Last Words from MenuDirections 2012

Much was said at MenuDirections about spices jazzing up a dish. The same can be said for conferences, as this sampler of flavorful quotes attests. Here they are, delivered without any adulteration:

I’d make mud pies and put the spearmint on top.—Registered dietician Marilyn Mills of Elliott Health System,  on her earliest work with herbs.

My husband loves dill. If we’d had another kid, we would have named him Dill.—Mills

Why menu seafood? One billion people can’t be wrong.—Chef Nick Pajor, on how many people on the globe eat it regularly

I’ve seen some pretty sexy cod out there.—Pajor, on putting pizzazz into the familiar fish

The difference between you being healthy and not being healthy is a teaspoon—a teaspoon—of Omega-3 fatty acids. But we don’t get it.—Dr. James Painter, chair of School of Family & Consumer Sciences, Eastern Illinois University

My problem with eating sardines is, they’re looking at you.—Painter

[With tacos:] The glory is in the sauce.—Chef Andrew Hunter

[On Mardi Gras in New Orleans:] There’s an inverse relationship on beads and upper torso clothing.--Painter