11.   And an informal survey of experienced home cooks, food writers, cookbook editors and authors and bookstore owners and buyers indicated that my experience is anything but unique.

12.   And home cooks can discover it, too.

13.   And home cooks have benefited as much as restaurantgoers as the exotic becomes the everyday in good markets.

14.   And like home cooks everywhere, Child and Pepin use canned or convenience foods such as canned tuna, chicken broth, tomatoes and the like.

15.   And home cooks who are intimidated by baking can easily find alternatives.

16.   And in fact, all of those restaurant dishes can be readily accomplished by the home cook.

17.   And many home cooks have followed these trends into the chaos.

18.   And no one fueled that passion more fervently than my mom, an imaginative home cook and something of a Perle Mesta when it came to entertaining.

19.   And now that fresh lemon grass is increasingly available in produce markets, home cooks can discover its many uses.

20.   And there are countless dedicated home cooks who have been preserving their own meats, growing vegetables and foraging for wild greens like broccoli rape and dandelions.