Right??  Oh yes.  Especially from Poche’s in Breaux Bridge, LA - meaty, soft and earthy.

I’m a pickle fanatic.  Sour, dill, briney, winey, or sweet, I love them all.  Traditional pickling is a glorious labor of love, but I simply haven’t been able to make the time, so “quick” pickles call out to me for a multitude of reasons, and they are simply delicious.  Earlier this week I quick-pickled baby carrots, baby French beans and cucmbers, in organic brwon-rice vinegar spiced with herbs and peppers from my garden, and good-quality whole spices from Flavorbank.  This morning these bright, bold pickles decorated my favorite new eye-opener, a Tres Generaciones Anejo Tequila “Sangrita” created by genius bartender “Bobby G.”  The only thing to say is Ole!

 

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Picture 1 from 4: English lavender, lemon thyme and tarragon make up this box of scents!

Remember that post about the rooftop garden I was going to plant?  Well, it is in full swing now and here are some photos of the season’s best!

Yup, that’s right, dental floss flavored like our favorite breakfast food items.  Imagine coffee breath taken to the next level, or explore the latest craze “tartar and waffles.”  Me, I’m all about the bacon floss…but that should come as no surprise.  Got a sweet tooth?  There’s also frosting-flavored cupcake floss.  Will the madness ever end?  I hope not.

Or any other kind of mold you wish.  Bompas and Parr, named after the two mad scientists behind the company, will custom make you a jelly mold of your liking.  I wonder if they could make a mold of my tiny NYC apartment.  I’d probably need a microscope to see it!

This photo series, shot by Mark Menjivar, is an artist’s exploration in hunger.  By taking pictures of the interiors of American’s refrigerators all across the country, Mark found himself considering the way we care for ourselves and the land through food.  I found myself fascinated.

Holy smokes!  I love pork (pork fat rules, right?) and now I can lay my head on a pork chop without all the mess?? Oh yes.  Sweet Meats pillows are awesome - large pillows shaped as pork chops, ham, beef, or get the “meat medley” of all three - I can hardly contain myself.   And, so cute, a $1.75 lapel button that reads ” I love you more than bacon.”

Oh Yeah Babe!  Tonight, Emeril pops up at the Gosselin house to show Jon, Kate and the cutey-petutey kids, some cooking fun.  A look at the “sneak peek” reveals Emeril sticking up for Jon when Kate gets bossy, and her swatting Emeril with a  spatula!  Yikes.

Click here to get all of the Jon & Kate recipes.

If you don’t already have this book, buy it now!  The Flavor Bible, written by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, is like a feast for the culinary mind.

The book is laid out as an index of ingredients, each ingredient listing other ingredients that will pair well with it when cooking.  And in addition to the listing of flavors, there are lots of great quotes and sample menus from celebrated chefs across the nation.  It’s a fantastic source of inspiration for me, and I use the book mostly to brainstorm ideas for new menu items and love to cross-reference the a couple of ingredients to complete a dish.  Another fun way to use the book is to take a look at the odds-and-ends of ingredients in your fridge and see what flavors pair well to create a meal!

Since receiving this book, I have found myself flipping its pages time and time again, always giving me some serious food for thought!

Did you know that President Obama and family have an “Official White House Photostream” page on Flickr?   You can view photos posted almost daily of the goings-ons at the White House!  And if you are like me, you’ll be very interested in what dessert he’s serving at his next dinner party or what Michelle and local students are planting this spring in the beds of the White House Vegetable Garden.  How cool is that?!