Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Bacon, sausage, ham. The pig is, indeed, a magical animal. And I live in Iowa. It's just too easy :)

I am a big fan of lefse for Easter. We're good old Norwegian Lutherans so it's a must :) Ham is a close second. Always the Easter Ham!

I've noticed that where you put the mayo-- top or bottom bread-- has an effect on how moist the sandwich seems. When it's on the top, I get more of a sense of moisture; conversely, when on the bottom slice the mayo seems to get lost in the shuffle of other ingredients. Curious.

wow, that's sweet. what a lucky guy and lucky for us that he'll be able to keep on at his chosen career. Now I'll actually get to go to Alinea :)

Goods things can happen!

Get a second crockpot and you're in business. There are loads and loads of great crockpot recipe books.

One recipe I'd recommend if you like beans is called Calico Beans. You can make this in a double or triple batch quickly and freeze portions that you can then microwave. It's saved me many times throughout grad school:

Cook 1/2 lb. bacon until crisp; remove bacon to paper toweling and pour off grease. In same pan, brown 1 lb. ground beef. Then add:

1 can kidney beans
1 can lima beans
1 can pork and beans
--all with liquids

1/2 c. ketchup
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. yellow mustard
3 T. instant onion
2-3 tsp. white vinegar
salt, pepper to taste.

Mix together and cook on stovetop (or in your crockpot) until the beans are cooked through. It can then be packaged up and you're in business.

You can adjust all of the flavorings in the sauce to your likening... making it less sweet, more tart, etc. Enjoy :)

I was a vegetarian for a while, maybe around 8 years, one of which was spent in India, where it is supereasy and superdelicious (if you love Indian, especially South Indian, food like I do) to be a vegetarian. A few years later, I moved to Brasil where it is a lot harder to be a vegetarian, but I lived in Liberdade (Asian neighborhood) in Sao Paulo, and with all the access to cool mushrooms, noodles, seaweeds, etc., I was pretty happy.

I remember reading that book "Eat Right for your Type" which theorizes that people with type A blook do better with a predominantly veg. diet and people with type O blood do better with a carnivorous diet, and perhaps there's some truth to that.

Later, I was taken to a Brazilian rodizio (meat until you can't no more) place here in NYC and all that beef was delish, although my stomach rebelled.

Since then, I still don't eat much meat - small portions and lots of vegetables. Eating meat in huge amounts seems to only perpetuate the dominant model of a few lucky people getting the lion's share of the world's resources, and the factory farming of animals to be eaten still continues to be inhumane and motivated solely by profits. Mad cow disease is still much more of a problem than the major media and the government will cop to. I'm careful where I get my meats from, and still ya never know.

I becamse a vegetarian for a while in high school, but it was really only to annoy my grandmother, who I was living with at the time. She only had 4 stock dinners that she rotated over and over every week: meatloaf, green beans, mashed potatoes; roast beef, salad, baked potatoes; broiled salmon, broccoli, roasted potatoes; and spaghetti. She liked her meat and potatoes. There's only so long one person can deal with that if they're more adventurous. So I went veg.

These days I still only really eat meat twice a week. I feel like the US has a serious meat overindulgance problem.

Being a poor student! I was happily veg for 4 years of high school, first 2 years of college while I lived in the dorms. Then I got an apartment. I have no problem cooking a totally vegetarian diet for myself in my home - I never buy meat ingredients at the store. And I still very rarely pay for meat when eating out, unless I'm really sick of just ordering the freaking veggie burger. But the number of free food events at my university and my poor student budget make passing up free meaty meals seem wasteful. I call myself a freegan now (vegetarian unless it's free). I've heard others use the term too.

i was a vegetarian from the age of 18 to 22. what did me in was a plate of prime rib at a hotel in kansas city. it just looked so good, i was starving, and the alternative was a crappy looking industrial iceberg lettuce salad and an anemic little roll. i had always been a meat lover, had embraced vegetarianism in college during the 70's after reading frankie lappe´, and always struggled against my carnivorous inclinations.

interestingly, years and years later, i find myself not especially wanting to eat meat at all these days. i haven't consumed animal flesh, except for the occasional tuna sandwich, in months. although generally i am a very healthy eater, and in addition to the fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains i eat daily, i eat plenty of nuts, seeds, yogurt, eggs, and cheese, i am bemused to report that my ability as an athlete seems to have suffered as a result. i don't recover as quickly after my workouts, i can't run as far or as fast, and i can't lift as heavy weights or complete as many sets as i was doing as a meat eater.

a few years ago i was in a relationship with someone who insisted on having meat at every meal, and when i left, it was such a relief to not have to cook and eat it all the time. i'm much thinner and happier basing my diet on salads and veggies, although i am somewhat concerned about my workouts deteriorating. we'll have to see. i don't call myself a vegetarian right now, because i don't want to label myself or call attention to my private eating habits {i live alone, so there's no one to please but myself}.

I was a vegetarian from age 6 when I was a stubborn brat and declared myself a vegetarian to avoid having to eat a hamburger one meal. Flash forward to being 18, at my boyfriend's house, and the smell of flank steak on the grill. I pointed out how good it smelled, and he asked, "why won't you eat it again?" and I realized I really didn't have a reason. I just didn't even see it as an option since I had completely forgotten what it tasted like. It wasn't for animal rights reasons, or health, it was just habit at that point. I had a taste, and now I am a fiend. RARE steak. I think i'm making up for lost time, although that was 8 years ago and I'm still just as into meat, hah!

BTW -- after 15 years as a vegetarian I broke my vegetarianism with two plates of rare meat. Felt great. I don't know why they say everyone gets so sick to their stomach.