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I still love Fig Newtons, too but will enjoy any Fig Newton 'knockoff". I did like popscicles but today find them too sweet and lacking in flavour. I even ate them through my university years but their allure was probably their cheapness... I was a pretty eager eater - loved all vegetables except parsnips which I now adore. I steam them lightly and caramelize them in butter and brown sugar - one of my many fave vegetables. I liked meat in my childhood but eat it rarely today. I loved hotdogs but don't enjoy them today. I'll eat one at a barbecue but I'd rather have something else. Foods are so nostalgic. We travel back in our minds to the very moment of tasting. I love the evocative nature of food as well as the taste.

My favourite Fennel Salad: Add fennel slices to sliced rounds of sweet seeded oranges, pitted black olives packed in oil, and thinly sliced red onion.  (Tip: Soak the rings in cold water for a half hour, drain and blot excess water.  The red onions will be very sweet and ideal for the salad.)  Prepare a vinaigrette dressing and dress salad lightly.  Sprinkle chopped fresh mint on top and serve remaining vinaigrette on the side.   This is a very refreshing dish and a good accompaniment to roast chicken.

In the Maritimes provinces in Canada, a 'doughboy' is a dumpling dropped on top of bubbling stew. The lid is put in place and the whole deal simmers till the dumplings are set. There is always the suspense as to whether the stew will stick to the bottom of the pan as the doughboys cook.

The more one cooks the more one is attuned to the sounds of cooking. Stir frying has a definite sound that indicates the frying temperature is just right. A roast in the oven burbles away at a rate that indicates the oven is too hot or too cool and that it's time to check the roast. Eggs hardboiling in a saucepan sound a certain way if they are simmering at the right temperature. I try to use all my senses when I cook and to hone in on each technique I'm using. It's the "Zen of cooking" and there are cookbooks that speak of this Zen approach. However, I know too that there are times when expediency is the name of the game and we want to prepare something tasty and quick. Zen moments aren't a consideration!!

I regularly enjoy luxurious nibbles of Lindt 70% cacao dark chocolate. I'm also a marzipan afficiando and buy cheapie German marizpan bars coated in chocolate from my neighbourhood German deli. Green and Black's dark organic chocolate bars are also wonderful and worth the steepish price. Most health food stores have them here in Canada. Let's face it - I love almost any chocolate although I'm not too keen on North American brands. This isn't snobishness but my palate speaking!

What a delicious and speedy pasta dish! Thanks you! It's sure to become one of my favourite pasta recipes.

I make a quickie spagettini/capellini with clam sauce with canned clams, finely chopped garlic sauteed in olive oil, finely chopped parsley and the liquor from the clams plus a splash of white wine. Grind in freshly ground pepper.

I can't wait to make this cheesecake! I think the unflavoured goat cheese idea might work well. If you use it, add a little more sugar and a touch more vanilla to counteract the tangy 'bite' of goat cheese. I'm lactose intolerant but comfortably enjoy goat cheese.

As suggested above, buy sardines packed in water. Drain well, mash and spritz with balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar to taste, add a scant amount of mayonnaise, if you like a creamy spread or omit. Fold in a tablespoon of chopped, drained and rinsed, capers and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Spread on hot, buttered rye toast. This sandwich is quite palatable, even delicious. This is a variant of the French Canadian "sardines on toast.

The sardines won't be oily, 'fishy'. Buy the cheap brand of sardines in spring water and visit a dollar or discount store to buy capers. The ones from Spain seem the cheapest. I think this sardine approach is good on all counts. Do try to enjoy....

First have protein component of meal on hand: tofu, fish, lean meat. Pre-chop vegetables for a stir-fry and finish stir-fry at dinnertime. You've done the prep. There's a huge recipe selection from which to choose.

Get out your slow-cooker - it's not just for hearty winter meals. Slow cookers save on energy and don't heat up the kitchen. Put in your dinner in the a.m. and it's ready when you are. Again, slow-cooker recipes are endless. Add a salad to your slow-cooker entree and you've dinner.

During good weather, it's easier to barbeque. When you grill, grill 'ahead' , e.g., grill a flank steak along with tonight's chicken pieces and you've the makings for a delicious cold beef salad.

Traditionally, Good Friday was a fast day as was Holy Saturday when the Easter Vigil was held throughout the night until Easter Sunday morning when one's fast could be broken.

I usually prepare vegetarian meals for both days but this is my own tradition. An eggplant tower of grilled eggplant rounds, Halloumi cheese, fresh basil and homemade tomato sauce is hardly penance - that's on tomorrow's menu and it's quick, simple to prepare and breaktakingly delicious.

Soya cheese, unfortunately, does not remotely taste like cheese. (Nor do 'real' plastic-like cheese slices for that matter.) Hold the 'cheese' on my kosher burger, please!

These combos might sound very strange to a North American but so are some of the versions of "Asian" dishes that get served up here. Much of the take-out from our neighbourhood Chinese restaurant are American-Chinese takes on the real thing. Only recently, have we become more adventurous and eaten in 'authentic' Asian restaurants. Hey, what's wrong with a little intermingling of cultures?

Anchovies melt into a mixture and don't lend a fish-like taste to a recipe. They give a mellow, piquant taste to the rest of the dish - kind of a complex, interesting taste but not dominant.

I'd try getting them past the resident Food Police.