Sugar High

I was recently browsing in my local Indian grocery, looking for out-of-the-ordinary ingredients to spice up my week's lunches. As I passed the melons, a familiar smell wafted toward me. The culprit was jackfruit, a fruit unfamiliar to most of us who are used to apples, oranges, and the like.

I first encountered jackfruit in the Philippines. It's a large fruit, a little larger than a cantaloupe, whose sickly sweet fruit is enrobed in a spiky green rind. The smell of the cut fruit is exactly like, no joke, Laffy Taffy: you can tell you're in for a sweet treat.

Before getting to the treat, however, cutting the fruit out of its rind is rather a process. The lobes of fruit are trapped in strong, sticky fibers which must be cut with a sharp knife. To top it off, the stickiness of the task requires some vigorous hand-scrubbing.

But the reward is worth the work. Tasting is believing.

A Bacon Birthday

In case you haven't noticed, bacon is in. Not that it was ever out, it's just that bacon seems to be popping up everywhere: on burgers, in salads, in chocolates, even in cookies. Like the now-ubiquitous fried egg, anything topped with bacon is worthy of notice.

So it came as no surprise when I was invited recently to a bacon birthday party. Instead of presents, the birthday girl was asking her guests to bring something deliciously bacon-y to share with the rest of the lucky revelers. Not that bacon isn't wonderful in its simplest form, but I did a little hunting and decided to make Breakfast Cookies, which I found on a blog completely devoted to bacon recipes (genius). These cookies are, shall we say, unexpected: they are flavored with oatmeal, brown sugar, and orange juice, not to mention the aforesaid bacon.

These cookies were very well-received by the party-goers, as were the bacon-wrapped dates, the bacon-cinnamon donuts, and the bacon brownies. But be warned: should you bake these bacon cookies for yourself, be prepared for doubters' wary looks when you describe the cookies: tasting is truly believing.

Better than Lays

Now, I'm as much a fan of the potato chip as the next girl, and I always need my salty fix at the end of a hard day (hitting the books hard). Since I usually try to be a little health-conscious, however, I usually stop myself from picking up the ubiquitous potato chips at the grocery store.

This weekend, I was really regretting my decision to be healthy, so I tried a homemade version: baked pita chips. Not only are they not fried like regular potato chips, they also count as health food because I know all, and can pronounce, all the ingredients that went into making these crunchy little tidbits. And because I was going to be enjoying these chips alone, I made free to add plenty of garlic.

Feel free to experiment with the seasonings with these chips. The pita bread takes well to any flavor - next time I want to try cinnamon sugar!

Baked Garlic Pita Chips

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-3 tablespoons olive oil

-kosher salt and pepper

-two pitas, white or whole wheat

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleaning.

2. Cut each pita in half, then divide each half in two symmetrical pieces (tearing along the perimeter of the "pocket"). Place all pieces on the baking sheet.

3. Combine garlic, oil, and salt and pepper (to taste) in a small bowl. Using a small pastry brush, brush oil mixture onto pita halves. Try to brush most of the surface area of the pitas, but do not let the chips get soggy! If necessary, add more oil to be sure to cover the chips.

4. With kitchen shears, cut each pita half into four pieces. Make sure each chip has some space on the baking sheet.

5. Bake chips in preheated oven about 10 - 12 minutes, until brown around the edges. Let cool for a few minutes (the oil will be hot!) before digging in.

6. Enjoy these chips by yourself or with someone who loves you very much (even with garlicky breath!).

Please pass the nachos

Some of you may know that we have another sister. She cooks too. I almost always pick up a tip from her when I see her. Well anyway, our other sister was making me hungry for nachos the other day. Read why here.

Maybe if we all ask very, very nicely, she will share her secrets with us. Pretty please, Mrs R?