First, you can try new cookie recipes. You don‘t have to eat them all: Make them as a birthday gift or a no-occasion thank-you for a neighbor, relative, teacher, hairdresser, healthcare provider (yes, they eat cookies, too) or other helper.

Second, you can learn more about cookies.

• The history of cookies
• The history of biscotti
• The history of the brownie, a bar cookie
• The history of the chocolate chip cookie
• The history of the macaroon
• The different types of cookies: a cookie glossary

The chocolate chip cookie has evolved in
wonderful ways since the original chocolate
chip cookie. See who invented the
chocolate chip cookie.

[1] Rare cauliflower varieties: from top left, orange (Cheddar), Romanesco (Roman) and purple (photo © B. Sky | SXC.

We have a passion for cauliflower. Steamed or stir-fried, crudités or cauliflower soup, we eat a head a week.

A member of the botanical family Brassicaceae, the cauliflower species, Brassica oleracea, also includes arugula, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, kale, horseradish, mizuna, mustard greens, radishes, rutabaga, turnips, wasabi, watercress and other vegetables.

In addition to being low in calories and high in fiber, vitamins and minerals, cauliflower and its cruciferous cousins have phytochemicals (a type of antioxidant) that are potential cancer-fighters.

Studies have shown their ability to stop the growth of cancer cells in the breast, cervix, colon, uterus, liver, lung and prostate. (Consume them raw or lightly steamed to get the maximum amount of antioxidants.)

“Cauli-fiori” was introduced to France from Italy in the 16th century. A delicacy, it was enjoyed by the wealthy.

When you take a bite, think of King Louis XIV tasting “chou-fleur” for the first time.

We’re thrilled when we find a rare species of cauliflower at farmers markets. Look for orange or Cheddar, purple and the majestic Romanesco/Roman broccoli. All look beautiful on a plate of crudités or combined into a tricolor cauliflower salad.

If you’re making conventional white cauliflower, here’s a simple chef’s trick to keep it white as snow: Add a little milk to the cooking water.

Polenta, made from ground cornmeal, is a porridge that dates to ancient times and is known in England and the U.S. as cornmeal mush.

You can purchase precooked, ready-to-heat-and eat “solid polenta” in sausage-like tubes, plain and in flavors such as basil, garlic and sundried tomato.

Slices of polenta can be easily turned into hors d’oeuvres, first courses and sides. They provide a firm base for just about anything. Just pan fry or heat them in the microwave.

Think of polenta as:

• A base for poached eggs.
• An hors d’oeuvre, topped with a grilled shrimp, scallop, smoked salmon or salmon caviar.
• A first course, topped with sautéed mushrooms and fresh herbs.
• A side dish topped with tomato sauce and grated cheese.
• Melt cheese on them for a snack.

This organic polenta is available from
Amazon.com.

 
Polenta is fat free and gluten free; some brands are organic and kosher.

October is National Pasta Month; pasta is one of America’s favorite foods. Who invented it? The Chinese!

While Thomas Jefferson introduced pasta to the U.S. in 1787, upon his return from Europe where he served as minister to France, it was a baked macaroni and cheese dish. Red-sauced pasta dishes became popular a century later.

About five million Italians immigrated to the U.S. between 1880–1914, 80% from the impoverished regions of southern Italy and Sicily. Naturally, they brought their cuisine with them. Southern Italian pasta dishes have a preponderance of tomato-based sauces.

The quintessential Italian food originated in China, a country without tomatoes (i.e., no tomato sauce, and no cream sauces either).

But egg noodles, rice noodles and bean thread noodles were turned into a vast variety of dishes, including chow fun, dumplings, lo mein, mai fun, sesame noodles and wontons.

Noodles have been found in a 4,000-year-old excavation in western China. The first written account of noodles dates to between 25 C.E. and 220 C.E.

In the 10th century, all-night noodle shops appeared, allowing the noodle-hungry public constant access to tasty dishes.

 
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Finally, something: The programmable vodka message bottle.

Yes, your personal digitized message will travel around the body of the vodka bottle like a news tickertape.

Medea, a vodka from Holland, is the first spirit to combine 18th-century distillation techniques with 21st century technology (the message strip was invented by a New York-based nanotechnology pioneer).

A programming button on the side of the bottle allows for up to 6 LED messages in either pink or blue, each up to 255 characters (which seems very generous in the age of 140-character tweets).

You can program in anything. How about Happy Anniversary Angelina And Brad, Party On Dudes or I Love You Please Marry Me?

You can congratulate or propose via a
vodka bottle. Photo courtesy Medea Vodka.

Use the store locator to find a bottle near you. Medea vodka also can be purchased online at DrinkUpNY.com.