Just a few hours ago I was thinking about “sayings” and how they relate to food.

And I got to thinking about how, if I made them food related what would they sound like. And what would they mean? Would they mean the same thing?

As you probably can tell from reading the newsletter I write, what I feel, and that I never learned what Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Pronouns, Determiners, Prepositions, and Conjunctions are. And I am a product of phonetic spelling education.

So, this week I asked for help from AI Chat. I changed the sayings to include food, and it went with it. This is what it gave me…. edited

Break the ice with food

nothing bonds people faster than eating together. Food naturally helps people relax and connect, making conversation flow more easily—because few things bring people together faster than eating together.

Dish the delish

Share something delicious or talk excitedly about good food. Spread the yum!

It’s a twist on expressions like “dish the dirt,” replacing gossip with positivity and flavor. In this context, “dish” means to share or serve, while “delish” refers to something tasty or enjoyable. Whether it’s recommending a favorite recipe, raving about a great meal, or serving food for others to enjoy, this phrase is all about spreading the yum.

Start the ball rolling with meatballs and spaghetti:

This is a common idiom means start eating,

By serving something hearty and familiar, you set a warm, welcoming tone where conversations flow easily—because it’s hard not to connect over a big, delicious plate of spaghetti and meatballs 🍝.

Take the plunge into jell-o

Embrace the fun, try something new, and don’t overthink it—especially when it comes to food. Commit boldly, but with a wiggle.

Rooted in the long-standing metaphor of diving into water, replaced with Jell-O’s nostalgic sweetness we encourage you to embrace fun, trying something new, and not overthinking it when it comes to food.

FYI --------------------------------

Key to walking after a meal

This notion has been around a longtime.

In parts of Italy people take an evening la passeggiata stroll, and in Indian culture there’s shatapawali — walking ~100 steps after a meal — to aid digestion.

The “researchers” call it postprandial walking, and has been studied scientifically for over a decade.

Simply walking shortly after eating blunts blood glucose spikes.

So, after a meal a walk is a simple and effective way to support digestion and overall health. A light stroll helps food move through the digestive system, reducing bloating and heaviness, while gently stimulating circulation. It also uses glucose for energy, which can help lower post-meal blood sugar spikes.

Even short walks of 10–30 minutes can boost metabolism, support weight management, and improve mood and energy levels.

The key is to keep the pace gentle. Overall, incorporating a post-meal walk into your routine is a small habit with meaningful health benefits.

These whole piquillo peppers are perfect for stuffing. Their slightly thicker skin compared to other peppers makes them easy to hold in your palm while you stuff them.

Piquillo peppers are a type of chili pepper originating from the northern region of Spain, in the Navarra region. These peppers are known for their small size, distinctive shape, and sweet, slightly spicy flavor.

The name "piquillo" is derived from the Spanish word "pico," meaning beak, which refers to the pointed shape of the pepper.

And these peppers are not just for stuffing! Think of salads, tapas, and incorporated into sauces and stews.

White rice flour is a fine, powdery substance made from polished white rice. It has a neutral flavor and smooth texture, making it a versatile ingredient in both savory and sweet dishes. White rice flour is particularly popular in gluten-free baking, as it provides structure and lightness to baked goods without the use of wheat flour.

Additionally, it serves as an effective thickening agent for sauces, soups, and gravies, and is a key ingredient in many Asian dishes, such as rice noodles and rice cakes.

The production of white rice flour begins with selecting high-quality white rice grains. The rice is first cleaned to remove any impurities and debris.

The cleaned rice is then soaked in water to soften the grains, making them easier to grind. After soaking, the rice is dried thoroughly to remove excess moisture. The dried rice is then ground into a fine powder using a milling machine.

This milling process involves several stages to ensure the flour reaches the desired consistency. Finally, the flour is sifted to remove any remaining coarse particles, resulting in a uniform, fine-textured flour ready for use in various culinary applications.

In Thailand, white rice flour is a fundamental ingredient used in a variety of traditional dishes, both sweet and savory.

Thai desserts such as Khanom Chan, a multi-layered steamed dessert made with rice flour, coconut milk, and flavored with pandan.

Another popular dessert is Khanom Krok, small coconut-filled rice cakes with a crispy exterior and creamy interior, made from a batter of rice flour and coconut milk.

Additionally, Lod Chong, a dessert featuring green jelly noodles made from rice flour and served in sweet coconut milk.

On the savory side, white rice flour is essential in making rice noodles. Noodles come in various forms, such as the wide, flat sen yai and the thin sen lek, and are used in famous dishes like Pad Thai and Pad See Ew.

Rice flour is also employed as a thickening agent in soups, curries, and sauces, ensuring a smooth texture without altering the flavor.

Rice flour is also used in pandan pancakes and the delicate wrappers for fresh spring rolls.

Farina di Ceci is the Italian term for chickpea flour. This recipe combines the nutty, rich flavor of chickpea flour with the crispiness of rice flour.

This is one of my all time favorite oils! It is superb and easy to use anywhere! Add this oil to your “collection”.

Extra Virgin Olive oil from gravity extraction but before the olives are pressed through mats. Unfiltered with very low acidity (0.1%) - much lower than required to be called "extra virgin". Blend of fourteen varieties, principally Picuda, Picual and Hojiblanca.

The smell is wonderful, just as you would want a newly opened bottle of olive oil to be!

The outpouring of vibrant yellow-green is delicious and enticing.

The first big slurp rushes memories of an oil we haven't had in 10 years! Light and olivey, round, buttery on top, then finishing with a pencil tip of delightful bitterness high in the cheeks. Followed by a strong tickle of sharpness that only a newly harvested oil can deliver!

