Wow! Lots of good ideas. We have frozen broccoli in the fridge. I'll give the combination a try when I make mac & cheese this week. I usually barely thaw the broccoli with a little water in a covered sauté pan and then drain the water, turn up the heat, and finish it with a bit of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. msazadi - I've followed DW's example in cutting way back on, rather than completely eliminating, problematic foods. Catsup is a good example. Instead of slathering my cheese steak with catsup, as I did in the good old days, I used just enough to taste that it was there when I made them for lunch today. And I will probably try a slice of Jersey tomato on a burger this summer.

"Equal" is a good sweetener for coffee, tea and other foods, but with a caution. It breaks down if heated too much. It works fine for instant coffee or tea where hot water is added to the cup, and will work for heating the ingredients in a cup placed in a microwave. Microwave hearing works becasue the contents will not be heated to boiling, merely to above drinking temperature. For other cooking recipes I've seen using Equal, it is added after any high temperature cooking is done and the mix allowed to cool below boiling. If it is impractical to add the sweetener late in the recipe, I suppose one has to look for other precedures. The key thing is "do not overheat Equal". I'll be watching this thread for a good fudge recipe. Lately, the only effective way I have of bringing my blood glucose levels down is to exercise it away. Winter hibernation is bad for me. I am not a good bear.

I'll take Burnt Broccoli as a side with any Italian-American dish. I'd prefer it warmer than room temp, but it doesn't need to be piping hot. Several variations to be found out there, but they're all similar. I cut up some broccoli, leaving more stem that I normally might. Toss with some olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and a small amount of bread crumbs. Roast in a moderately hot oven - I'm thinking on the higher end of that spectrum, like 400-425 will let the tips blacken as desired but keep the rest crisp enough so it can stand a mild reheating without going to mush. Here's a fuzzy picture, from foodspotting.com, apparently taken from the first place I ever had it.

With most salmon dishes I would serve boiled new potatoes with parsley butter and either a green bean dish or sauteed snow peas. Julienned carrots & parsnips are another possibility. Here's a recipe that originated with Atlantic salmon, but which works just as well with it's Pacific bretheren: George River Salmon 4 salmon steaks, cut about 1-inch thick 3 tbls Dijon mustard 2 tbls olive oil 1/2 cup dry white wine Salt & pepper to taste Mix the oil, mustard, wine, salt & pepper in a bowl. Add the salmon steaks to the sauce and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours, turning often. Place the steaks on a buttered piece of foil, on a broiler pan. Preheat the broiler. Place the steaks 4 inches from heat source and broil until they flake; about 10 minutes. At least twice during cooking brush with marinade. Instead of a bowl I mix the marinade in a zipper bag and add the steaks to it, squeezing out the air before putting in the fridge. This dish can be made on the grill, too. If you don't mind working a little harder, this dish always impresses people: Salmon & Rice in Pastry 1 lb fresh raw salmon in thin slices 1 pastry recipe 3 cups cooked rice, dry & cold Salt & pepper to taste 2 cups veloute sauce 1 tbls chopped fresh dill 1 tbls lemon juice 3 hard cooked geegs, finely chopped 1 egg beaten with 1 tbls milk 1/4 lb unsalted butter, melted. Divide pastry in two parts. Roll out one half to 1/4 inch thickness, place on a cookie sheet, and trim to a 7 x 17 inch rectangle. Put a layer of rice 1/3 inch deep on the pastry, leaving a 1 1/4 inch border all around. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon half the veloute sauce over the rice. Lay the salmon slices over the sauce to cover. Sprinklw with salt, pepper, dill, and lemon juice. Cover with the rest of the veloute sauce, then choped eggs. Top with another 1/3 inch layer of rice. Roll the second half of the pastry to 1/4 inch. Trim to 9 x 16 inch rectangle. Paint the border of the lower crust with the egg wash and top with the second pastry layer, carefully pressing the edges together without stretching the loaf. Trim to about an inch around the loaf. Press edges with tines of a fork. Cut two small holes in top of loaf, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Gather scrps of pasry together and cout out decorative shapes. Paint entire loaf with egg wash and stick on the decorations. Then glaze them. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put loaf in oven and immediately lower temerature to 375. Bake 1 to 1 1/4 hours until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand about 15 minutes. Pour 2 tbls melted butter into each hole in the top. Cut loaf into 1-inch slices and serve with remaining melted butter. Obviously, with the rice & pastry you can skip the potatoes with this one. For a luncheon, as you suggest, I would think of a light consomme starter (see my posts about celery consomme, for example, which would be ideal) followed by this dish along with a fennel & orange, or other fruity salad.