Erica C. Barnett's Profile

Au contraire: There is NO such thing as a bad bowl of grits! I will even defend Waffle House on this score. But Anson Mills is certainly the gold standard. I love them with a pat of salted butter and a sprinkling of Cheddar or Parmesan cheese.

"We" find time to exercise or surf the Internet. This kind of statement is exactly why Pollan is regarded as an elitist who's out of touch with the actual lives of working-class Americans, single moms, people working multiple jobs just to stay afloat, and others who don't have the "free time" to dink around online or go to the gym. Pollan's "we" excludes all those people.

Because so many cookbooks are such a delight to read! I could read Amanda Hesser's NYT cookbook from a couple of years ago over and over (and have). Also, I like to write notes about the recipes--reviews and tweaks.

Not just Canada--also Seattle, where both dairy and meat items are compostable, as well as bread and rice.

I really prefer prepared salsa--Texas Texas brand when I'm visiting TX, Emerald Valley hot salsa when stuck with Seattle options.

I adore the (controversial!) version from the 1997 Joy of Cooking, which uses bechamel instead of canned soup: http://www.aphids.com/susan/sept98recipes/recipes/casserole05.html

Pet peeve: "Nonplussed" means confused, not unimpressed.

I cohabitated with a dude who LITERALLY had an empty closet because he kept all his clothes in a pile on the floor. And I can only echo all the folks who've mentioned cleaning ... if you're moving in with someone, make sure they don't think it's going to be exclusively YOUR job (because "we have different standards about what constitutes 'clean'...) Same thing with clutter.

Black olives and green peppers. And undercooked grocery-store tomatoes. Yuck.

I love eating alone, as well as with others, and am so sick of the meme that solo dining is inevitably (not always, but sometimes) sad or lonely! I have never felt the need to come up with "coping mechanisms" for solo meals. The whole "poor you, you have to eat alone sometimes" idea reminds me of people who ask why you aren't married, or don't have kids, or whatever lifestyle choice they don't understand.