How shall I name thee? Let me count the ways:

When it comes to shortcuts in the kitchen, my mind zooms right to the Martha Stewart coined phrase: ‘it’s a good thing.’

I cannot help it. I am tired of the phrase ‘kitchen tips’—and ‘kitchen tricks’ sounds much the same. Certainly ‘good idea’ is a blasé way to describe a culinary shortcut. How to be clever? How to name those great ideas that come from spending time and mental prowess in the kitchen. What term best describes the ‘a-ha’ moment when you fall upon a great idea: ice cube trays for freezing pesto, making use of day-old bread, using chilled jars for iced tea or scissors to cut up pizza?

Sometimes, I have a culinary epiphany. More often another food writer mentions one of their kitchen habits, and I rapidly commit it to memory… then later apply it as my own.

Of course, books have been written about kitchen tips, tricks, short-cuts, and the like. I could read those and fill my head with them; though there is a certain enjoyment of ideas coming to you organically. Think: light bulb over head.

This particular food-inspired idea was something I read along the way, though I cannot remember from where. A grilling cookbook, perhaps? It is recommended that you soak wooden skewers prior to using them on the grill. The follow-on idea was this: soak them for 20 minutes, then freeze them so they are ready to go when you are (AND you don’t have to plan ahead or think about soaking time when all you really want to do is throw some food on the barbecue—and quick).

Not much of a kitchen secret, or necessarily a brilliant idea, but it certainly serves convenience, practicality and provides happiness to planning ahead now to save time later. If you have a brilliant term for me, to describe these tidbits of time-saving help, please do tell!

This is easily my new favorite appetizer. My kids love it. My friends love it. My siblings love it. I love it. It stands to reason that you will love it, too.

Many times, the red pepper jelly ends up in its own special dish, alongside gently mounded goat cheese and just off the skillet, warmed pita wedges. But in the case of this picture, I was feeding a large crowd, so the whole jar made an appearance. I knew the whole jar would likely be consumed, and had other prep to attend to.

I love to make sauces and jellies on my own, but I also believe you don’t always need to ‘reinvent the wheel’ so to speak. Stonewall Kitchen makes some brilliant condiments (not to mention a plethora of other goodies), so why not just use theirs? At times I bow over my spatula at someone—in this case Stonewall Kitchen—who has had a culinary triumph. And since I am not reinventing the red pepper jelly wheel, I can avert my culinary musings to the next palatial adventure.

It occurs to me—frequently—that food offers endless possibilities. My excitement rears its curious head: when I am trying a new technique with an already familiar vegetable, or as I walk through grocery aisles—only to find myself happily overwhelmed with the sheer volume of foods I have yet to try. When shimmying through a farmer’s market, I find myself eyeballing all things seasonal, so fresh the dirt is still clinging… just one vegetable offers countless potential. I love to pay attention to food, to learn of its potential, to taste the wonders of what it can morph into—and I am not alone. How fun to think: some brilliant soul pioneered Red Pepper Jelly… how cool is that?

Red Pepper Jelly Appie

Red Pepper Jelly (I use Stonewall Kitchen)
Goat Cheese (plain, peppered, you name it)
Pita, warmed in skillet and snipped into triangles

This appetizer is straight forward: open jar of jelly, determine what dish to put it in, add a spoon if need be. Unwrap goat cheese, place in proximity to jelly. Warm sautee pan just above medium. Add a smidge of butter, if desired. I usually brush both sides of the pita with olive oil (often with herbs mixed in, maybe a pinch of salt). Then sautee each side until lightly browned. Cut into wedges and serve. Oh, and I use the Greek kind of pita, it is a little thicker than the pocket style pita. My habit: smear some goat cheese on a warmed pita, top with same amount of the jelly, open mouth wide and insert your new favorite appetizer.

I am not always a fan of pass-along emails, full of information I may or may not want to read.

But—as I am a sucker for new info on food—when this long-winded montage on bananas landed in my in box, I was all eyes. Granted, bananas and I aren’t best friends: the texture strikes my palate as gummy or chalky. I can usually down a few raw bites, but prefer eating them incognito. I have experienced them in varying disguised fashion over the coarse of my life: sliced and bobbing in milk with a sprinkle of sugar on top, various renditions of the uber-popular banana bread and even dipped in chocolate and frozen on a stick—mimicking a popsicle.

Lately, my favorite way to consume bananas covertly is via fruit smoothies. A close second would be a dessert I made over a year ago, and still remember fondly: Banana Tart Tatin.

