You Can Live on Leftovers...

...but you can't post them, which is why there's been nothing new for a couple of days.

So here's some fun things I've discovered today:

The Page 99 Test is a blog based on a quote from Ford Madox Ford: "Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you."

27B/6 is not only WIRED magazine's security blog, it's also the site of a world-class smartass.

My youngest niece graduated from culinary school this month. (She took a year-long course in addition to pursuing her undergraduate degree. She wants to be a nutritional anthropologist [did someone say "nutritional anthropologist"?] when she grows up.) When she was 11 I arranged for her to attend her first cooking class; we learned how to make various Asian-themed desserts from Kathy Webb, owner and chef of Lilly's Dim Sum and Then Some. If you're ever in Little Rock you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you don't have a meal there. Tell them I sent you.

Anyway, one of the recipes we learned at that class has become an enduring favorite in our family:

Dessert Wontons

1 package small wonton wrappers (approx 3 in. square)
1 can lychees in light syrup
1 small can shelled walnuts
powdered sugar, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce
canola, sunflower, or peanut oil for frying

Drain the lychees and reserve the syrup. Put the walnuts and lychees in a food processor and puree. Add the reserved syrup little by little until a thick paste forms. Fill the wontons with the paste. You can make purses, or wallets, or any closed shape that you like. The key to good wontons is to use less filling than you think you need - no more than a teaspoonful or so. Too much and they leak or burst into the oil and that's a mess.

Put about an inch of oil into a large saute pan or skillet and heat to between 325F - 350F. Fry the wontons in batches of a dozen or so, depending on your vessel size so as not to crowd it and drop the oil temp. Cook them for 2 minutes or so until they are golden brown and delicious.

Drain briefly on a cooling rack, then put on a platter, dust with powdered sugar and drizzle with chocolate and/or caramel sauce as desired. Eat quickly, they're best still warm.

And congratulations, Ruth.