Hey #philatelics — er, #stamp lovers: This phenomenal design by Chris Ware of a mail carrier delivering throughout the seasons is on sale now.

“The second release, 250 Years of Delivering, is a pane of 20 stamps by cartoonist Chris Ware that invites the public to spot a fun array of familiar postal items and icons while following a mail carrier on her rounds through four seasons of the year.”

It’s a little hard to see in the low-res preview image, but it’s packed with beautiful details.

https://store.usps.com/store/product/250-years-of-delivering-stamps-S_487104

https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2025/0428-usps-announces-stamps-celebrating-its-250th-anniversary.htm

You know I love #PlentyMore by #Ottolenghi - my favourite of all his cookbooks. I've made most of the dishes from this book.

The "Fried" chapter is noteworthy for all the snacky dishes. There are indeed some lovely recipes in this chapter.

A couple are worth mentioning. Eggplant and Capsicum Pahi, a Sri Lankan dish, is pretty wonderful. (But I did change the recipe significantly to avoid deep frying the ingredients and to use the local, traditional Sri Lankan Spice Mix (Thuna Paha)).

Fried Cauliflower with Mint and Tamarind Dipping Sauce – a real classic in this chapter. It is one of those dishes that has so much flavour and texture that it is difficult for non-vegetarians to recognise it as vegetarian.

And oh, the okra in the Buttermilk Okra with Tomato and Bread sauce is divine. I like to serve the okra with just lemon juice.

#FromTheArchives #FromTheKitchen #Food #Vegetarian

"Parasites, by definition, are organisms that feed on other organisms but don't kill them as a matter of course. Lice, fleas, biting flies, and a few other insects that suck blood from people and other animals are typical insect parasites. Most insects that attack other insects, on the other hand, either kill multiple victims outright (predators) or use single individuals as hosts on or in which they develop, consuming and killing the host slowly (parasitoids). Relatively few insects, mostly blood-feeders like the tiny flies that feed on blister beetle blood, are truly parasitic in or on the other insects, and of these almost none develop inside insect hosts without killing them. Members of the bizarre order Strepsiptera, or twisted-winged parasites, provide the main exceptions to this generalizatiom... Females of North American species are eyeless, wingless, and legless and never leave the host."

-Insects, their Natural History and Diversity, Stephen Marshall #Insects #NatureAppreciation #Ecology