5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

Duane Nutter is not only responsible for one of our favorite food descriptions ever ("It made my forehead feel tight" in response to an Ossabaw pork dish by Sean Brock), he also serves on the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival Founders Council and as the executive chef of One Flew South - which happens to be an upscale restaurant smack-dab in the middle of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

As in any kitchen - TSA dictated or not - Hollandaise separates, fingertips get mandolin-ed and soufflés fall.  When this happens, Nutter, who occasionally moonlights as a stand-up comedian, says brush off your apron and laugh it off. ...And if you need to curse, you can do that too.

Why having a sense of humor is helpful in the kitchen: Duane Nutter
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Eatocracy's Managing Editor Kat Kinsman attempts to vegetable garden on a roof deck in Brooklyn, NY in USDA Hardiness Zone 6b. Feel free to taunt, advise or encourage her efforts as this series progresses.

There was a light coat of snow on my compost heap last week, but down in the basement, the purslane has sprouted.

Nope, that's not code for anything - I'm not signaling an all-clear for the Kremlin to come set up shop in my cellar. It was a hailing, flurrying 30°F in Brooklyn a few days ago, but under grow lights, a story beneath the frozen asphalt, spring has arrived. While the glasswort and sorghum have yet to sprout, I'm almost shamefully obsessed with monitoring the progress of the seedlings that have deigned to germinate in my basement since I tucked them into the soil just over a week ago.
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Amid a delicate dance to cut the budget in Congress, agitated religious leaders in Washington said Monday that the cuts being proposed are too deep.

Food aid for people at home and abroad, mosquito nets, and Head Start preschool programs are all on the chopping block. That, many religious leaders say, has crossed a moral line. In response, they have begun a fast – a hunger strike.

"We've talked and talked and talked. And we've lobbied and we've reasoned and we've sent letters and we've admonished. That's why we're having the fast. It's time to call in God. It's time to unleash God," Tony Hall said.

Read Hunger strike aims at congressional cuts

To most, they're just snacks on a plane or part of an innocent lunchtime PB&J. To an ever-increasing number of kids, though, even minimal exposure to peanuts can mean a trip to the hospital - or even death.

In Volusia County, Florida, parents of children at Edgewater Elementary School are demanding that one allergic girl withdraw from school, so that their children will not have to take such precautions as leaving their lunches outside or washing their hands before class. They argue that the time taken to enact these measures is stealing too much focus from their own children's learning, but the school is standing behind these measures, saying they're legally required to provide a safe environment for the first grader.
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Sink your teeth into today's top stories from around the globe.

• Anthony Bourdain "would sooner attend a Renaissance Fair in Hell" than attend the James Beard Awards, but reveals he's rooting for Ruth Bourdain to win in the humor category. - Travel Channel

• William D. Kelley School in Philadelphia takes its nutrition crusade off-campus, asking owners of nearby stores to stop selling students chips and sodas before school in the morning. - New York Times

• It's a sad day for mail-order cheesecake devotees. Harry & David has filed for bankruptcy. - Bloomberg

• Whole Foods is testing in-store bars with craft beer and local wine. Brewski on Aisle 8? - USA Today

• Goose Island Beer, the Chicago-based craft brewery, has been sold to Anheuser-Busch for $38.8 million. - Chicago Tribune

• Lima beans with a side of cyanide: ten poisonous foods we eat regularly. - Foodista

Get ready for a bananamobile or a pineapple wagon.

Scientists in Brazil say they've developed a way to use fibers from the fruits to make strong, lightweight plastics that could be used to form car parts.

"The properties of these plastics are incredible," the leader of the project, Alcides Leão of Sao Paulo State University, said in a press release. "They are light, but very strong — 30 per cent lighter and three to four times stronger. We believe that a lot of car parts, including dashboards, bumpers, side panels, will be made of nano-sized fruit fibers in the future. For one thing, they will help reduce the weight of cars and that will improve fuel economy."

Read Fruit could make cars stronger, more fuel-efficient, scientists say

See all Royal Wedding coverage and then sit in your cubicle and eat sheet cake from the supermarket

More from WCSH

While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday and the most delicious finds on TV.

March 28 is Something on a Stick Day because this is America(!) dagnabbit, and if we can add a convenience factor to knife-and-fork food, by Jove, we will.

Corn dogs, popsicles, key lime pie, chicken, deep-fried Twinkies: the impalement possibilities abound.

Just ask Minnesota, everything tastes better when skewered. That's our story, and we're sticking to it.

What's on TV?
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Pssst! Got a sec to chat?

We are utterly thrilled when readers want to hang out and talk – whether it's amongst themselves or in response to pieces we've posted. We want Eatocracy to be a cozy, spirited online home for those who find their way here.

Consider the daily Coffee klatsch post as your VIP lounge – the primary comments thread for readers who'd like to chat about topics not related to the articles we're running. That way, everyone knows where to find each other, and each post's comments section remains on topic.
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