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We moved into our house nearly 40 years ago. When I was living with my parents, my dad grew tomatoes. Now, it was my opportunity to do the same, except that I decided to grow other vegetables as well. So, I grew tomatoes, cukes, peppers, eggplants, and lettuce. I loved putting those little seedlings into the ground, carefully watering and fertilizing, then watching them grow into full-fledged vegetables. Sure, I could have bought these vegetables at the many local farmstands in our area. But growing my own gave me a deep sense of soul satisfaction.

Over time, growth of trees in the backyard provided fewer and fewer hours of sustained sunshine until, finally, there were not the minimal six hours required to grow vegetables, so I gave up my garden. However, a couple of stakes that surrounded that vegetable patch were so strongly imbedded in the ground that I couldn't pull them out. So, they remain there, in what are now shaded woods, as a reminder of my happy days as a vegetable gardener.

Wu Liang Ye, on 86th St., b/t 2nd & 3rd Avs., serves Szechuan cuisine. I've only been to the one on 48th St., but my daughter and her b.f. have told me the 86th St. location is very good

I suggest a getaway weekend in Red Bank, NJ, about an hour's drive (without traffic) from Manhattan. There are lots of shops and boutiques, and dining options in town and in the surrounding area are excellent.

Stay at the Molly Pitcher Inn, an elegant small hotel right on the Navesink River. While they do have dining facilities, I recommend that you do not eat there with one exception: their famous Sunday brunch is highly recommended.

http://www.mollypitcher-oysterpoint.com/mollypitcher/

Dining

Restaurant Nicholas (most of us just call it Nicholas) is located in Middletown, NJ., just north of the bridge over the Navesink into downtown Red Bank. It's one of the best -- if not *the* best -- restaurants in the entire state. Superb cuisine, excellent wine list, service that is both pleasant and polished, and elegant NY-style contemporary decor. Start and/or end your evening in the capacious, comfortable bar room.

http://www.restaurantnicholas.com

Another excellent restaurant not far from Red Bank is Le Fandy, in Fair Haven. Delicious French cuisine served in a small space with a rustic country French feel. As is the case with many restaurants in NJ, it's BYO.

http://www.lefandybistro.com

In downtown Red Bank, here are a few restaurants that I think will offer you the best meals:

Dish serves very good New American cuisine in a small space with minimalist decor . BYO. They have an arrangement where you can select your wine at the restaurant from a list provided by a nearby liquor store, and the wine will be delivered to your table.

http://www.dishredbank.com

The Bistro in Red Bank is a casual spot with an eclectic menu. You can dine al fresco at their sidewalk tables.

http://www.thebistroatredbank.

Gaetano's serves very good thin-crust pizzas and pastas in a pleasant trattoria-style setting.

http://www.gaetanosredbank.com

Thyme Square opened last year, and its Mediterranean-style cuisine has been getting lots of good reviews.

http://www.thymesquarerestaurant

Willy's, which just opened, is all about cheesesteaks. I haven't been yet but have been hearing very positive reports.

http://www.willyssteaks.com

If you are looking for entertainment, there's usually something going on at the Count Basie Theater. And if you like the beach, Long Branch is about 20-30 minutes away, depending on traffic.

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!

I must disagree with shea. In my view, the Park Ave. Les Halles is awful. Sub-par food, poor service, seating that would make a sardine squirm, and a hideously high noise level.

Bourdain does not still work at Les Halles and hasn't done so for several years. And, btw, when he did, he was the chef only at the Park Av. S. location. He, himself, has said many times that he never had anything whatsoever to do with the downtown Les Halles.

Rattatouille. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

I have Dacor dual ovens (electric), one of which includes convection.

I have found that pure convection does an absolutely superb job roasting turkeys and chickens. Must faster than conventional, and the meat comes out very moist and juicy.

Convection is supposed to be superior for cakes and cookies, but I haven't seen that much of a difference in that category. However, I've never baked more than one tray of cookies at a time, and convection is supposed to be far superior to conventional when one is baking several trays at the same time.

There is no need to alter recipes, and it's as easy to use as simply pressing a button and setting the temperature.

The handbook that came with my ovens has a listing of rack positions and temperature settings for various foods ("convection bake" or "pure convection"). It's usually 25 degrees lower for convection than conventional.

We went to the 9th Ave. Zen Palate once, and that once was once too often. The food, in a word: Horrible! In my view, it should be avoided like the proverbial plague.

For vegetarians, I recommend Uncle Nick's, the taverna-style Greek restaurant, on 9th Av., b/t 50th & 51st Sts. Very good food and plenty of vegetarian-friendly items on the menu, including an excellent vegetable kebob. Carnivores and pescatores will be also be satisfied with such options as grilled lamb chops and whole grilled fish.

Ed, I loved watching you and Jeffrey on that show. Really miss it! :-(

Can't comment on organic milk because I've never tried it. I'm quite happy with Skim Plus though I have to be honest and say that I never drink milk plain, only in coffee, cocoa and mixed with chocolate syrup (Fox's U-bet).

I put together a mix of chopped tomatoes and red onion, crumbled feta, chopped parsely, a healthy sprinkling of dried oregano, some freshly ground black pepper dressed with red wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil. Served on a bed of sliced avocado.

That Zagat listing is Al Bustan, which is on 3rd Av., b/t 50th & 51st Sts. (I'd call that midtown.) We had lunch there many years ago. The food was fine, but nothing to get really excited about. Elegant atmospherics, which would be one reason, I think, why prices are on the high side.

Byblos, on 39th St., just east of 3rd Av., is something of a "hidden" Lebanese restaurant. We've been there a number of times, though that was ages ago. Having never visited Lebanon, I have no idea how authentic the food at Byblos is, but I thought it was very tasty and certainly as good as, maybe better than, Al Bustan's. I very much enjoyed the mezzes, and I the lamb chops were always a good bet. Large space with a bustling feel when the place was busy. Pleasant enough decor, but not in the same league as Al Bustan. But, then, the prices are much more moderate.

I would NEVER leave my oven on if I were not there. Here's a short story:

In a house a couple of blocks away from ours, the clothes dryer was left running with nobody at home. There was an electrical short, and a fire broke out. I don't know if the owner came back and discovered the fire, or if someone else called in the alarm. In any event, if someone had been home, that call could have been made immediately, thereby limiting the damage, which ended up being so substantial that it was a very long time before the family was able to move back in. (While repairs were made, they lived in a rented trailer on the property.)

The Strip House is in Manhattan, not Brooklyn.

Frankly, I don't think I've ever heard anyone ever talk about any other steakhouse in Brooklyn. Do they exist?