Enough with the proselytizing, how about some actual cooking?

Jars

You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the complexity of flavors that develop. There’s a subtle heat, but it’s very well-balanced with the bright sweet and sour notes of plumped up apricots and tangy vinegar. I ate some right away with a couple of nibbles of a fantastic cloth-bound cheddar leftover from Thanksgiving. I’m psyched to plop this on a ham-filled biscuit, and excited to create some gift baskets with a jar of chutney, a nice piece of cheese and some homemade crackers.

Oh, solo me-o: The dish I can’t stop eating

Carbonara. Well, carbonara-ish, minus the bacon…not that I don’t love a good hit of pork product whenever I can get it. When left to fend for myself on these brisk late-fall evenings, carbonara is the answer. Home alone for a couple of quiet hours, I want to kick back, relax and have a nice warm bowl of creamy, peppery noodles. And a glass of red wine. And an episode of Law and Order: SVU.

Dethroned…

Eating becomes a function, a necessary evil, even, as Craigslist, coffee and a multivitamin becomes your breakfast and you aspire to ingest a lunch that maybe, just maybe contains something green- gummy bears notwithstanding- that costs less than $10.

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