Now that I think about it, I'm also kind of puzzled about why he went with quinoa pasta rather than polenta, which would have been my first instinct and would have avoided the questions about having store-bought pasta. The judges' comments about how vegan food is usually bland annoyed me, too -- there are plenty of fabulous all-vegan restaurants, and also a whole lot of restaurants that serve meat but have chefs who know what they're doing with creating a few vegan dishes for the menu. (Sorry. I'm getting vegan-ranty. But I think this is the first time I've ever watched a cooking show and had quite this many "That could be better if you did it THIS way..." moments.)

Seriously, has Gael Greene never made it to Angelica Kitchen?

Seriously, has Gael Greene never made it to Angelica Kitchen?

Or Blossom, or Candle 79, just to name the big ones in NYC. Or Pure Food and Wine, for the raw food people. I've gotten some really good vegan stuff at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's restaurants when I've gone there for Restaurant Week, too.

Top Chef: Chocolate was obviously okay -- what about something like a flourless chocolate torte? Although I guess that's not something you attempt without a recipe or some experience, either.

Flourless cakes generally have a ton of eggs. I think I could figure out how to make it eggless, but it would take several tries, and I've been doing vegan baking for a while. Also, most of the things that I would try have soy. Some combination of coconut yogurt and ground flax seed might work, but that would be really difficult to get right on the first try -- you'd be pretty likely to end up with a cake that either doesn't rise or falls apart when you try to cut it.

thank you for the discussion of master classes and info about what alums are doing. I didn't pick any of that up in reading on the internet and I never did know what master classes were.

TCM: I've recently become gluten intolerant and used to be a vegetarian so I was really bugged that couldn't see how many possibilities Whole Foods offered to them. Quinoa isn't the only, and not the best wheat-free pasta and I agree that coconut milk would have been much better.

SYTYCD: Jeanine or Brandon should win. But, the best dancer rarely does. Travis, Danny, Katie were all better than the person who won. And the list of better dancers who didn't make it into the final four is even longer. Allyson, Pasha, Sara, Will...I know there's more.

Or, for a non-bought dessert, he could have made sorbet. He could use the strawberries and make something like strawberry sorbet with balsamic and mint syrups swirled through it (mmm, that sounds good, actually) or gone with some sort of interesting fruit combination like papaya and raspberry.

I actually really like the taste of quinoa pasta. And I don't really like quinoa.

It falls apart too easily for me. I prefer the stuff with potato and rice, it holds together better.

I don't watch Top Chef, but am totally craving quinoa now...

SYTYCD: Jeanine or Brandon should win. But, the best dancer rarely does. Travis, Danny, Katie were all better than the person who won. And the list of better dancers who didn't make it into the final four is even longer. Allyson, Pasha, Sara, Will...I know there's more.

I just watched last night's show, and assumed that's what the judges were trying to say about Kayla--that they didn't think she would/should win, but not to fret, because they knew she was good anyway, like other people who didn't win.

And I am SO adoring Jeanine (though agree that the rose was a bit much...and yet, if I'd tried to clench that thing in my teeth WHILE doing those turns? Hell no. Not that I could do those turns anyway. But still.) And I loved Mia's piece, but Kayla's legs were so pretty in it that it did make Jeanine fade a tiny bit for me. Sad.

My one big gripe about the Broadway number was that with the lights and the shiny jacket, I couldn't see Brandon's dancing for all the flashiness--there was too much glare on my TV! Yeesh. Maybe in person it was better, but...damn.

I liked the paso doble to end, it was very drama and whizbang to end the finale and all...but was kind of rolling my eyes thinking "will we ever see an actual paso doble to an actual paso doble type song ever again on this show?"

And I also am crossing my fingers we get some choreography whiz Kasparzak on next season....I'm so over Evan. He's adorable, and I hope he gets some great work on Broadway or wherever, but...geez.