Never a shortage of reasons not to eat meat.

Spiced lentil soup with spinach from Hale and Hearty Soups, and a Kashi Honey Almond Flax chewy granola bar. These granola bars are so good! I don't see them on their website though. Highly recommended. Afternoon snack: strawberries (and probably the other half of the KitKat I managed to save from yesterday).

The Karl Lagerfeld Diet by Karl Lagerfeld and Dr. Jean-Claude Houdret. This man is frightening. He looks downright scary in those H&M ads, like some kind of Star-Trek ghoulie attacking the model. Seeing him on billboards in the city is even scarier. And 30 photographs and illustrations to boot! I'm getting the heebie-jeebbies already. I'd probably pick this up used for a good laugh.

I popped into Gourmet Garage tonight in search of Amy Sedaris cupcakes (scroll down to "Stranger with Cupcakes"), but no luck. The guy I talked to said the cupcakes weren't as "professional" as they would have liked, but that they will be carrying her cheese balls in the Spring (scroll way down for Sedaris' "Li'l Smokey Cheese Ball" recipe).

Annies (with my secret ingredient: a dollop of Dijon mustard) and a small spinach and carrot salad with balsamic vinegrette. And a KitKat is burning a hole through my desk drawer right now.

Today's lunch: grilled cheddar and gouda sandwiches and spinach salad with Annies Naturals Tuscany Italian Dressing. And, this being Sunday, we whiled away the morning with mimosas and Barefoot Contessa. I absolutely adore Ina Garten. Today's episode was Saturday Night, Sunday Breakfast. Everything she makes always looks fantastic and effortless, and this menu was no exception. I might give the Banana Crunch Muffins a whirl sometime, minus the dried banana chips. Never cared for dried fruit.

Oh, and we learned the hard way last night that a potato and parsnip gratin needs to cook for an hour and a half...not half an hour. We popped it back in the oven, but it just didn't cook up right after sitting on the counter for 40 minutes.

The campaign includes four 30-second, black-and-white television spots that portray trash-truck drivers with a reverence often reserved for police officers or firefighters. A strategy pamphlet from Glad's marketing consulting firm, Plan B of San Francisco, describes the ads' purpose: "We want people to feel compelled to help their garbageman do an even better job." The pamphlet also points out that the Plan B firm was commissioned to "make trash bags cool" - a tall order. The Mercedes of Trash Bags by Brendan I. Koerner, NYT.

I'm certainly compelled to help my garbageman do a better job. I'd be willing to buy a product that could prevent these folks from being sprayed by garbage juice. And I would love to sit in on a brainstorming session about making trash bags "cool"!

Hi folks! Welcome to the new Hot Lunch. Just me posting now, so posts might be even more sporadic than before. The original premise was to post what we ate for lunch, but I think I might change that to include all meals, and I'll also be including links to recipes and food-related articles

To kick-off the new Hot Lunch, check out the Inaugural Day Luncheon Menu and recipes. Mmmm...presidential! I love the word "compote." Wouldn't "Steamed Lemon Pudding" souond better?