CHG Favorites of the Week

Bargains of the Week
Amazon: $25 off a $49-or-more Con Agra foods order (Dealhack)
Linens N’ Things: 20% off order coupon (thru 12/31 - Bargainist)
Macy’s: $25 off $100 online purchase (thru 9/22 - Bargainist)

Blog of the Week
Words to Eat By
This is one of my absolute favorite food blogs in the whole world, and not just because it features THE CUTEST BABY EVER (family and friends’ children excepted, of course). A Brooklyn native, Debbie warmly and wittily recounts her adventures in lower-fat cooking and motherhood, as well as her lifelong struggles with weight. The writing is aces, the recipes are delectable (I’ve tried a few), and oh yeah - there’s that baby. If possible, check out her three-part series, “Fat Debbie,” “Hot Debbie,” and just regular ol' “Debbie.”

Cookbook of the Week
Lidia Bastianich’s Italian-American Table
If you’ve ever flipped past PBS, you’ve probably seen Lidia’s Italy – a modestly shot, drool-inducing series where Ms. Bastianich slices, kneads, and sautés her way through dozens of Istrian-slanted Italian dishes. This, Lidia’s second tome (I think?), is the guidebook that goes along with the show. Deeply personal and neatly laid-out, I’ll be working my way through it for the next several hundred years, even if it doesn’t pay any attention whatsoever to fat content. While several of the recipes are available on LidiasItaly.com (skip over the intro), the book itself provides lots of basic how-tos that aren’t included on the site. Amazon has it used from about $7.50.

Organization of the Week
Treat the Troops
Jeanette Cram has baked over 640,000 cookies for soldiers overseas. Whether or not you agree with the war, this is a very, very cool thing, and she’d love some assistance in defraying the postage cost. Contact information is included on her site, but if you’d like to send your own care package, browse her tips section for good ideas.

Quote of the Week
"Why does man kill? He kills for food. And not only food - frequently there must be a beverage." - Woody Allen

Tip of the Week
Instead of hulling strawberries with a pairing knife, push a drinking straw from the bottom up through the top. The leafy, stemmy part will pop right off.

Untried Cheap, Healthy Recipe of the Week
Mark Bittman’s Tomato Paella from The Wednesday Chef
Man, if all food photography looked half as good as this, my monitor would have a hole gnawed right through it. This blog is a pretty sweet in general.

Video of the Week (Food Division)
“Cold Beverage” – G. Love and Special Sauce
G. Love’s second best song (behind “My Baby’s Got Sauce”) is a funky, funky treatise on the glory of extra ice. Dig it.
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