Sampler

It was too nice outside to cook this evening, so instead I put together a sampler of links, thoughts, etc.

• Lane's Home Cooking is What I Like has a great post on Seven Reasons to Eat Local Food.
• Have you ever had Strawberry Panzanella? I haven't . . . yet! I am definitely going to try the Strawberry Panzanella from 101 Cookbooks.
  
• If you have a garden, you might want to plant red bell peppers this year. Our local grocery store isn't even selling them right now because they would have to charge $5 apiece!
  
• Speaking of gardens, I transplanted my zucchini to the garden tonight. I have several types of herbs and some grape tomatoes in my starter tray and have lots of seeds yet to be planted.
• Although I'm planting a garden this year, I'm still excited about going to Farmer's Markets. I like the Quincy Farmer's Market, and this year I'm also going to visit the Hannibal Farmer's Market. If the price of gas was lower, I'd visit a lot more markets.
  
• I am really glad Amy V. found my blog - because now I know about her blog, Delicious by Nature, which has some awesome-looking healthy recipes.
  
• If this post, at Annie's Eats, couldn't win an award for most touching blog post ever, I don't know what could.
  
• Last night I made the Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert (as voted on in my last poll). I have never made caramels - or anything requiring a candy thermometer - before, and I think I let the mixture get a bit too hot. The caramels were too chewy and had a very faint bitter taste. I'm going to try it again, because I think it is a good recipe . . . I just didn't keep an eye on the temperature!
  
• Food Network's Chefography series recently featured Julia Child; I am now a huge Julia Child fan (I know, I'm about 40 years late). I've even watched some French Chef clips on YouTube.
  
• Recent additions to my cookbook collection include: Food to Live By, the Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook; Bob's Red Mill Baking Book; and Baking with Agave Nectar. I know . . . I didn't need more cookbooks . . .
• Did you know that WalMart's website has a "free samples" section? Go to walmart.com, then to "In Stores Now" at the right, then choose "FREE Samples" - or use this link. Samples are sent in the mail, and I haven't received any spam or junk mail as a result. Another good site is Start Sampling.
  
• Finally, does anyone have tips on organizing the freezer side of a side-by-side freezer/refrigerator? Every time I open the freezer, something falls out . . . and I've already cleaned out the old/frostbitten stuff . . .