I just made vegetarian gluten-free gravy for leftovers, and it tastes like gravy should. I feel like I made fire with 2 sticks. Seriously, I feel like a total badass.

Please share the badassery! I would love the recipe.

There is a brand of bouillon cube that is both vegan and gluten-free, called Not Chik'n, made by Edward & Sons. I got it at the regular grocery store, in the "Natural Foods" section (which is where all the gluten-free and vegetarian stuff lives). They come in a small flat box of 8 cubes; each cube makes 2 cups of broth: [link]

All I did was make the broth and then put it in a saucepan. Then I took tapioca flour (but you could also use cornstarch or probably rice flour or a GF flour blend), mixed the flour with a tiny bit of water to make a paste, and mixed that into the broth. I think I used a ratio of 2 tablespoons flour for every 1 cup of broth, but obviously you can tinker with that ratio, up or down.

Then I just added pepper and thyme and possibly sage, to taste, and heated the gravy on low heat until it was the thickness I wanted it.

Super tasty. Those faux chicken bouillon cubes are creepy in their verisimilitude. They really taste like chicken. I suspect dark majicks were used to achieve that.

(You can also use canned chicken broth if you don't need a vegetarian option; I use the Not Chik'n because Tim is a vegetarian. However, be aware that a LOT of commercial chicken broth has gluten, which is bullshit. I think Pacific Foods chicken broth does not have gluten in it, though. The Not Chik'n works perfectly for me because it hits the vegetarian and the GF needs in one tiny cube. It's also way more economical than buying cans or cartons of broth -- if you plan to cook with broth on a semi-regular basis.)

Thanks Teppy. Our coop has a brand of vegan not-chicken broth that tastes awful. I'll try this one. I have to cook for vegetarians and vegans on occasion and have given up using broth - just use salt. But there is a lot of stuff where something that tastes like chicken soup would be very handy.

Typo, I bet you can find it in a larger grocery store, and I know Whole Foods carries it. It's spooky how similar it tastes.

I've also found that a lot of recipes that call for chicken broth can be replaced with veggie broth. Obviously if you're going for a chicken taste, that won't work, but in a lot of recipes, the swap is easy (pot pie, for one).

I was checking for butter dishes (I really like butter dishes--I don't know what's up with that) on bedbathandbeyond.com, and I see that Fiesta Ware butter dishes are over $20. What's the deal with Fiesta Ware?

I'm watching Iron Man. I am so psyched for The Avengers, and not for the crazy reasons Dana is. OMG, Agent Coulson. OMG, alla y'all. Bring it on.

What's the deal with Fiesta Ware?

It's collectible. It's pretty, and useable, and the vintage folks like it because they made it in the 50s from the 30s to the 70s, and then stopped making it, and now it's come round again.

I've got a bunch of modern Fiesta ware that an online friend gave me, and I'd love to add to it, but yeah, it's not cheap, even the modern stuff. Love the colors, though.

It's collectible.

Somewhat ironically, I suppose, that really means sellable. The high point isn't the keeping part of the collecting--they're not collectibles without a resale value.

The colours are very pretty. But my platonic butter dish is nice and cheap. I don't need much more than this, but the thing is, I want five of them.

I don't get it, why do you need five butter dishes? They're not like plates or bowls, where you might actually be using more than one at a time...

(I really like butter dishes--I don't know what's up with that)

This is me and carafes or pitchers. I would be a creepy hoarder given money, storage and opportunity. Mmmmm, glass containers for beverages.

I don't get it, why do you need five butter dishes?

I could have different butters...

But mostly I just really like their form and enjoy looking at them. Having my eyes slide from dish to dish is very pleasing.

Pitchers. Specifically, white cream pitchers.