Are you aware that America is home to hundreds of associations, councils, and commissions (not to mention food manufacturers) who have amazing websites that feature free recipes, cooking advice, and often cookbooks (for the price of postage)?

What's exceptional about the recipes and cooking guidance shared on these sites is that it comes from home economists (that's not what they're called now, but I don't remember today's high-falutin' fancy name for them) who have developed and tested these recipes. Each food commission, council, or association has on staff trained food scientists that do nothing but explore the many ways a specific food can be prepared. Really, it's like having your own personal chef!

For instance, one of my very favorite cookbooks that I've been using for over twenty years comes from the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Commision out of Moscow, Idaho. It's a plain and simple, but hugely informative book with the best recipes using dried peas and lentils. And the Dry Pea & Lentil site links to www.cookingwithpulses.com, which offers even a bigger collection of tried and tested recipes using dried peas, lentils, and other legumes. Cooking with Pulses is an awesome site.

Then there's the California Date Council. Who knew there are SO many ways to use dates? Well, the California Date Council does, and they'll tell you all about it. Take a look at just a fraction of the information on this site:

Looking for ideas on how you can use California Dates? [Me: Click on any topic and all sorts of recipes and ideas pop up.]

Storage and Conditioning - keeping your Dates: For optimum preservation, California Dates are better stored in a tightly-sealed container; refrigerated (between 32 and 40 degrees F., 50% - 70% relative humidity), frozen (below 32 degrees F. is ok) or stored in a dark, cool pantry for up to one year. Chopped dates can be stored in cool, dry storage or several months.

Refreshing California Dates after a long storage; immerse them in water (80 degrees F.) for about 20 to 30 minutes allowing water to absorb. Remove, pat dry with a paper towel.

How to make Date Paste: Remove pits from dates and cut into small pieces, put into a microwave safe bowl, with a teaspoon of water. Microwave for 30 seconds, remove. Mash warmed dates into a paste.

It was on the Bisquick® site (www.bettycrocker.com/products/bisquick) that I first learned of all the ways this product could be used. True, there are a few recipes on the Bisquick® box, but the company's site is over the top with suggestions on how to get the most mileage from this product.

And thanks to our phenomenal Cook'n 11 software, we can now go onto all these sites, peruse their recipes, and copy and paste them into our own customized cooking chapters! Is this exciting or what? In case you like this idea, here are just a smattering of food association, council, and commission sites along with a few food manufacturer sites to explore. Take a look and see if you don't agree-it's a veritable culinary treasure trove!

FREE recipes from:

Kraftrecipes.com

Dole.com

Landolakes.com

Bestapples.com (Washington State Apple Commission)

Bean.idaho.gov (Idaho Bean Commission)

Datesaregreat.com (California Date Council)

Floridajuice.com (Florida Citrus Council)

Wildblueberries.com (Maine and Canadian Blueberry Growers Association)

Idahopotato.com (Idaho Potato Commission)

Gapeaches.org (Georgia Peach Growers Council)

Calpear.com (California Pear Growers Association)

Walnuts.org (California Walnut Growers Association)

Flaxusa.com (North Dakota Flax Growers)

Tablegrape.com (California Table Grape Commission)

Kiwifruit.org (California Kiwi Fruit Growers Commission)

Californiaavocado.com (California Avocado Commission)

Usarice.com (USA Rice Federation; use CONSUMER button)