Q: My husband and I would like to thank our neighbours for watering our plants while we were on vacation in Italy by cooking an Italian meal. Our guests will be a mom and dad, one 5-year old, one 2-year old and a baby, and the meal must be halal. Any recipe ideas for a family-friendly, pork-free, loosely Italian meal?

When I first started brewing beer at home, I was a 5-gallon girl — much like most new homebrewers. It's just what you do. But there were drawbacks almost immediately. Brewing this much beer at once meant clearing out a precious coat closet for storing carboys and bottles, always having a buddy on hand to help lift the heavy (and hot!) pot on and off the stove, and drinking my way through a lot of beer — which may not seem like a bad thing at first, but can get tiresome if your beer proves less than stellar. Trust me. 

And then I discovered 1-gallon batches. Like a lightening strike to my brew pot, my life as a homebrewer was transformed overnight, and I ultimately developed all the recipes in my new book True Brews to be 1 gallon or less. Here's why I may never brew another 5-gallon batch of beer again.

If you ever wanted an excuse to start talking about yourself in the royal "we," here you go: we humans are not just human — we're also made up of about 100 trillion microbes that live on our skin, in our mouths, and in our guts. In fact, Michael Pollan says that when you count them all up, we're really only 10% human. What's more, studies are finding increasing evidence that we need these microbes for everything from helping us digest our food to feeling less stressed at work.

Q: I am desperate to re-create Newman's Own Olive Oil & Vinegar salad dressing with less oil. I buy Newman's regularly, only to pour (and discard!) at least 3/4 cup of oil from the bottle before using it. Newman's light dressings do not have the same appeal; I am looking for a make-at-home solution with the same exact flavor.

I had a discussion a while back that opened my eyes. After I confessed to a friend about my general dislike of mayonnaise (I know, I know), he told me that he had the same feeling. However, he’d managed to condition himself into liking the stuff. His rationale was that as a food lover, he couldn't accept just not liking a food that’s loved by so many. Do you push your taste buds in order to like new foods?

Q: I'm getting married to my partner of 5 years in about 1 month! We are having the wedding in her parents' backyard and will be serving beer, wine, iced tea, and water, but we'd also like a cocktail. I'd like something that requires minimal effort and can be made with and without alcohol. Ideas?

Sent by Lisa

Perhaps it's my many years as a vegetarian or my general aversion to the way fried food makes the house smell that have kept me from making fried chicken at home. But really, if I'm honest with myself, the truth of the matter is: I have no clue what I'm doing. 

We've all heard how blueberries are powerful antioxidants and how quinoa's health benefits stretch beyond its trendiness, but do we really know how to integrate all these "super foods" into a complete and sustainable diet? Enter Longevity Kitchen. This cookbook brings it all together, thoroughly explaining these doctor-recommended ingredients and helping you build a healthy (and tasty!) diet that works for you.

Happy weekend, everybody! What's cooking in your kitchen? I'm getting ready for a trip to London (so excited to explore the food scene there) and next week I'll be bringing you some snapshots and eye candy from a trade show full of glossy European kitchens and appliances. Meanwhile, it's the weekend, and it's time to luxuriate in our own home kitchens. What's happening there for you? What's on the menu, this fine spring weekend? 

Q: I am trying to get organized and stay on budget in 2013, how do I organize my receipts in a manageable and non-cluttered way? Thanks so much!

Sent by Amy