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Hi Kenji, this sounds delicious! Any thoughts on whether an immersion blender in the soup pot would emulsify the oil as effectively? Thanks!

Hey, Kenji, you know what else is vegan? Apples. Clementines. Bananas. That's what I try to keep around for days when I didn't plan for my lunch.

"Terrycloth is a bad idea" - in more ways than one! Ha!

Always love your articles, Donna. Thanks.

@sourdough - We got two magnetic strips for our knives at Ikea and I LOVE them - they were maybe $15 each.

@Maggie and others, thanks for the Scanpan recommendations! Our nonstick skillets need to be replaced and my hub has been making noises about Scanpans - so this is good to hear! Thanks!

Yay yay yay! A good friend of mine has a herd share and gets a gallon of raw milk every week. She has been out to visit the dairy a few times. Occasionally she will get a second gallon for us, and we make ricotta cheese from it. It is out-of-this-world good. Obviously you have to be careful about your source/supplier, but I find it ridiculous that we have to jump through all these hoops to get an unadulterated product.

I am a recent brussels sprout convert, and this sounds wonderful! The shallots sound like a very nice touch. We roast ours as well, and then toss with a vinaigrette of sherry vinegar, walnut oil, maple syrup, and mustard. I think the recipe came from the Silver Palate cookbook originally.

I always love your articles, Will, but quit hating on my Stillers! (This from someone who gets her sports news from Serious Eats, and yells at the radio if NPR mentions any sport at all, outside of Frank Deford's avuncular weekly musings. Also moved away from Pittsburgh 10 years ago, but no matter.) Go Steelers!

Seriously? SERIOUSLY??? By which I mean: now you tell me? :)

A week ago I went on a little binge at the orchard and picked 45 lbs. of apples. This past weekend, I peeled, cored, sliced, and canned my way through much of it, and I now have six quarts of apple pie filling on the shelf and ready to be pie-d. I picked Granny Smith, Winesap, and Melrose, and it has turned out to be a nice combination.

One comment/question: despite the water and lemon juice bath, I did get a bit of browning on my apples while peeling and slicing. However, the recipe I used to preserve the apples had me parboil them for 60 seconds, and after that, the previously-browned edges returned to their normal color. Do you have an explanation for this? I sure don't.

I always love your articles, and look forward to the third installment! Thanks.

We were on vacation in Boston last summer, and I had this very dish (aglio/olio and everything) at this very location! And wow, it was out of this world. Plus you cannot beat the atmosphere - my husband and I barely spoke to each other, just enjoyed the show of the one guy cooking and the other serving, bussing tables, and washing dishes. (My husband commented that plenty of restaurants now have visible kitchens, but in very few can you also watch the dishwasher at work!) Definitely our favorite meal of the week!

Such a classic! I haven't had this in ages!

Do slice-and-bake cookies! They're always easy no matter what recipe you use, you can vary the flavorings forever, and you can freeze them at several points in the process. I use a pretty basic shortbread recipe from an Everyday Food magazine, and flavor it with various citrus zests, etc. You can also roll the outside of the log in poppyseeds, sanding sugar, etc., and they look lovely when baked. Dorie Greenspan's World Peace cookies are just chocolate slice-and-bake shortbread (they are FANTASTIC). I saw an episode of "Barefoot Contessa" where Ina makes a shorbread slice-and-bake type of cookie with dried fruits and nuts - she described it as along the lines of a fruitcake (but in a good way). I thought they looked beautiful but haven't had an occasion to try them out.

You could also make savory "cookies" if you like - Dorie's "Around My French Table" has a recipe for basically cheese shortbread.

Also deceptively simple are biscotti. You bake a couple loafs, slice, and bake again. They freeze wonderfully, and everyone is always impressed. Again, you can vary the type of nuts, flavorings, etc. And they freeze well.

I just had my first cup of Vietnamese coffee a couple weeks ago, and - wow!

I'll add another plug for Smart Balance! I haven't tried their smooth variety but l do like the crunchy. In my mind they are a good compromise between Skippy Super Chunky and something considerably less awful for me.