I (and many others, based on my informal polling) want to start carrying lunches in something non-plastic with multiple compartments to keep items separate, but most bento boxes are plastic and their lids don’t attach well. And the metal ones can’t go in the microwave.

Seems like a business opportunity here somewhere….

I admit, I’d never heard of it. So, I was a bit skeptical when I got an email from a Bob’s rep offering to send me a free sample. And I struggled with wondering what would happen to my integrity if I got something for free in exchange for a review. But, hey, I’m an honest gal, and hopefully you readers know it as long as I tell you how this came about. So, finally, I thought “What the heck?”, and said “okay.”

Then the box came in the mail. Not one, but two bottles of sauce with a simple red, white, blue and yellow label. A windfall!

If you know me, you know I’m a saucy sort. I love Worcesteshire sauce, and A-1 steak sauce, and BBQ sauces of all sorts (especially homemade). Especially on fries.

So, this Bob’s stuff had competition, and I was so certain it wouldn’t really stack up that I didn’t even try it. At first. Then I began to feel badly that the company had mailed me two free bottles, so I poured a little into a spoon. (I’m a big believer of trying new products unadulterated and on their own before using them with something else.) And you know what? My preconceptions were entirely wrong.

This stuff is everything I love: spicy and sweet, with some (but not too much) heat. I’ve since eaten it on fries, vegetables, and, yes, meat. It’s worked really well with them all. An all natural recipe, it reminds me a bit of my dad’s memorable concoctions from my youth.

Not sure where I can buy it around these parts, but I do know they are on-line. I’ll hoard my two bottles as long as I can, and then I guess I’ll have to buy my new stock. But that’s okay, ’cause it’s worth it. I have to admit the “Christ is our CEO” slogan on the bottle took me aback, as I’m not used to seeing products tout their beliefs and I get a little concerned since I know too many supposed Christians who are less the golden-rule sorts and more the “I-abhor-everyone-who-doesn’t-belong-to-my-belief-system” sorts. If I find out that the latter rules here, I may have to discontinue eating their yummy sauce.

Thank you, blog, for leading me to something new!

Ever since, to my boundless delight, he’s been busy in the kitchen making things like sweet potato felafel, chili pumpkin and wild mushroom soup, Leon Gobi, and chicken-asparagus-lemon cassoulet. All simple, all fast, all delicious.

Turns out Leon is a restaurant on London’s Carnaby Street. It opened in 2004 with the goal of changing the face of fast food by focusing on bold flavor and simple, fresh, local, natural ingredients. Pretty radical, eh?

It was named the Best New Restaurant in Great Britain only six months after it opened by a judging panel that included the inimitable and intimidating Gordon Ramsay. Now the cookbook is influencing my travel plans.

If only the U.S. fast-food folks could get it right….

He’s the guy that wrote The Omnivore’s Dilemma–a book I’ve found quite influential to my thinking about food, tracing several meals back to their origins, while exploring America’s food industry.

Well, he’s just come out with Food Rules, a rule book like Richard Carlson’s Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…. A guide for better eating as Carlson’s is for better living. A random page flip brings us:

“If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.”

So much for Oreos. Sigh.

The Western Massachusetts EatUp! was an idea spawned by an exchange on Twitter. I and cohort, Jessica, met there and decided to share our mutual love of food and fun by organizing such monthly dining experiences, calling the event an “EatUp!” as a play on the Twitter slang “TweetUp” and, of course, the word “meet up.” In fact, it’s MeetUp.com that hosts our site.

The goal? To explore and support local eateries, meet new people, and have some fun in this challenging economy.

The virtual becomes the edible.

Tomorrow, we’re heading to Venus and the Cellar Bar with a total of 26 people. Casey Douglass is one of my favorite local area chefs. I can’t wait.

Stay tuned for intermittent reports on our continuing adventures.

And feel free to join us!