The bakery Divvies—the name evokes divvying up the goodies—was founded when Lori Sandler learned that her young son had several allergies. She wanted to make baked goods and candy that the entire family and friends would enjoy.

Divvies bakery was born, turning out sweets made without peanuts, tree nuts, eggs or milk (they are not wheat-free). Despite the absence of these key baking ingredients, the treats are delicious. They were a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week.

The fame of Divvies has grown, and now there’s The Divvies Bakery Cookbook: No Nuts. No Eggs. No Dairy. Just Delicious! (A quote from THE NIBBLE’s review is on the book jacket.)

The book is divided into occasions for serving baked goods: At home, at school, on the road and parties.

The Divvies Cookbook has more than 130
pages of allergy-free recipes.

So, jump into Divvies’ blondies, brownies, carrot cake with “cream cheese” frosting, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, cinnamon buns, layer cake, muffins and fun specialties such as wafflewiches. Everyone will beat a path to your kitchen door.

Flavor foods with Earl Grey and other
teas. Photo courtesy Mighty Leaf Tea.

Tea is an herb, after all.

• Lapsang souchong adds a wonderful smoky taste.
• Earl Grey gives a subtle taste of bergamot.
• Fruit tea bags add fruity taste (try pomegranate).There are at least a dozen cookbooks that focus on cooking with tea. Take a look at Tea Cuisine: A New Approach to Flavoring Contemporary and Traditional Dishes.

  Experiment to see what you like. We’re huge fans of smoky lapsang souchong, which is also one of our favorite drinking teas and the tea used in Chinese tea-smoked duck.

• Learn all about tea in our Gourmet Tea Section.

Love Lee Soaps are a food-lover’s soap paradise. Soaps imitate bacon and eggs, candy corn, chocolates, cinnamon rolls, gummi bears, ice cream cones, jelly beans, macaroons, muffins, pickles, popcorn, red licorice and more.

Made with moisturizing glycerin and shea butter, they will keep your skin soft—if you can force yourself to use them as soap instead of art.

Love Lee is Leanna “Lee” Kalka, who lives in Daytona Beach, Florida. She is one talented soap artisan! Buy her soaps at Etsy.com.

Don’t take a bite—it’s soap! Photo
courtesy Leanna Kalka.

A marshmallow in the tip means no drip.
Photo by Agg | Dreamstime.

Want to make fancy dipped ice cream cones, like the ones sold at ice cream shops?

DIPPED ICE CREAM CONE RECIPE

Ingredients

• 8 old-fashioned sugar cones
• 9 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
• Decoration: chocolate chips, shredded coconut, sprinkles, chopped nuts, miniature candies, etc.

Makes 8 cones. The cones can be prepared a week in advance; wrap each cone individually with plastic to maintain crispness. If possible, store in an airtight container.

The “original” mayonnaise was a sauce served at a banquet following the 1756 Battle of Mahón, a city on the island of Minorca in the Mediterranean. The new recipe was named “sauce Mahónnaise” by the chef, in honor of the French victory.

Over the years, the sauce underwent an evolution. The mayonnaise we know was developed by the great French chef Marie-Antoine Carême, founder of the concept of haute cuisine. If not for Carême, the sandwich spread and binder for the tuna salad and potato salad that we love might not exist.

The brilliant Carême also developed the “mother sauce” system of French cuisine; mille-feuille pastry used to make napoleon pastry; éclairs; meringue cookies; and charlottes, among other contributions.

• Read the full story of mayonnaise.
• Find our favorite mayonnaise brands and more in our Gourmet Condiments Section.

Can’t live without mayo? Give thanks to
Marie-Antoine Carême. Photo by © Robyn Mac | Fotolia.