Stealth banana-eating aside, here are some valuable pieces of pass-along banana info:

• Bananas contain three natural sugars—sucrose, fructose and glucose—combined with fiber.
• A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
• Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.
• Bananas can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions:

1. Depression: bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
2. PMS: bananas contain vitamin B6, which regulates blood glucose levels, affecting your mood.
3. Anemia: high in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood.
4. Blood pressure: high in potassium yet low in salt: ideal to help combat high blood pressure. The US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood
   pressure and stroke.
5. Brain power: research has shown, that this potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
6. Constipation: high in fiber, bananas can help restore normal bowel action.
7. Hangovers: one of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
8. Heartburn: bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, offering soothing relief.
9. Morning Sickness: snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up, helping minimize morning sickness.
10. Mosquito bites: rub the affected area with the inside of a banana skin; many people find it reduces swelling and irritation.
11. Nerves: bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
12. Stressed out at work? Instead of unhealthy binging, reach for a banana—leading to more healthful blood sugar levels.
13. Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. Bananas help neutralize our stomaches from over-acidity, and reduces irritation, by coating the lining of the stomach.
14. Temperature control: many other cultures see bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers.
15. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
16. Trying to quit smoking?: bananas can help. The B6, B12, potassium and magnesium they contain, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
17. Stress: potassium is a vital mineral, it helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels; eating a banana will help your recalibrate.
18. Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death bystrokes by as much as 40%!
19. Warts: take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape, to help remove warts.

If you really want to ‘Go Bananas,’ here are some recipe lists:

• List of banana recipes from Martha Stewart
• List of banana recipes from Epicurious
• List of banana recipes from Food Network

This is sort of a weird book: The Gastronaut (here is his website). The type where most of the time while reading it, you are caught between rolling your eyes, shrugging your shoulders and then nodding in agreement or entertaining the occasional smile.

You read this kind of book, and not everything resonates. But a few things do—there are a few points of interest that you twist around and squint at and finally appreciate. I found myself smirking and nodding in agreement when I read this little excerpt:

The Gastronaut’s Creed:

Food will consume 16% of my life. That life is too precious to waste. Therefore:

1. I resolve, whenever possible, to transform food from fuel into love, power, adventure, poetry, sex, or drama.

2. I will never turn down the opportunity to taste or cook something new.

3. I will never forget: canapes are evil.

4. I will remember that culinary disaster does not necessarily equal culinary failure.

5. I will always keep a jar of pesto on hand in case of the latter.

I will say this about his book: it is light, comical and pushes your culinary brain beyond the tease. The author’s premise is this: test it, try it, make a mess, go against the culinary grain just in case you might find a winner. Like the scientist seeking the needle in the haystack, focus on the importance of that potential needle—then the author cooks in some humor for good measure.

I DO like the encouragement to go out on a culinary limb, the insistence on maintaining curiosity and the belief that nothing is too much of a stretch to consider (but gold-foiling cheetohs? really?). Sounds like a teacher saying: no question is a bad question.

Think: weird food… why not?

Happy Fourth! What better day to share with you our tradition of making strawberry jam this time of year? What better recipe to share with you, than the one we refer to as ‘Grandma’s Strawberry Jam’? The color alone is patriotic, showing up even the brightest of fireworks. I just made a batch and it happily resides in my freezer. Though I confess, I cringe a bit when making this tradition-laden, dessert-like jam.

I love the making part AND the eating part, don’t get me wrong, but oh my the sugar. THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR is embarrassing. So while making pints of grandma’s strawberry freezer jam this year, with earnest intent I justified the contents accordingly:

There IS fruit in it too (only half as much, but at least it is there).

I ate it and loved it as a kid; and am passing along this jam-loving tradition to my children.

It is the only way [one of my sons] will eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The peanut butter, at least, is healthy. As is the wheat bread.

My [same] son won’t have to go to therapy for another year of no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (okay, last year I missed the strawberry season and failed to make jam. It was a long year of buying store-bought jelly to see if there was an adequate replacement. Essentially, nothing came close to this heavenly spread. Only one other jam came within sniffing distance—at the alarming price of $8 per jar. Ouch.).

It saves me money. I bought a flat of berries (oh, only pacific northwest berries will do. Not that you can taste them through all the sugar, but truth be told we are absolutely snobby about using only these berries for grandma’s jam. Without pacific northwest berries, it isn’t the same.) aka 12 pints for $19. It made about 20 pint jars—less than a dollar a jar.

Since we are snobby about buying only local berries for grandma’s jam (because that is what kind she–and her mother—always used), we support local farmers. What is not to love about that?

My final justification? I just rationalize it as dessert. Call a spade a spade: this jam is dessert. It is not intended to be health food. It is a worthy splurge on the landscape of healthy eating; note to self—just keep that in mind when reaching for some greater balance.

So, all justifications in tow, here is the recipe (straight from the pectin box) for Grandmother’s Strawberry Jam:

Cut off stems, discard. Lightly chop/pulse in food processor (leave chunks). Combine 2 cups pureed strawberries and 4 cups sugar (oh, organic sugar also makes you feel better), let sit for 10-20 minutes. Stir one box pectin and 3/4 cup water in saucepan over high heat, stirring until boiling—boil for one minute then remove from stove top. Stir pectin/water mix into berry/sugar mix, making sure to dissolve all sugar granules. Pour into containers or jars, cover (lids are fine) and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours, to gel. Put into freezer to store; they keep for 3 weeks in fridge. Yield: 5 cups.