Can be made into butterscotch or chocolate peanut clusters. I like both. Recipe courtesy of Jeff's mother.Butterscotch or chocolate peanut clusters

½ cup Peter Pan smooth or creamy peanut butter*
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate or butterscotch pieces
1 cup salted peanuts, whole

In a vain attempt to make myself look organized, I thought I'd undertake a three-day cleaning project in my kitchen. Day One would involve the reorganization of my spice collection and the cleaning of the stove and surrounding areas. Day Two would involve the cleaning of the rest of the counters.

(Implied: that I'd clean up, tidy, and put away the various messes that were ON said counters.)Day Three would be the tackling of the kitchen table.

Ever have a friend that you always invite over to gatherings and dinners, partly for the company and partly because you know they'll bring that one particular dish you've really become partial to?

I almost hate to lapse back into standard recipe-making, but this is a recipe that really should be documented somewhere. Heather made this soup for us quite a few times—it was standard, comforting fare for each of us when we were sick. I had it more than once when I was so sick a year ago.

Before the advent of test kitchens, lo-carb diets, and Twinkies, there were recipes, but they were not recipes as we know them now. I recently read an op-ed piece on Salon which decried the modern recipe as a prime example of our faddish love for scientific precision taking over our willingness to be experimental or inventive.

As if I needed more proof that it was time to document recipes, I got another reminder last night. I hadn't been able to find my (Shirley's) peanut brittle recipe, and I made plans to copy it from her after Thanksgiving dinner last night. Except that—true to how things have been lately—we rooted through her recipe books and couldn't find this particular recipe to save our souls.