, how to cook it, and where to get it. Recipe: * Quail with cider --------------- Six simple rules for better, more satisfying wine drinking By Stephen Meuse, Globe Correspondent --------------- Menuspeak: Sunchokes

Hi Sara, Once cooks go from diligently following printed recipes to experimenting and developing their own, they usually need a way to organize these creations. I've tried keeping recipes in word processing documents in various folders, in software such as MasterCook, and in three-ring binders. While any one of these methods is adequate, none have been ideal. Do you have any tricks of the trade for organizing recipes and notes (as well as comments from tasters) while in the development stage? Thank you for being here this week!

Toronto Star – January 25, 2006 Wine lovers' lament Le Sélect Bistro's move sparks two-year tangle with bureaucracy By Christopher Hutsul --------------- Chinese feast an adventure in eating By Susan Sampson --------------- Japanese rice burgers join our foodscape By Jennifer Bain --------------- A cheeky way to braise beef By Jennifer Bain, Trendspotting Recipe: * Braised Beef Cheeks --------------- Go over to the Dark side By Jon Filson, Suck It Back --------------- Bordeaux faces off against Canada By Gordon Stimmell, Gord on Grapes --------------- Parsnip soup in touch with roots Our restaurant critic heads into her kitchen to launch this new cooking column By Amy Pataki Recipe: * Parsnip Ginger Soup --------------- Test kitchen recipes By Jennifer Bain Recipes: * Puffy Corn Omelette * Roman Egg Drop Soup

I should have put in my previous post that I still like No. 9. I really liked the logo, and I'm not sure it would work as well with the other names. Testing the potential names on people who live in the area might help.

I'm not sure I like Magus... I wouldn't want someone to misunderstand a friend and think it was Maggots Burgers. (Of course, maybe I am pronouncing Magus wrong...) I like Brooklyn Burger Co. I'm not sure about McGirt's Hamburgers but you could shorten it to Girty's Burgers -- I like that.

I agree that there is no substitution for experience, but I think the college experience can be as important as real-life experience. Everyone is different, but for me college gave me the foundation to build my life experiences on. I don't think the life experiences would have been as helpful to me if I hadn't done the college thing first. (And as an added bonus, a college degree helped me get good jobs in the publishing industry to add to my experience, and the cushy temp jobs in between writing assignments.) I took as many journalism and writing classes as I could, including creative writing. I also took a wide variety of electives -- economics, anthropology, art history, and more -- basically anything that interested me. I think when you know a little bit about a lot of things, it helps you see subject matter from a lot of different angles which can help keep your perspective as a writer fresh and appealing.

Boston Globe – January 18, 2006 And on Sundays, she cooks some more In her new cookbook, Suzanne Goin lays out leisurely weekend meals By Joe Yonan, Globe Staff Recipes: * Braised beef short ribs with Swiss chard * Chocolate stout cake --------------- Recipes: * Chicken on a bed of vegetables * Blood orange, date, Parmesan, and almond salad * Potato puree * Guinness ice cream --------------- She'll teach your kids to cook By Emily Schwab, Globe Correspondent Recipe: * Gingerbread kids --------------- In the Market: Chestnuts What they are, how to use them, and where to buy them. Recipe: * Chestnut soup --------------- Joy of Baking: Sweet scents enhance a rich pound cake By Lisa Yockelson, Globe Correspondent Recipe: * Aroma-of-spices pound cake --------------- Two chefs give meatloaf new life By Mara Zepeda, Globe Correspondent Recipes: * Turkey meatloaf * Chipotle meatloaf --------------- Swedish anchovy dish is a smorgasbord must By Lisa Zwirn, Globe Correspondent Recipe: * Janssons frestelse (Jansson's temptation)

