Q: Help! For the past two weeks, my apartment building has been without gas, rendering my oven and stovetop completely useless! We just found out it will be at least another week until we can expect to receive replacement electric ovens, and probably longer. I have an electric kettle, a slow cooker, a fondue pot, and a waffle iron. Any good recipes or dinner ideas?

We've finally reached the tipping point between yearning for the arrival of fresh green things and actually seeing them start to show up in stores. Asparagus! Spring arugula! Artichokes! Pea shoots, soon to be followed by actual peas! It's time to satisfy our cravings for all things crisp, fresh, and green, and here are 10 vegetarian pasta dishes that will surely do the job right.

Party Recipe: Savory Scones with Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

It's been a long week, and we're very ready for the weekend. How about you? We hope you're cozy in your own kitchen, with heaps of fresh spring greens and asparagus to enjoy, and perhaps some plans for a home cooked Saturday meal. What are your plans? What kind of spring comfort food are you cooking up in your kitchen this weekend? 

Q: I made my first ever vegan key lime pie today for dinner guests. I put in twice as much lime juice as the recipe called for and it still wasn't as limey/tart as we like. I also used silken tofu and was a bit confused because the recipe called for extra firm silken tofu, which the store didn't have. 

Cocktails can be expensive. This isn't news to any of us. For some of us, meeting for a drink is a way we socialize and see friends. For others, it's how we close a business deal or explore a new city while traveling. And while different bars and restaurants in various geographic locations around the country vary greatly in terms of price, all of us have our mental set-point of what we're willing to spend and what we're not. So how much is too much to spend on just one cocktail? 

Q: I'm hosting a burger bar party for 36 guests, including 6 kids. I'm planning on serving mushroom burgers, beef burgers, salmon burgers, grilled chicken, and grilled cheese sandwiches. How much of each burger should I make? I want to make sure I have enough!

Sent by Lucy

Item: 64 oz Wide Mouth Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Growler
Price: $49.99
Overall Impression: This is a fantastic product for keeping beer and other beverages cold — and hotter foods hot — for hours. Works like a charm.

Love. Love. Love. I love this growler. I love it for keeping my beer carbonated and chilled all the way to the party. I love it for keeping my big batch of soup hot for the potluck. I even love it for keeping my milk cozy at it turns into yogurt. I just love it. Times a million.

I absolutely love a good cocktail party and think we should all be throwing them a lot more often. It's less pressure than hosting a full-on dinner party, you get to invite more people to stand in clusters around your apartment's tiny living room, and you still get to pull out your high heels. Plus, cocktail appetizers are the best. When else do you get to eat half a dozen bacon-wrapped potato bites with well-shaken Manhattan and call it dinner?

Q: My brother and his fiancée really want a carrot cake for their wedding cake, but I'm concerned that the cream cheese frosting will be a food poisoning risk. How long can a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting stay unrefridgerated before it becomes a health hazard?

Sent by Liz

All week long we've been helping ourselves to the liquor cabinet. It's Cocktail Week, after all, and we'd be remiss if we didn't try out some of these 3-ingredient cocktails or one of these party-friendly pitcher drinks. (All in a day's work, friends! Thank goodness we have a hangover cure.) But now we're taking a step back to revisit the basics. Tell us: if you were building a home bar from scratch, which bottles would you choose?