Don’t be tricked, as I was. Delicate sips reveal sophisticated hints of olive, avocado, and artichoke with a lightness of being. But if you venture into a big gulp and a backward thrust of the oil into your throat, you'll get a big surprise!

Hidden amongst all the light, friendly appearance is a powerful punch of high-powered zing and a burn that declares this oil is alive!

Nunez de Prado is like a homecoming and a new friend all rolled into one! What fun to have this special, wonderful olive oil back in our lives!

This is some of the most fragrant, flavorful sugar we've ever tasted. Hints of toasted coconut and caramel waft from the open bag. Not quite as sweet as cane sugar or as overpowering as dark muscovado, it is loaded with toasty flavor. Maple sugar fans will love this.

Sprinkle this coconut palm sugar on your oatmeal; use it instead of white sugar on top of crème brulée; make a syrup from it and drizzle it over some banana nut pancakes; use it as part of the crumbly topping for crisps, crumbles, or coffee cake; try it in coffee or herbal tea; use it to add a bit of sweetness to marinades and stir-fries, and experiment with all sorts of desserts. (We've even been known just to pop it right into our mouths for a sweet treat...!)

In the village of Dawan on the island of Bali, artisans collect the sweet "tuak" sap from the bounty of coconut palms that keep this coastal village shady and cool. The village of Dawan is renowned throughout Indonesia as the place where coconut sugaring first began, and their golden harvest is highly prized.

With the coming of dawn, the silhouettes of island farmers can be seen climbing high into swaying palms, tapping the flower spikes that hang within the green fronds. A sweet nectar is released and drips slowly into earthen vessels hung below the flowers.

This nectar is "tuak:" the sweet sap of the palm. The tuak is boiled over open fires in cast iron kettles and slowly thickens to sugar. At just the right moment, the sugars are stirred to form crystals and ladled hot into waiting coconut shell molds and then ground back into granules for transport to America.

The art of sugaring the palms is a tradition dating back over centuries, its secrets passed from generation to generation. An artisan sugar made on a scale of kilos a day...nothing short of perfection.

A wonderfully fragrant dried coconut. The tiny flakes are what professional bakers call "macaroon cut" because they are perfect for coconut macaroons. These flakes have absolutely nothing added, no sugar, no preservatives...what could be better than that.

Malloreddus is a small pasta shape from Sardinia, made with water and semolina flour in plain or saffron dough.

The name has Latin origins from malleoulus meaning small morsel. It is also believed the origins of the name come from the word malloru, meaning bull, and that malloreddus means calves. The shape of the pasta is like the calf of a leg.

No matter, this saffron-infused pasta is traditionally handmade in homes by taking small rolled dough in 15 cm pieces and pressing and rolling it against the bottom of a wicker basket.

This method gives the exterior ribbed look while being pressed by the thumb and as it is pressed it is rolled into its shape.

This shape is sometimes referred to as gnocchi in Italian and cigiones in Sassari. There are many robust yet simple dishes you can make with this shape. SKU:

This is an adaption of Marcella's "Butter and Parmisan Cheese Sauce" by adding fresh sage. Marcella would make this dish in a well warmed mixing bowl. We suggest making it in a sauce pan.

You can taste the Gravenstein Apple! When you can taste the variety of apple you know you are tasting something special!

This Katz Gravenstein Apple Cider Vinegar is a revelation, a vision, a lightning bolt of amazement! Yes, it's just vinegar, but a little sip with just your lips, and you can taste the sweetness, the shape, the roundness of the apple you can taste the apple!

It makes you realize that you don't need to have industrial grade cleaner apple cider vinegar in your body.

The one word that describes this vinegar to him is "quaffable". More than five years ago he had some gut issues and nothing was working. So he started drinking his Katz Gravenstein apple cider vinegar; 1/8 cup vinegar with 12 ounces of mineral water. And it worked. He has had no issues since.

About the Gravenstein Apple

In the Sonoma Valley, Gravensteins hit peak planting in 1945, when over 14,000 acres of the area's gently sloping hills were covered with the trees. Today, there are far fewer, as thousands of acres have been replanted with grape vines - another crop we love, but we still believe in supporting those remaining Gravenstein growers. Slow Food has declared the Gravenstein apple to be a "Heritage" food that should be protected from further encroachment.

The fruit has long been sought after by chefs for its culinary uses and its elegant balance of sweet and tart flavors. Gravensteins' dense texture makes them perfect for sauces and pastries, and they also make a gorgeous apple crisp imaginable - and some of the best cider around.

And here is where we come in. This cider vinegar is made from hard cider from late-ripening Gravenstein apples when the sugars are high, and then the cider is carefully and slowly converted to vinegar in 55-gallon oak barrels.

This Deep Dark Dutch-processed dark unsweetened cocoa powder is in a class unto itself. We have removed less fat from our cocoa (22-24% fat content), which results in a more intense and immediate chocolate flavor.

This "service pack" of ChefShop cocoa powder is designed for commercial users like baristas, bakers, and gelato makers. It is sealed in a thick zip-lock style bag for production baking with a Plain Jane label. Like many of the foods and ingredients that go to the back of the house, the contents are more important than being pretty.

And price relative to quantity is also a crucial part of the commercial kitchen. So that is why we have chosen this cocoa, for the quality and consistency of product relative to the cost.

And that's what we have here in this bag of exceptional cocoa powder. The resealable bag keeps the cocoa powder fresh and it can last a good long time.