discount sports nutrition

Last year, we held a short-story contest in which we asked readers to submit a work of fiction of less than 500 words. Every budding James Joyce with at least two fingers and a word processor came out of the woodwork, it seemed. More than 300 entries were submitted.

Did you know this about olive oil? •Spain is the leading producer of olives and olive oil.

Earlier this month, Joyce Rachuk of Zephyrhills wrote us in search of a recipe for a Christmas jam with dried apricots, pineapple and maraschino cherries. Angie McCabe answered the call.

If you`ve ever heard actress and cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey speak, you most likely have been enthralled by the lilt of her Anglo-Indian accent, at once friendly and authoritative, lyrical and sophisticated. It`s a voice whose distinctive qualities have made their way into her award-winning cookbooks and most recently into her new book, "Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India" (Knopf, $25).

Melanie Hay of Austin, Texas, doesn`t have a recipe to offer, but she could use some help.

I`m getting ready for holiday baking and discovered I still have nuts in the freezer. Will they be safe to use now, almost a year later?

Whether you`re an accomplished cook or merely someone who loves food, these books represent the best the year has to offer.

cut,16p6 McClatchy-Tribune file photo The Father of New World Cuisine, Norman Van Aken, peppers "How I Learned to Cook" with tidbits from the early days of his career.

JUMPS: DAVID KAMP, Page The possibility for eating well has never been better.