This is the thing about the great big wonderful world of blogs– are you listening? Blogs can open you up to a whole great big wonderful world!

Yesterday I was over at No Recipes. He posted a delicious and very Marc looking Aloo Gobi, which is an Indian dish of spiced cauliflower with potatoes. Something about it hit me just the right way. So I decided right then that I would make it for lunch– immediately.

This is not the type of thing I usually cook. In fact this is the kind of thing I usually reserve for restaurants. It’s not that I can’t cook food like this. I just proved (at least to myself) that I can. But for some reason I just don’t… but I guess that is a question between my pantry and me.

Speaking of my pantry, my pantry gets a lot of the credit for the success of today. I keep my pantry in tip-top shape. You never know when it’s going to get a strong work out from a difficult challenger. This Indian spiced dish is a perfect example of the kind of preparedness I am talking about because I was able to read Marc’s post and look at his pictures and start right in on cooking my version with in a few moments. So I am pretty proud of that fact.

I have made this cook book available in my OpenSky Shop. Just CLICK here to be taken straight there.

“Food Porn” just what does that mean? Where did the phrase even come from? I find the casual use of that term mildly disturbing and a bit inappropriate. It’s not that I am a prude in any way (at all), but it does seem a bit disrespectful to actual pornography. Because it indicates a snobbish sort of elitism– a bit of tongue-in-cheek wryness designed to let the reader know just how hip we foodies think we must be. Do we really need to let the world know how cool and open-minded we are by embracing "pornography" in this superior way? Oh the irony of it, because (it seems to the world) that we foodies see pornography as – well, bourgeois.

Though to be fair, I suppose the term got its start because many of the same carnal (animalistic) instincts are tickled by both varieties of “porn”. Still “food porn” can embarrass me in a way that the other kind cannot.

Understanding the etymology of the term might help me embrace it and come to know what it means. Which may help me see why I find the term so ridiculous.

Carrots are a year 'round item at the Hollywood Farmers Market. But this time of year particularly beautiful carrots can be found in an array of colors, sizes and shapes. I love the little round French carrots; so sweet and carroty. They are the perfect size to pop in your mouth like a little carrot bon-bon, and that’s exactly what I do with them.

So this week I chose carrots for my Market Matters post. Not just any carrot however, I chose a variety of the most unusually colored carrots I could find. Because once you get out of the PigglyWiggly you will discover that there is way more to a carrot than orange. There are red carrots, purple ones, even yellow, white, and two-toned varieties.

You needn’t be frightened of these carrots. They are not some mutinized hybrid with a lot of genetic hanky-panky going on. Nope, most of these carrots are heirlooms.

I got a load of lemons today.

It's citrus season is Southern California, and you know I am always up for a little urban foraging!

So that is just how I started my day, sack in hand rummaging through the branches of my neighbors fruit trees. Just so you know, I have rules about foraging. So don't accuse me of stealing. All my "victims" are either willing participants or silly people who stupidly planted their citrus so that the branches hang out onto public thoroughfares! So you see, these details make my harvest perfectly legal. Still, I never take more than 2 or 3 pieces of fruit from each tree... I do have some scrupples!

But once I was home, I was faced with the decision of what to do with my haul... A dessert popped in my brain. I do like lemon desserts, and considered a lemon sabayon tart. Besides, Sippity Sup has been abondonded by its readership and a pretty dessert always brings the strays in my flock back home. I may still do that dessert too, because I have a lot of lemons. But there is no time to bake today. I have other committments.

It happened again. I ripped off KCRW’s Good Food. This time my victim was Jean Francois Meteigner the chef at La Cachette Bistro in Santa Monica.

When I left the house this morning for the Hollywood Farmers Market I had an open mind about what I would find for my weekly Market Matters post. I was determined to pick something this week that I was unfamiliar with– something new to me, something that would necessitate putting my brain in gear. Stretch myself. Grow a little. Try something new!

I saw English shelling peas in the pod, they super tempted me. Not that they are all that original. I cook with peas almost every week of my life. Still when they are fresh from the market, it’s easy to throw all your other plans out the window. But I decided that the peas were not really peaking yet, and I’d rather wait a few more weeks and be rewarded with perfect peas. Besides there was that promise I made: Stretch myself. Grow a little. Try something new!

I have got quite an OpenSky opportunity for you.

20 lucky people will be able to purchase a $15.00 Prepara Trio Three Blade Peeler for the amazing price of $1.99. Including shipping. That's right! Your total cost is $1.99! Many other people will get 15% off codes for any Prepara product from any of the other great OpenSky Shops.

This special deal is only good for me and my readers, so don't say I am not looking out for you. 'Cuz that's all I do... I work hard to bring you these great opportunities, and all you need to do to take advantage of my sweat and toil is go to the special SippitySup Promotion Page at OpenSky. CLICK here to be taken straight there. All the details you need are on that page.

But I am sure you'd like to know why I chose this product for this very special promotion. After all– $1.99 is $1.99! You may need a little proof in this here puddin'... Well, rest assured I chose this product because I use it in my own kitchen. I honestly do. CLICK here to watch me in my newest video using one in a special recipe I created just for this promotion!  Zucchini "Linguini" with Pistachios and Mint. But I have a secret about this recipe and you'll just have to check it out to see what it is!

This book immediately caught my eye, so I knew it belonged in my OpenSky shop. CLICK here to purchase or browse. Use the coupon code REDESIGN for 10% off through January 31! The book feels so right to me because it seems to sense my mood just right.

You might not know it (by the way I am dressed) but Sup! can be quite the fashionable devil. I am pretty good at whiffing out the "now" and the “hot”. I immediately know what the next "new black” is just by looking.

I am here to proclaim the "new black” in cookbooks focuses on books that have a specialized niche. You can thank the web for this trend because there is so much information available to us now and with just a few quick keystrokes we can edit out all that is superfluous.

Which is why Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations is the next must have kitchen accessory of the season. Because these guys were smart enough to make it perfectly seasonable. It is the au courant little book of fashionable self-indulgence. It’s filled with recipes that make you want to (yes!) celebrate the season in style.