Malawry

I too will be following with interest. Isn't cancer punishing enough without these crappy dietary machinations? Heather, would you like for me to prepare a meal that fits these requirements for you sometime? Could be a fun project if you feel like driving out here.

I really liked the midget white turkey I sampled from Ayrshire Farm on Monday. You can order one of their heritage breed turkeys via their website or at their Home Farm store in Middleburg, VA. Not inexpensive, but delicious.

I'm doing a cookout for 110 people soon, and would like to offer something decent in the way of burgers--something better than the standard offerings from Costco type places. I can make my own patties, but I do not have a meat grinder to make my own ground beef. I am considering Urban Burger as an option but wondered if ya'll had any other ideas. Thanks.

Not Anson Mills. Old Mill of Guilford. (Although Anson Mills does also make good grits.)

You couldn't find either at The Common Market or My Organic Market? Really? You can probably find both at the Whole Foods in Gaithersburg.

My pit beef sandwich sucked. I tried putting BBQ sauce on it to see if it improved matters and was rewarded with an excess of liquid smoke. Ick. OTOH, the ice cream that lady was churning in the barn was really good.

This is a very fun event. I've taken my son before and we both had a great time.

This book is SERIOUSLY AWESOME. Can't wait to start adding some of those dishes--especially the pomegranate shrimp on the cover--to my rotation. And I loved the stories Monica included in the book. There are even cocktail recipes in there! Great job, Monica.

VOLT alert: they are no longer charging for Natura water.

A selection of my resolutions.

If you're eating on Disney property, here is a rundown of some options.

They charge $1 for unlimited filtered water, sparkling or still. They have a Natura filtration system in-house. The last time I was there, there was a notation on the menu to this effect, but there was no verbal acknowledgement when we were offered water. I don't remember being offered ordinary tap water, but I didn't ask for it either. I like the Natura water, and $1 is pretty cheap for all the filtered water I desire.

The Glatt Chinese place (Royal Dragon) has been pretty bad the few times I've eaten there. (My brother is Orthodox and doesn't live in a community with a Kosher Chinese restaurant, so it's a big thing for him to get it when he's visiting me.) Not recommended unless you're Orthodox. Gloppy and tasteless. I read a fascinating story about the history and Kosher duck scandal at this restaurant recently. It's in The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee. It's in the chapter on why Chinese food is the chosen food of the Chosen People. Highly, highly recommended reading. But not highly recommended eating. Do stop in Koshermart for some of their handmade pita bread if you're over at Coaches, though. That pita bread definitely gets my blessing.

Just save the chicken fat off the top of your chicken stock. I chill stock overnight, pick off and reserve the fat, and then reduce the stock down so it takes up less freezer space. Then I make latkes!

Hi Craig, I live in WV too. (Actually, there's a Craig Foster in my HOA and I'm wondering if you're him...) Have you found anything worth eating between Reston and the WV border?

The Giacomo's on High Point Road is definitely in the Jamestown direction of Greensboro. Also near there is Jerusalem Market, a middle eastern storefront with a deli counter in the back. They have really good falafel--I order mine with extra hot sauce--served in bedouin-style pita bread. The man who owns the Jerusalem Market is great, very friendly and knowledgeable. He recognized me on a recent visit even though I hadn't been there for a decade or so! I love breakfast at Danny's, which is in the same shopping center as the Giacomo's on Brassfield Rd. It's dirt cheap. Nothing funky, but the biscuits and the pancakes are outstanding. Danny's restaurant was originally out Wendover Ave and my dad was a regular there, so he was delighted when Danny relocated closer to where my folks live several years ago. Danny's is only open for breakfast and lunch. I've not had lunch there but it's meat-and-three type food and also sure to be easy on the wallet. The Thai place I mentioned is called Taste of Thai, btw. You can Google details for any of these places. With access to a kitchen, things open up somewhat. Also nearish the Jamestown end of the county and worth exploring: Greensboro's location of the NC farmer's market, and Old Guilford Mill. You can get all kinds of cool stuff at the market--double-yolk eggs, fresh rabbit, crowder peas, Goat Lady goat cheeses. And the mill is an old-fashioned water-powered grist mill, your best resource for grits. These guys were doing it the old-fashioned way long before Anson Mills came on the scene.

