A friend with whom I often discuss cooking issues claims I could write one titled The Mary-ed Cook because many of the things I cook contain ingredients that are not measured by numbers. For example, a horde of ground pepper graces a recipe for salad dressing, a gather of garlic cloves make the perfect accent for vegetable broth, and a flight of honey drips from a spoon into my recipe for blackberry lemonade recipe. (Oh, and I add two branches of plantains and a scatter of chili pepper flakes to the batter of filling for my avocado pie.)