kaylaps's Profile

My husband is a diehard carnivore and I'm mostly veg, although I do eat some fish/shellfish. I usually make a starch and veg that we'll both eat and separately cook just a protein for him (grill, pan-fry, whatever); sometimes it's a soup or casserole that he can add the meat to at the end, like a chowder he can garnish with bacon. We also do Meatless Monday as a symbolic thing - maybe Katie can try to get her fiancee interested in the environmental benefits of less meat, too...

Both, too. Like kariwk & others, I usually have some cooked and frozen (Sundays is often crock-pot beans day), but will use the canned on weeknights from time to time. And agree that Rancho Gordo are fabulous!

My local market just started carrying Zursun Idaho Heirlooms, http://www.zursunbeans.com, and I really like their products so far.

My husband really liked these - good basic recipe to start from: http://www.marthastewart.com/338460/fresh-breakfast-sausage

Cloth most of the time, but paper towels when it's really greasy/messy stuff (usually the choose-a-size kind; less wasteful). All our cloth napkins are white and get washed/bleached after each use; and some are just for company until they, too, become "everyday".

We live in Northern California and are pretty well-prepared. I bought a book about emergency food a few years ago called Apocalypse Chow (http://www.slashfood.com/2007/02/18/apocalypse-chow-how-to-eat-well-when-the-power-goes-out-cookbo/). We have our disaster stash right next to our regular pantry and it is ONLY food that we actually eat. I rotate through it regularly.

Agree with the dilution solutions above, as well as using dairy, and sometimes a squirt of agave syrup or honey is also a good idea.

I tried lots of pepper mills for their looks, but none of them lasted. Finally I went utilitarian with the OXO grinder set, http://www.oxo.com/p-497-salt-pepper-grinder-set.aspx, and they work great! Not pretty, mind you, but very practical; and I love fresh-ground salt even more than pepper now!

I just bought a pair of Arstid lamps from Ikea (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10163874) for our nightstands - similar to the Chelsea model from Pottery Barn but only $20 each. :-)

We have 2 tables - one is immediately adjacent to the kitchen, seats 4, and is used most nights for dinner; the other is across the room in an open dining room/den area, it's bar-height, sometimes used for games and cocktails, and also seats 4. We also have 3 stools on one side of the kitchen island that are regularly used. When we have company we can also fit 1 or 2 long rectangular tables into the space. I like having options. ;-)

Hmm - I find it interesting that you are cross-promoting Bon Appetit when, coincidentally, Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan has had several recipes published there recently...