At this very moment, I have an absurd number of hot peppers growing in my garden. I don't know why I planted them. I'm allergic, and I otherwise have a relatively low tolerance for spicy food.

This week's topic is somewhat nebulous. Special Nutrition Products? Yes. Special Nutrition Products. They're everywhere. Green tea extracts, amino acid supplements, magnesium boosts, nanoencapsulation of this or that.

Believe it or not, there are people on the planet who do not like soup. I imagine there are a handful of people off the planet, astronauts and what have you, who do not like it as well.

And now we come to the conversation all of us must endure at some point in our lives: salty or sweet? Some deviants have skirted the issue by claiming they prefer sweet and salty. No! This is entirely unacceptable!

Folks -- have we established that I can call you folks? This week, I felt compelled to move away from category-specific research and trends and focus on an event I attended on Wednesday Aug. 14. It's called the R&D Applications Seminar, and if you aren't aware of it, I think you should take a moment to familiarize yourself.

What in the world is at the root of all this? I routinely ask this question over a French dip sandwich with my childhood friend and current neighbor Sherwood Day.

Meat, poultry and seafood. Must we decide? I wish it were not the case. Perhaps it is not. Bring me a crowded plate of steak, chicken thighs and hearty sea scallops at once!

Meals and sides. How can one possibly choose? Lucky for us, we rarely need to throw our lot in with one or the other.

I've only broken one bone in my life, and I attribute that fact to genetics and my mother's insistence on my steady regimen of dairy products.

How many times can we read about breakfast being the most important meal of the day? I'm hoping you have at least one more time in you. It's so good for you!