It's a big holiday weekend in the U.S. and everywhere you look you see red, white, and blue, even in the kitchen. If you're planning a holiday party or family dinner, why not put some red, white, and blue food on the menu? Since it's a holiday, I'm starting with desserts, but if you'd like some other options for Fourth of July Food, check the list after the photos!

Red, white and blue is breaking out all over food blog land and my favorite so far is the strawberry (red), tapioca (white) and blueberry (well, blue, naturally) parfaits at Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. Oh so pretty and good for you, too.

Though I'm writing this while stuck at an airport, I'm really looking forward to BlogHer '09 in Chicago -- especially since the city's made some very impressive green changes since BlogHer '07, when I was last in the city. The windy city has created a Chicago Climate Action Plan and is working hard to make it a reality.

If you like rice, you probably like fried rice, the side-dish standby of Chinese American restaurants, and a great way to use up leftovers if you make it at home. Variations of fried rice are are found in many countries, but certain steps in the recipe are universal. Learn the basics of making fried rice, and you can create endless variations by using whatever ingredients you'd like. I'm certainly not a fried rice expert like some of the Asian bloggers whose recipes I'm featuring in this post, but here are a few things I've learned from making it many times.

Several super technology bloggers have joined BlogHer lately. Since a notice of their new blog listing comes to my inbox, I've been busy subscribing to great blogs for the past couple of weeks. I'm really impressed with what I'm seeing and hope you will find our new BlogHers as interesting as I do.

Wednesday's Wall Street Journal got me to fuming. "Frugal Shoppers Drive Grocers Back to Basics" hyped the headline. Good news, yes? We wish. Reporter Ben Worthen wrote that supermarkets make as much as 70% of their profits from the middle aisles and thus are focusing attention there: "... the recession has refocused [supermarkets] on the staples sold in center aisles." Those "staples" he cites? Private label brands of canned vegetables, breakfast cereal and whole wheat bread. OMG I thought I'd have a heart attack.

If you start your day with organic, fair trade coffee, like to cook with organic olive oil, and treat yourself to gourmet fair trade organic chocolate on occasion -- then you're a lot like me. And you might want to sign up for one of these environmentally and socially conscious eco-educational vacations coming up to get a closer look at the coffee, chocolate, and olive oil you love:

Granola is such a common food to grab on the cereal aisle at the grocery store, many people probably haven't ever thought of making it at home. There are good reasons to try it though. Not only is homemade granola much cheaper than store-bought varieties, but when you make your own, you can control what goes in and make sure the granola you're eating doesn't have extra sugar, trans-fats, or high-fructose-corn-syrup.

'Kids these days,' as the lament goes, 'don't even know milk comes from a cow.' Well, the jig is up and thanks to our friend, the Internet, kids not only know where milk comes from, but they are discovering where cheeseburgers come from - LOLcats not included. The result? A rise in the number of young vegetarians and vegans. 

“You’re such a fun mom!” This was the reaction to the oh-so-impressive Rainbow Cake made by Cate from Sweetnicks when she mixed food coloring into six layers of a cake-mix cake. It's a special way to celebrate occasions large and small. Take a look, you'll think that Cate's a really fun mom, too! Click the headline for a quick look and a link to the recipe.

Meet fresh mozzarella, no, not the bricks or grated stuff from the supermarket, but young balls of fresh cheese, some times in mini balls (ball-ettes?), packed in a watery brine to retain freshness and moisture. Mostly, it's found made from cows' milk but some times you'll find the much-revered buffalo mozzarella, made from the milk of a water buffalo. This stuff is supremely yummy, and it's especially good in summer fare, especially in salads and appetizers. Let's take a look at the many ways to serve fresh mozzarella.

Once again, I've stupidly been living my life by various feminist principles that are sure to leave me without a husband or boyfriend, unloved, unsexed, and dead in a bathtub with my face eaten off my my 98 pet rabbits* (I'm allergic to cats) before anyone even notices that I am missing. Fortunately, the ad world is here to help me out!