STAMEY'S BBQ. A historic spot. Don't miss the cobblers for dessert. Say hi to Chip Stamey if you see him there, I grew up kitty-corner from him. They have two locations: Battleground Ave and near the Coliseum. I happen to like Ghassan's for chicken skewers or steak-cheese subs. Two locations, also on Battleground and near the Coliseum. The Thai restaurant over on Westover Terrace can be surprisingly good. They have a lunch buffet which is a steal if you're poor and hungry at lunchtime. Not just your standard pad thai--they have a nice focus on vegetarian food for any non-omnivorous types in your party. You have to get sandwiches from Giacomo's. He makes his own charcuterie and it's excellent. Really good Italian subs. They have a storefront on Brassfield Rd near Battleground and their original store over on High Point Road. I am a native of Greensboro and visit my family there a few times every year. Tell me more about where you will be, what your budget is and what you're looking for and I'll see what I can do for you.

What type of thing are you looking for? Hagerstown is not a good dining town in the same way Frederick is. LJs and the Kat Lounge is probably your best bet for a nice sit-down meal. Unfortunately, they appear to have stopped serving lunch. Schmankerl Stube could be amusing for old-skool Bavarian food, something you don't see so often closer to DC...and they do serve lunch. I work in Hagerstown a couple days each week, but haven't found much food to thrill me.

The tea at the Mandarin is a buffet in the Empress Lounge instead of the traditional tiered tray. At $32 it's not a budget option, but then unlike the other places you can stuff yourself with as much pastry as you feel like eating. I understand their moon cakes are currently on the buffet, along with some other unusual selections.

I ate in Annandale this morning after a medical test that required fasting. (I was really, really hungry after that!) The pan-fried pork dumplings had a lot less meat than the ones I'd ordered in the past. They were still good, but I would rather have 6 dumplings with more meat in each one than 8 dumplings with less. The pork and salted radish soup was nice, would be very satisfying on a blustery day with its salty-tart-rich flavors. I always get the spicy cucumber salad, which is sooo refreshing. It's almost worth fasting to get that meal for lunch!

Funny, I was there last night too, in the bar, having some snacks and drinks with a friend. Snacks rapidly turned into dinner. I cannot overemphasize how great the food is--far and away better than anything else I've eaten in the greater Frederick area. The service is also fantastic, surprisingly so. Everybody had informed opinions and understood how the food was prepared, and they were eager to please. Try to talk to sommelier Aaron Schifferle if you get a chance, he's deeply intelligent and inquisitive about all things food- and wine-related. I am sorry we didn't sit in the chef's tasting room, because the kitchen is beautiful to behold and I'd really enjoy watching Chef Bryan Voltaggio cook. Some highlights: the pressed watermelon cube with vanilla salt and salmon roe taste, a richly-flavored hanger steak cooked blue and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt, tuna tartare with a yuzu reduction, lotus chips and sesame lavosh, the chocolate-hazelnut dessert with raw cacao and little callets of frozen hazelnut ice cream, canteloupe soup with panna cotta and blackberry sorbet. The bar menu is short but creative and very reasonably priced. I'll be back for the full treatment once I save enough of my pennies for the experience.

What a great story, Heather! Congratulations. Monavano, I purchase boxes of just-lids at my local supermarket every year. I do keep a couple of old lids for times when I do non-canned things with Ball jars--I like to make vinaigrettes in them--but I always, always use new ones for any form of food preservation. The lids come in a small box of 10 or 12 and are right near the other canning supplies. You can also buy boxes of lids-and-rings if you need new rings for some reason.

I have been meaning to try Weavers Restaurant and Bakery in Hancock, MD which is right on the way. A Road Food kind of place. But I can't personally vouch for it, because each time I've been nearby I've been in too big a hurry to stop in.

You could go to B'z BBQ while you're out there, if you like. The Paeonian Springs grocery is just past the Shell on Rte 9.

I visited Cedarbrook today. You should too, if you don't live near a market where they sell their pork (or perhaps even if you do).