What can we say about stews that doesn't conjure up remembered scenes and aromas of Saturday afternoons at Grandma's house, or spending a day home from school because a big snowstorm cancelled all classes? Mother and Grandmother made stew in their usual no-nonsense manner. It was filling and economical and used ingredients that were on hand.

Stews are forgiving food, easygoing and open to improvisation and substitution. They also reduce pressure in the kitchen, since stews are nearly always better made a day or two in advance of serving. The finished product, long simmered and rich flavored, is always a crowd pleaser. Stew says something special to your guests; they feel welcomed, comforted, nourished.

Honey's incomparable texture and flavor are only possible thanks to an intricate social order and ironclad division of labor set up by the bees themselves and established at least 10 million years before we ever got here. What's more, as delicious as it may be, honey is just half the story. While bees are off foraging for nectar to feed themselves (and make honey), they're also pollinating almond trees, lemon trees, cantaloupe vines, onions, broccoli, carrots, avocados -- all seed crops. In other words, if it weren't for bees, life and cooking -- would be a lot less sweet!