Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

This does sound great for a quick chili - I, too, love to add masa harina - and a bit of ground coriander. The masa gives the chili a slightly earthy character, I've always liked to think it gives it an air of authenticity - which, of course, is only a whisper of hope, but nonetheless, once you've tried adding the masa, you'll not want to omit it! The charm of the pioneer woman's recipes is that she often adds something somewhat outside of the box, but her recipes work. I'm a great fan of that kind of cooking. Whimsical practicality.

We get most of ours at stores with bulk bins, and frequent turnover. Some spices are available at Winco (Cub Foods), and others we go to the natural foods stores for (New Seasons, Whole Foods, even the natural foods department at Fred Meyer) - the more exotic the spice, the more likely that we will need to find it at either a natural foods store or ethnic store - Uwajimaya for all kinds of asian spices and groceries, the little chinese grocery for star anise, five spice, szechuan pepper, sesame seeds, etc., a little asian store named Manila (found basil seeds there - it seems they are popular soaked as a beverage), etc. Even Costco can be a good source - got a really large jar of smoked paprika, another of cinnamon (we use a lot of cinnamon) for example. We have two of the old rubberwood spinning spice racks (Kamenstein, I believe), looking for another - the spices are in alphabetical jars, and the inevitable backstock is in alphabetical ziplocks, in freezer boxes. The place I'm most nervous about buying spices from is the dollar store, so I don't.

Well, I guess my take would be that if the wine business suddenly decides to target market women, we'll get some pretty bad packaging and marketing - when I went to buy my Subaru outback wagon, the salesman looked at me, and said, "So, what color car are you looking for?" - as if that were my primary consideration. So, I guess we can look for more "cute" or "fashionable" labels and bottles, and less emphasis on quality, taste, or value. Oh, and yes, while I did care what color my car would be, once I found one with the features I wanted, they made it clear that the deal would only go if I gave up the blue car I had noticed, and accept a green mist (the same color as 90% of the outback wagons out there) instead. Served me right for saying color wasn't my first consideration, I guess. I say men care about the color of their cars, too, or there wouldn't be so many red sports cars.

I think over time, you will decide to buy a pizza stone - I bought the terra cotta tiles at Home Depot a number of times, and while they work great, they eventually crack. Always. At a buck apiece, they will eventually add up to what you would have spent on a pizza stone. I think the pizza stone is tempered - fired at high temp - so it will be more durable, and less wasteful. I'm watching for one on sale, and it will eventually pop up somewhere, I'm sure!

This sounds very much like something I've made on occasion - I like a little protein with my oatmeal, so I sometimes include a scoop of TVP if I don't have any breakfast meat, and I prefer the steel cut oatmeal. Bob's Red Mill is here in Portland, so steel cut is available in most of our stores. My mother is Canadian (yup, my mother is an alien!), and they put Worcestershire sauce on their mac & cheese - it was a short leap to putting it on my oatmeal. Not all that different than using soy sauce and sesame oil. I've eaten this for both breakfast and lunch - the scallions are a great addition! Just one more proof, Bittman really has things figured out - he's innovating in the same direction as a lot of us. Just got his new book, Food Matters, it is really fascinating. This recipe is very much in keeping with his grains, beans, veges, and fruits emphasis in the book. We're looking forward to trying some of his recipes - they seem to be quite open-ended, allowing for substitutions of this or that - many recipes would be made differently by each cook.

Sounds a bit like congee, a sort of Chinese rice gruel with meats and vegetables in it. I've made it a few times, because it intrigued me - I have several Chinese cookbooks, and they made it sound so good, I just had to try it - and it was good. I used a crockpot, so it could cook at night and be ready in the morning. Don't know why you couldn't do the same with oats - I think scrapple is somewhat similar, although it is more solid - you make it from cream of wheat or cornmeal, and cooked bulk sausage. My dad used to make it - poured it into loaf pans, refrigerated it overnight, and would slice and fry it for breakfast in the morning. As little children, we thought this was about the best breakfast there was.

Oh, I'm such a fan - have coveted this book for so long (and now it is here, in a revised edition!) - the no knead bread is so "falling off a log" easy, and I found his recipe the other day for sweet potatoes - shredded and sauteed - ran right out to get them, and have them planned for a roast beef dinner later this week. His column is simply inspired - I found the one this summer on 100 easy meals delightful, and full of fun ideas - and thank goodness, his program airs on OPB here. So terrific to find such great programming on enthusiastic cooking without the need to get cable for the Food Network! Oh, please, let me win this book, I'll use it until it is falling apart, I promise!

I feel sorry for folks who don't like sourdough - I've been turning myself upside down and inside out trying to develop a starter with just the right tang - I've got a loaf proofing in the kitchen, and just can't wait to get the thing in the oven and find out what it will be like. It has been so much fun, feeding these little starters, and watching them become more and more vigorous. I agree with gb944 about crab, butter, and sourdough bread, but like a big glug of cocktail sauce, or lacking that, my own counterfeit made with a good organic catsup and Beaver company horseradish (made in Beaverton, Oregon) on top - with a cold beer. I prefer Dungeness crab, my husband is partial to snow crab. Sourdough makes it even better than it is by itself! Oh, and a sourdough bread, chopped olive, and cream cheese sandwich (haven't had one in ten years or so, but, yum!) And, sourdough bread makes lovely toast, with a good apricot jam. So, lighten up - some of us actually love it that we can find sourdough all over the place in SF, we just wish it was as good in other locales.

I'd love to share a meal with Oprah - she is one of the few people I truly admire. I think it would be fun to introduce her to a few of our classic Oregon foods - we have salmon, raspberries, hazelnuts, fabulous wines, and my husband and I would love to cook dinner for her. I really believe that hers is one of the few television programs which makes a genuine effort to improve the lives of her viewers, and truly appreciate her contribution.

Woo hoo! We've been chocolate fiends this spring at our house - we'd doubtless and happily develop another "bad" habit if we won this prize - and, here's a bribe: a new flavor suggestion. I make my own thai peanut sauce, and have been craving it lately, seasoned with five spice powder, on ice cream - have yet to try it, but know it would be great - maybe even with a bit of coconut milk worked in - hows about five spice thai peanut sauce icecream? Yummmmmm!

We try to always have a choice of at least three side dishes in the fridge - favorites include sliced loaves of polenta (prepared in the microwave), cooked brown rice, mac'n'cheese (the new whole wheat pastas are fabulous, and we add small cubes of tofu to our recipe), broccoli salad, pea salad, 4-bean salad, etc. Trader Joe's has a wonderful (but strong)peanut vinaigrette, which we cut 50/50% with rice vinegar, and keep it and other dressings and olive oil in squirt bottles inside the fridge door. With either bagged salads or our pre-prep salads, and these other sides, our meals go together so quickly, we are far less tempted to go out for less nutitious, more expensive meals.

Take a look at Zooba.com - I think they may be a remainder site for book of the month club family - any book is $10 including shipping - you queue them, and get one a month - Martha Stewart's most recent books have been on there, as have Oz & Roizen's "You" series. They have all kinds of books, too - when I'm not sure what I want for me in a given month, I order children's books - I always give the children in my life books for birthdays and Christmas - they already get "too many" toys. There have been some real treasures on this site, I have enjoyed it enormously. I keep a lot of books in my queue, and check in before the shipping date to prioritize (which of these books fits what I'm cooking/doing/reading this month?) - I also use e-bay, half.com, amazon marketplace, alibris, and campusi. And, sometimes, you'll find real treasures at Good Will for a dollar or two!