I like rooting for the underdog, so I was going to report that Raising the Salad Bar is from a small press I’d never heard of but which does a convincing Chronicle Books knockoff: good recipes, good design.

It turns out the publisher, Lake Isle Press, puts out the collected works of Rachael Ray. So, not exactly the underdog. But _Salad Bar_ is great. It’s a salad book that is not a health food book, and the recipes are impressively diverse:

* Steamed mussels with garlic croutons and micro-greens
* Mixed greens and radicchio salad with grilled sliced steak
* Cajun shrimp and corn salad with lime-chile dressing
* Bibb, watercress, and endive salad with pears, walnuts, and pomegranate seeds

The photos are appealing, and it’s a catchy title. If you’re looking to expand your salad repertoire, as I always am, check it out–I found it at the public library, but I’ll probably buy it.

Here’s a tip. I found out about this book through the Seattle Public Library’s [new nonfiction RSS feed](http://catalog.spl.org/lists/newest-nonfiction/rss/). Every time they put a new nonfiction book out on the shelf, it goes into the feed. This sounds unmanageable, but it’s never more than 25 books in a day, and it’s very easy to zip past titles I’m not interested in, such as this actual example from today:

> The house that cleans itself by Clark, Mindy Starns. ( Harvest House Publishers ). More than a how-to book, “The House That Cleans Itself” looks at what God has to say about cleanliness and order, and how He can inspire order in every readers life in a fresh and unique way.

Libraries seem to standardize on the same software, so your library may well offer the same feature. I highly recommend it–I’ve learned about tons of great new books this way. Now I have to go do some filing, lest I be struck by lightning.

On [Serious Eats](http://www.seriouseats.com/):

Kid Knives

> But when I saw our friend’s red Kuhn Rikon paring knife I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it out of Iris’s hands. So I didn’t bother trying. I handed her the knife, which comes with a handy sheath, and let her chop the scallions and red chile.

> “I wonder if this comes in other colors,” I mused while Iris chopped.

> “Like pink?” she asked.

Back in prehistoric times, I wrote a fantasy about Meal Bandit, a web site that would let you post your dinners and see what other people are having for dinner. I even flirted with actual writing it.

Reader JR Tipton took the idea much more seriously than I did, and I’m pleased to report that the site–his version is called [Meal Outlaw](http://www.mealoutlaw.com/)–is now a reality. And it’s awesome. Here are some things you can do:

* Add meals to a calendar view (it doesn’t say this, but you can simply click on the blank area of a day on the calendar and type your meal right on it) and drag them around to different days if necessary. Here’s my calendar.
* Tag your meals (“italian, pasta, pancetta”) and see other people’s meals with a particular tag.
* Give your meals a star rating so you can look back and remember whether you really liked a particular recipe.
* Post comments on other people’s meals.
* Add photos.
* Get an RSS feed of somebody else’s meals, to add to your RSS reader or to an online calendar such as [30 Boxes](http://www.30boxes.com/).
* See what people are eating in your area, based on your zip code. (Canada coming soon.)
* Log in with your Facebook account, if you have one.
* Use it to plan upcoming meals or report on meals you’ve already had.
* Create a badge to put on your blog–mine, over there on the right, now comes from Meal Outlaw, not 30 Boxes.

The more people who use Meal Outlaw, the cooler it will get. Please give it a try, and [email JR](mailto:[email protected]) with bug reports or feature requests. I’ve sent him about a hundred of these and he always responds promptly. Have fun and please post a link to your calendar below if you feel like sharing.

This month on [Culinate](http://www.culinate.com/):

The Chronic

> Among the many names I have taken on in my imaginary rap career is Big Crust. This is, after all, the literal translation of the French word *croûton.* I’m confident that I bust phatter croutons than my East Coast compatriots, and in a few minutes, so will you. (Substitute “West Coast” for “East Coast” as necessary.)

Yesterday at the farmers market, when we were buying our eggs from Eagleman Farms, the proprietor asked, “Were you the ones looking for buckwheat honey?” We hadn’t, but I couldn’t resist taking home a jar of it. I love buckwheat honey–just an aspect of my general preference for the most intense version of whatever product we’re talking about.

We picked up a new bag of almond granola from Granolas in the Mist, and Laurie had just been to Trader Joe’s, so we were all set for my current breakfast obsession: Greek yogurt with granola and something sweet. Last time I made it with Grade B maple syrup. This time I used buckwheat honey.

As I ate it (Iris didn’t want any, because she’s a loon), I realized that buckwheat honey and dark maple syrup are awfully similar. Not indistinguishable, of course, but they’re both rich, dark caramel, even though one comes from trees and one comes from bees.

I mentioned this to my friend Dan, and he noted that “One comes from trees and one comes from bees” would be a good first line of a children’s book. And I’m giving it to you, free.