One woman's misfortune is an entire family's gain.

Speaking of food blogs I like, my friend Ilana has started up a new project wherein she is cooking through Tom Norrington-Davies' "Cupboard Love," I'd never heard of Tom before Ilana brought him to my attention, but he's got some terrific recipes and seems to have a flair for Southeast Asian food. Unfortunately for Ilana, her summer has been too interesting thus far, and she seems to have fallen behind. In order to meet her self-imposed deadline, she must really FOCUS and crank through a GOOD number of recipes, or she will FAIL! Don't ask me what happens then. Maybe Tom would send her a wet noodle in the mail. However, she won't fail, she's a tough cookie. But more importantly -- fortunately for us -- Ilana is coming to visit, and I've offered up the empty kitchen and some dedicated leisure time (as well as several hungry mouths to feed) in an effort to help her GET BACK ON TRACK. Will she fall for my ruse? God, I hope so. Click on the sidebar link to see the wonderful job she's done to date.