More is better -- that's my mantra, especially when it comes to chocolate. But it doesn't hold true for citrus.

Nothing Says "I Love You" Like a Chocolate Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.

The weather has been warm enough to fool the irises and daffodils, which have sent up three inches of growth in the gardens on my block. But the calendar still says February, and my kitchen still says winter, with all the celery root and butternut squash stacked up on the counter.

Which is why I decided to give rutabagas a try.

The world got a little flatter Monday night at Sueños Restaurant. That's where four chefs served up Mexican fare made from vegetables and herbs sourced from local farms run by Mexican and Latin American immigrants.

Restaurant Opportunities Centers United wants consumers to consider how the people making their food are being treated with a new manual called ROC National 2012 Diners' Guide: A Consumer Guide on the Working Conditions of American Restaurants. Should diners consider how workers are treated when ordering a meal? Cast your vote here.

Maybe you heard of the book, "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook From Scratch." (The author, Jennifer Reese, was recently on Marketplace.) 

I have an addendum.  Make the bread, buy the donuts. 

Listen to the next episode of the Food in Two Worlds podcast for a special Year of the Dragon culinary tour.

Looking for the next food trend? Audrey Dettmar, baker at Annex in Fort Greene, gave me these suggestions.

I haven't seen the movie, "Food, Inc.," so I didn't know what sustainable farmer Joel Salatin looked like until I saw him take the stage Monday night at the 92nd Street Y. 

I always thought butter-making involved Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ma and Pa Wilder, a cow, and a big wooden churn. But my sister showed me all you need is a jar.  And little kids eager to do the work.

To connect better to community and food, one twenty-something has trained to become a butcher.

I love eating. I mean, like, cutting and spearing and chewing and swallowing. Eating's pleasurable, especially in the company of others.  

So it took some convincing to get me to try smoothies in the morning.  A liquid meal doesn't seem like a lot of fun.

Chef Amy Chaplin's pantry was camera-worthy enough to appear in a smooth, glossy spread in Martha Stewart Living. My pantry rates a blog post. Barely.

As a quick snack or light meal, the flatbreads of Spain are a favorite of food writer Deena Prichep. Catalonia's cocas start with handmade yeasted dough, pulled into a thin oval like a pizza. They're topped with a flourish of veggies, herbs, meats or sweets.

One of my favorite guests on Last Chance Foods is Farmer Lee Jones of The Chef's Garden. It's not just that I'm partial to fellow Ohioans. Farmer Lee loves to farm, and it's evident every time he talks about his veggies.

It's also evident on his farm, which I had a chance to visit this fall.

It was with a sense of excitement and eagerness that I opened an e-mailed document with the recipe for WNYC Morning Edition Host Soterios Johnson's mom's melomakarona. The cookies are famous among the Morning Edition crew. 

Turns out the recipe can feed them, and most of our listening audience. 

Noha Waidsnaider is not a household name, but her company, Peeled Snacks, is well on its way toward becoming one. In just five years, her dried fruit company went from an idea to one of the featured products at your local Starbucks. 

Now she's trying to help other small food producers in the New York City area boost their companies to similar levels of success. 

She's the host of the NY Foodies Company groups on LinkedIn.

Get tricks for a successful Hanukkah candle lighting here, including how to prepare dishes on time without completely suffocating guests with the smells of burning oil. Plus, try out recipes for Sufganiot (Israeli Jelly Doughnuts) and Sweet Potato and Traditional Latkes.

The hungry hordes ate all the entries.

Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that stolen Wedgewood china looted from one of Saddam Hussein's palaces had been turned over to Iraqi diplomats. The news hits close to home for an arts group in New York since the plates were used as part of an art exhibit that started with an interest in dates and dinner plates.