"spruce up beans" news and stories

I haven't turned my computer off in days now. This is almost entirely due to the fact that I have a bunch of tabs open in Firefox and I keep thinking that I want to write about them all before I close the window and turn off the machine (I know that I could bookmark them all and come back later, but I know myself, if they aren't open and in front of my face, I will quickly forget). The problem has been that I haven't been able to muster up an entire post about any one of them, so instead they sit there, languishing, taunting me with their titles and icons. I've decided that instead of trying to come up with a single post for each one, I'd do a little round up and share with you the things that I'm finding appealing and delicious these days.

This one goes nicely with my split pea inquiry from earlier today. Last week, Lindsey Nair at the Fridge Magnet, inspired by a reader's question, put together a post all about ways to spruce up beans.

My boyfriend grew up just outside of New York City and so had a deep fondness for black and white cookies. He claims that nothing you can get in Philly even comes close. Lucky for me (as I was about to embark on a black and white cookie baking project) Ed Levine wrote a post about all about these cakey cookies and included a link as to where you can order them online.