In other news, here’s a new book you might be interested in if you like reading about cooking contests and such.

Read more: The Ungarnished Truth

NOW THEN! This book, this book filled with delicious cookie recipes which make people cross their eyes, will be the next giveaway here on Cass Knits! If you want a copy of your very own, that can happen! To get one entry, leave a comment. (First time blog commenters are moderated, so don’t worry if your comment doesn’t show up right away. I’ll approve it when I get back to the key board.)

Read more: Loving Martha, Baking Cookies, Buying Stuff and Give Away

Cooking prime rib is easy when you know how. It no longer has to be the treat we only get when we visit a restaurant.

Read more: Cooking Prime Rib

So if you have half a day to kill and a taste for Asian cooking, give it a try.

Read more: Jaden Hair is Pho Sure My God

Take out a dutch oven, crock pot, or similar-sized pot, and heat 1.5 tbps canola oil. After the pot is really hot, add the 3 chicken backs. You don't need to use chicken backs, really. Anything which has lots of nice marrow will work well. My mom always used drumsticks and thighs, but I've heard that chicken necks are excellent for building a broth. Yes, it's kind of gross, but it'll be worth it when you taste the soup, and you're not going to eat chicken backs or necks, anyway. Are you??!?

Read more: Chicken Soup with Kneidlach

David grew up in Lubbock, and it seems that, like 99.9% of the other Local Denizens, he was a big fan of Mexican food. Tex-Mex or Mex-Mex, no matter: He loved it all.

Read more: THESE TA-MEOW-LES ARE DELICIOUS

OK, I saw on the Food Network the other day (LOVE that channel) something I felt we could not take sitting down.

Read more: A Call to Chocolate Arms

In a Dutch oven, over medium heat, bring the chicken broth and green chile peppers to a boil. Stir in the cans of cannellini beans, corn, garlic, cumin, crushed red pepper, smoked paprika, and chili powder. Stir in the chicken and onion mixture.

Read more: White chicken chili

With regard to bread, German cuisine is more akin to Eastern than to Western Europe. Depending on definition there are 300-600 different types of bread, ranging from white wheat bread to grey bread (Graubrot) and “black” (actually dark brown) rye bread (Schwarzbrot). Most types of bread contain both wheat and rye flour (hence Mischbrot, mixed bread), and often wholemeal and seeds (such as linseed, sunflower seed, or pumpkin seeds) as well. Pumpernickel, a Westphalian black bread, is not baked but steamed, and has a unique sweetish taste.

Read more: Daily Bread

Then, make yourself some refried black beans. I use this recipe from the Food Network. My only recommendation is that you might want to up the cumin and salt a bit - the first time I made it, I had about 1 1/2 cans of beans, and I forgot to take down the levels of cumin, and I have found I like it better with the extra flavor.

Read more: Pizza for you, pizza for me.

i have to admit, i like to eat Chinese food, but i'm not always a big fan of the fortune cookie they toss in.

Read more: Misfortune

J.D.’s note: Even if you’re unwilling to take all of the steps Daiko did to save money, implementing just a few of them can help you cut your food budget. Also, another cheap beginner’s cookbook with simple recipes is Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.

Read more: How to Feed Yourself for $15 a Week

About ten days ago or so the city of Fort Collins began spraying for mosquitoes as we already had several reported cases of West Nile Virus in town. The city web page advised closing all windows and shutting off AC if you had it. They also said to cover your garden. Well, we can’t cover the plum or apple tree so I went out and pulled the largest and softest plums. I only got a little bit picked before we heard the truck on our street. But by the end of last week the plums we hadn’t just eaten were nearing over-ripeness. Luckily it coincided with a slight reprieve in the heat so I cooked up a batch of plum butter.

Read more: Fiber Fool � Plum Butter and Crumpets

Stay tuned for my adventures to California-Whine country and you'll learn all you ever needed to know to stick your nose up at the culinary sensations in the California hillsides.

Read more: Elitist Hipster Snob: Snootball and the Whine-and-cheeze-Wizard

Homemade cookies are such a delight. You’ll have sticky fingers coming out of the cookie jar with these gooey treats, but they’re sure to please. Simple to make, and a big hit at parties. Just bake ‘em, let them cool, cut them into delectable squares, and serve up on a festive platter.

Read more: Triple Layer Gooey Cookie Bars � Lemonade Stand