Again, the New Hampshire Food Bank is putting out a call for help. It doesn’t take much for one to realize the crisis at hand. Wasn’t it just a few months ago their shelves were empty, restored and emptied again? Residents plagued by high fuel costs are joining the food pantry lines in record numbers and it seems as if things are only getting worse. The pinch is being felt by those of every class and most are no longer walking around with an “It won’t happen to me” attitude. It’s happening to everyone, and this dire situation does not discriminate.

Who doesn't love a good chocolate chip cookie? With nuts, without nuts, with chocolate chips or white chocolate chips, soft or crunchy; no matter what your favorite variety is they are sure to bring out the kid in anyone. I am always on the lookout for a great chocolate chip cookie and have baked dozens of different varieties. Some were great and some, well, not so much.

Yesterday I came home from grocery shopping, deposited the bags on the floor and got busy with the arduous task of finding homes for it all. I have a fair amount of cabinet space and big, giant chunky draws are in abundance in my charming, if not old kitchen. However, my cabinets are packed full with who knows what; remnants left over from various recipe contest experiments and other foodie adventures that were abandoned for a night at the local Pizza Chef, and rightly so in some cases. My experiments sometimes border on sheer craziness, as do the ingredients I collect to create them.

One of the most famous declarations of love penned by the famous Elizabeth Barrett Browning; How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. These days it seems more fitting to declare; How do I love thee? Let me count my money. Valentines Day may conjure up colors in various shades of red and pink, however green is splashed around as well in the form of currency.

It happens every year around this time; a full fledged promise to lose weight by exercising and eating right. It also happens that a large percentage of us screw this up royally in the first few weeks. I am guilty as charged with the offense of making resolutions that I can not stick to. Unfortunately every year that passes without committing to a weight loss program is only making the road ahead that much harder. At what point do we say, "Enough is enough. Today I am making up my mind to become the healthy person I was meant to be." I don't know about all of you but for me, the trek to lose weight has been fraught with denial and lots of it too!

My brother is two years younger than me, but our birthdays are only four days apart. Every year our family would have a celebration for the both of us on the same day, and that is how it was always done. I think I used to hate sharing my cake with him, and maybe even thought that I would have gotten more presents if people didn't have to spend twice as much on the two of us! As the years went on though, I would have to admit that I loved sharing this event with him and became sad for the times he wasn't there.

The following information came to me today through my cooking contesting newswire, and I am pleased to pass this information on to any aspiring young chef in their junior or senior year of high school. So come on kids, tie on those aprons, get those creative juices flowing and go represent the wonderful state of New Hampshire! This is an opportunity of a lifetime for those who wish to seek out a career in the culinary arts. You have nothing to lose, good luck!

I am pleased to announce that for Christmas I received from my husband a charcoal grill/smoker. As people ask me what I received and I tell them, I hear things like "Oh really, how nice?" It seems no one can wrap their minds around a woman being gifted with, in other words, a mans gift. Au contraire!

Yesterday I was perusing the meat section at the Franklin Hannaford when a gentleman who works there asked if he could help. I explained I wanted a cut of beef to use for Beef and Broccoli. He pointed me in the direction of some wonderful sirloin tips that were on sale, yet I opted for the usual top round (which, when you semi-freeze; can be sliced paper thin) perfect for beef sauté. As this exchange was going on I noticed a sweet older lady listening with interest. While I wasn't sold on the sirloin tips, she was. The problem she said was that the packages were too big and she didn't need that much meat. After all, her husband passed away and she was feeding just herself. The wonderful Hannaford employee told her it was no problem at all to go and package her a couple pieces of sirloin. He was back in a flash with a parcel just her size and she walked off quite pleased.

What would any Thanksgiving holiday be without revisiting Arlo Guthrie's, Alice's Restaurant? I doubt there is a single person from any generation, who at one time or another doesn't find themselves mindlessly singing the famous line, "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant. Just walk right in; it's around the back, just half a mile from the railroad track. You can have anything you want at Alice's restaurant."  It's eighteen minutes and twenty seconds of pure talk-song, folk music with a twist; the story is true.