Books (and book clubs) are great and all, but sometimes–during a busy subway commute or late at night– reading a full page of text (and then turning the page and doing it all over again) aggravates A.D.D. or exhaustion.

At these times, captions and blurbs of text are more manageable. Especially if they’re interspersed with pictures.

My first nomination for Book Club Lite: Gourmet Magazine. Fancy ingredients and innovative techniques, but straightforward recipes. And for people who’ve always preferred pictures to words: the photographs are BIG.

I’ve decided to make several of this month’s holiday recipes in advance, to give you a heads up in case you might want to use some of Gourmet’s recipes at your Thanksgiving table.

Tomorrow night I am going to a party. A party with a lot of rules. But also prizes.

I’ve got my casserole dish washed and ready two-thirds full of bacon cornbread, leftover from last night.

I’ve got my recipe perfected vaguely sorted out in my head, though I’ll inevitably change much of it as I cook.

I’ve got the ingredients lined up on the counter shelves of the grocery store, where I am going now.

Wish me luck.

The dividing line between muffin and cupcake has always been a bit hazy.

I think people prefer to say “muffin” when they’re eating it before noon and when they’re trying to be healthy.

Once, at Perkins Restaurant in Minnesota, the “muffin of the day” was double chocolate chip with cappuccino frosting. The worst part? I ordered it.

To be fair, my mufcakes are nutritious: whole wheat, 5 bananas and cocoa powder (full of antioxidants).

Chocolate Banana Whole Wheat Mufcakes

Adapted from Pinch My Salt, a San Diego-based food blog

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large bowl, mix butter, sugar, eggs, bananas and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
5. Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.
6. Pour this mixture into muffin tins that have been greased or lined with paper cups. (I made 6 large mufcakes and 12 mini mufcakes.)
7. Bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on size of muffins- use a toothpick to test. Cool at least 10 minutes.

To emphasize muffin-ness, spread with peanut butter and banana slices.

To emphasize cupcake-ness, top with chunky coconut frosting.

There are two types of people: those who read books about food and those who don’t.

In my experience, nobody has anything against reading books about food, and the people who haven’t simply haven’t gotten around to it. And once you do read a book about food, you’re likely to read more. There’s something addictive to reading about recipes, where food comes from, and various food cultures.

I loved Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, an autobiographical collection of stories and articles by Barbara Kingsolver, her husband, Steven L. Hopp, and her elder daughter, Camille Kingsolver.

It’s a wonderful starting point for the food-book-novice because it’s easy to relate to and entertaining. It provides condensed summaries of agricultural and dietary issues and gives practical tips for how we can all begin to eat a bit more ecologically and nutritiously. A corresponding website provides additional information and recipes.

My favorite character is the younger daughter, Lily, whose burgeoning chicken business reminded me (to an alarming degree) of my 9-year-old friendship-bracelet enterprise. And babysitting business. And school fundraiser coupon book sales.

There are two types of people: those who take photos of food and those who don’t.

In recent years, food photographers, particularly amateur, have multiplied. Ten years ago it would have been pretty shocking if a friend photographed her plate at a restaurant or cocktail party, but today she’d likely be one of several. Pocket-sized digital cameras and iPhones facilitate convenience and are slightly less conspicuous… slightly.

Photograzing is a cool site that displays food photos collected by submission to the site. The above snapshot features my Green Pea Thyme Dip in the center, along with recipes to my left and right (or, for anyone convinced that cupcakes are not going out of style, my bottom left) that are a click away from the recipes . Photograzing is a great way to discover good recipes and interesting blogs, not to mention make sure you’re really hungry by lunchtime.

There are two types of people: those who prefer baking and those who prefer cooking.

Despite my sweet tooth I am very much in the cooking camp. I am not very precise with measurements and I am liberal with substitutions. Therefore when I make dessert I usually make pudding, macaroons, fruit tarts and other things that can handle my lack of attention to detail.

These chocolate oat balls fit the bill. They’re no-bake, easy, and pretty.

Chocolate Oat Balls

Adapted from Anne’s Food, a wonderful blog

250 ml rolled oats
50 ml sugar
50 ml cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot, strong coffee
50 g unsalted butter, very soft

Put all ingredients together. Roll into balls. Anne suggested rolling them in coconut or pearl sugar, but I tried coconut and couldn’t get it to stick. Perhaps because it was unsweetened and therefore not sticky?

Eat soon. Store in refrigerator, but, better yet, don’t store at all. The next day they will begin to dry out considerably.