Toronto Star – January 18, 2006 Turkish Toronto By Jennifer Bain For more information: * Turkish Toronto resources Turkish recipes * Red Lentil, Bulgur & Mint Soup (Ezogelin Çorbasi) * Sultan's Delight (Hünkar Begendi) * Saffron-Pistachio Semolina Helva (Irmik Helvasi) --------------- One Turkish potato with the works, please By Jennifer Bain --------------- Good taste at a fine price By Gordon Stimmell, Gord on Grapes Stimmell reviews inexpensive wines to pair with lasagna or manicotti, shellfish, breaded chicken, and lamb curry over rice. --------------- Scots have no fear of frying Judy Gerstel reviews High Street on Underhill Drive. --------------- This cherry beer pours pretty By Jon Filson, Suck It Back --------------- Eating well and losing weight Susan Sampson reviews Rose Reisman's Secrets for Permanent Weight Loss: With 150 Delicious and Healthy Recipes For Success. Recipe: * Southwestern Rice, Beans & Charred Corn Salad --------------- Its heart beats Greek Christian Cotroneo reviews lunch at Laterna Dining Room on Yonge Street.

Said, "If the melon is too hard, we're all in trouble." Or, "That's a new type of bagel that's a bit harder on the outside than the usual bagel. Our cafeteria is on the cutting edge of culinary trends!" Or, "Now that the wall has had a snack, how about the rest of us?" Well, actually my response probably would have been tailored to the situation. If the bagels were an error on the cafeteria's part (for example, if you were expecting an egg dish and suspect the stale bagels were an attempt for the cafeteria to cover their mistake) I would have done what Lone Star suggested and sent someone for fresh food. If I didn't think it was an error on the cafeteria's part, I would have just ignored him and invited everyone else to have something to eat. Afterwards, I would have talked to my boss to figure out what to do the next time that guy was expected for a meeting that involved food -- or suggested that the boss not set meetings with this guy around a mealtime.

At $250, this bar code system does not seem like it would work for me as we don't eat a lot of prepackaged foods. Even cereals and such items often come from the bulk bins at the natural foods store. But I would like an inventory management system that could scan my grocery store receipts, manage my pantry and freezer supplies, and create suggested shopping lists for me. I also would like a personal assistant to do the work for me, so I'll add that to my wish list as well.

Boston Globe – January 11, 2006 Cute on a bun Bite-size burgers are adorable, and they're all the rage Includes a list of places in Boston to get a good mini burger. --------------- How they began Mini burgers: what goes into them and where they're great. --------------- An American burger in Tokyo By Debra Samuels, Globe Correspondent --------------- In a real pickle, and loving it For the owners of two area businesses, everything's coming up cucumbers By Jonathan Levitt, Globe Correspondent --------------- Rice pudding worthy of the gods Recipe: * Sweet pongal pudding --------------- Sweet and meaty, down to the bone Recipe: * Maple-glazed pork ribs --------------- This gooey British pie is worth the wait By Jane Dornbusch, Globe Correspondent Recipe: * Banoffee pie --------------- In the Market: Grapefruit What it is, how to use it, and where to buy it. Recipe: * Grapefruit and avocado salad --------------- Eating their words

Toronto Star – January 11, 2006 Coffee without borders Who doesn't love a bracing cup - or two, or three - of coffee? In Toronto, we have a world of java choices By Surya Bhattacharya --------------- Collaborative wine By Gordon Stimmell, Gord on Grapes --------------- For those about to cook, we salute you By Jennifer Bain Recipes for comfort foods: * Pork Chops Braised With Spiced Honey And Grapes * Garam Masala-Crusted Chicken With Fig Jus * Spicy Long Beans * Warm Lentil Salad With Sausage * Apple Crostata --------------- `Aristotle of beers' By Jon Filson, Suck It Back --------------- Moosewood relieves the pressure Jennifer Bain reviews Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers: Fresh Ideas for the Weeknight Table.

I made a cookbook for a friend of mine whose kids and grandkids were bugging her for her recipes. I did it as a booklet -- 8.5x11-inch paper folded in half -- and had a print shop copy, fold, staple, and then trim the ends so they were even. Another thing print shops can do is a comb binding which can be nice since the cookbook could lay flat while being used. For paper, I used I used card stock for the cover. For printing, print shop photocopier work well as their photocopies usually are very high quality. Binders also would be nice. You can get binders that let you put in a cover and a spine. I used a binder when I did one cookbook for a friend, and recently I printed up a bunch of new recipes in the same format for her to add to the binder. If your family might get bigger, or you might want to add recipes for another reason, this might work well. Good luck, and have fun!