I just used some Kentucky Colonel mint this evening (strong spearmint flavor) mixed with some salad greens. I did a chiffonade, and sprinkled it on top, and it's a wonderful addition to a salad. Some lime mints can also be fabulous in salsas along with your cilantro. And don't forget the Mint Julep! and Mojito! Also, mints are great for infusing simple syrups for cold or hot teas later. My recipe is a ratio of 2 to 1. Two cups of sugar, to one cup of water. Slowly bring to a boil til clear. Remove from heat, bruise the mint to release the oil and place the whole leaves in the syrup. Let set til cool. I remove the leaves and store the syrup in a bottle in the refrigerator for up to a week (though it never lasts that long!). Wonderful also if infused with some lemon rind also. So good to sweeten a nice summer iced tea or a nice hot, herbal tea, or green tea. Especially great for cold teas because there's none of that trying to dissolve sugar in a cold medium. It's already a syrup! Some of the better restaurants here bring simple syrup to your table when you order hot or cold tea so you can sweeten to your liking. It's a very elegant presentation. Some will make simple syrup on a ratio of 1 to 1. One cup of water to one cup of sugar. I call this simple water. If you want that intense syrup, you need a 2 to 1 ratio. It will work with the 1 to 1 though. But as a cook it's one of my pet peeves....1 to 1 is SIMPLE WATER, not syrup. I've also made a rosemary simple syrup (YUM!) and a cinnamon basil simple syrup. There are SO many different types of mint out there now, you have such freedom to express yourself with flavor!

Barefoot Contessa when it's not a repeat, but it almost always is a repeat, Michael Chiarella's show, but it's not on as much as it used to be., Molto Mario, and Everyday Italian - can you tell I like Italian food? Like everyone else, I've all but quit watching the go to restaurants and eat network, aka the food network. I keep forgetting to set up the recorder on Saturdays to tape America's Test Kitchen. there was one Saturday I was working from home, so I looked up when it would be on, and what else might be on PBS that day. Sadly, most of the cooking shows are gone from their lineup. I used to love Jaques Pepin, but his show wasn't on the schedule. I like Top Chef, Iron Chef, and some of the competition shows, but that guy on Hell's Kitchen should really consider anger management counseling. I just don't get why anyone would want to work for him, much less consider that being a prize to strive for. They should make the losers be the ones to have to be executive chef at his restaurant. I really think his behavior borders on criminal, but since that show has got to be as real as championship wrestling, I imagine he'll never serve time for his behavior, since it's all probably an act. At least I hope so. I sure hope he doesn't treat his family that way. Sally

We have ONLY apps for Christmas Day because family visits at random times throuhgout the day and it's impossible to coordinate a sit-down dinner. So it's very casual. Mtn, please tell me about the ham and cheese thumbprint cookies? We always have a few types of cheese and crackers. DH is really into cheese, so I let him do the choosing there. Also, a big veggie/crudite type platter. A big favorite that couldn't be easier -- a log of goat cheese with a little bowl of fig preserves next to it, with a tiny spoon, and some fancy crackers (I like Raincoast Crisps salty date and almond crackers). Spread cheese on cracker, add a little dollop of fig jam, so yummy. You can also heat up the jam a bit in the microwave and drizzle it over the goat cheese instead. I have also made my favorite app in the world, which I got from my neighbor, which involves wontons, chicken, and ranch dip. Sounds weird but it is amazing. I'll try to find the recipe...

I'm the exception to the "normal" cooking methods when it comes to bean preparation because I sprout them first to remove the (ah hem) "noise", make them easier to digest, and to increase the nutrition. They also cook faster when they are sprouted first. I also dehydrate sprouted beans/lentils/peas which rehydrate and cook quickly, too. I keep buying pressure cookers thinking I'm missing out on something or an improved method of food preparation, and then giving them away. I just really don't like the high-heat process or the end product, but that's just me. Luckily there are all kinds of methods to choose from. I often serve a small amount of beans with a small amount of meat (not a full 3-oz. serving of meat) in order stretch the high-costing meat and still serve a full serving of protein. I store, and use, a large variety of beans as part of our home food storage and we eat a LOT of beans/peas/legumes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I even made a recipe of (Refried) Bean Fudge at Christmas, and you can also use bean puree in baked goods as a fat substitute and increase the protein. Here's a How To for Sprouting Beans: http://www.insonnetskitchen.com/how-to-sprout-cook-beans/ Another interesting method for preparation is a passive heat method (aka fireless cooking) by soaking and "cooking" in a Thermos in boiling hot water (for a small amount) - or a Thermal Cooker (for a large amount), and Wonder Oven or a Hay Box methods. I also cook beans in quart jars in one of my solar ovens (the jars are painted black on the outside with heat-resistant paint to absorb heat from the sun). Thermal Cooking is great during the hot months to keep the heat out of the kitchen: http://www.thermoscooking.com/ You can also brine beans, which aids in keeping them from shredding/exploding and keep the inside creamy and tender. Here's a video from America's Test Kitchen for a How To: http://lifehacker.com/5906564/brine-beans-for-the-best-possible-flavor-and-texture Another great web site for bean info. is The Prudent Homemaker and her article "How to Eat Beans Every Night" - http://theprudenthomemaker.com/blog?view=entry&id=330 I also love the book, "Country Beans" by Rita Bingham. This link has some information and recipes from the book: http://realfoodliving.com/reviews/book-reviews/country-beans-by-rita-bingham -Grainlady