Re: FreshFind [Food & Flavor, Aug. 28]: The hardest part of a good BLT sandwich is preparing the bacon. What I've been doing for the past several years is this: I bake a whole package of bacon by placing the strips on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes (watching it until it's just at the right crispiness). With this method there is no smoking, splattering and lingering bacon smell and best of all, the bacon doesn't shrivel up. I then lay the slices on paper towels to dry and then roll the bacon and paper towel together into a roll. I then place the rolled bacon into a leftover bread bag and toss it into the freezer. Whenever I want to make a couple of BLTs I simply take out a few pieces of bacon from my "bacon roll" and heat them up in the microwave for 15 seconds and voila -- hot and crispy bacon for my BLT.

I have the process down to a routine: I'll make two sandwiches at a time so I toast the first two pieces [of bread] and as the second pieces are toasting I cover the first pieces with mayo, place the sliced tomato and lettuce (I think Romaine makes the best BLT), salt and pepper the tomato and add the microwaved bacon slices. By that time the last two pieces of bread are done, I cover them with mayo and presto -- two BLTs ready to be devoured with a glass of milk.

FRED DENORSCIA
Larimer

Re: Food & Flavor, Aug. 21: Something about the picture of Penny the baby goat being lovingly nuzzled makes the adjacent recipe for Greek goat shanks seem less than appetizing. Yikes!

REBECCA SYLVESTER
Cranberry

No need to convince me of the virtues of goat: I've been grilling goat leg outside the last few years, and it's now the feature when really good friends come for the weekend. But as I was reading it I kept thinking it was too bad my source, Bell's Market, wasn't mentioned. But then I saw the sidebar -- you did! Owner Louis Greenwald is a very good guy (he has a pet goat named Houdini, too).

JOHN HEMPEL
Braddock Hills

Thanks for the nice article on goat meat and its consumption. Goat or "chevon" as many of us call it is really one of the too-well-kept secrets in the meat trade. Hopefully when Americans become aware of it and its potential health benefits (low fat, lower cholesterol, etc.) it will become more popular.

MARVIN F. SHURLEY
President, American Meat Goat Association
Sonora, Texas

I enjoyed your article, Marlene Parrish, on root beer [Food & Flavor, Aug. 14]. It's a beverage I've appreciated since being hooked on Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer as a kid. Trivia fact: Dad's gave names to the different-sized bottles. From smallest to largest they were Junior, Momma and Poppa.

You have to plan a trip to the Pennsylvania Dutch country where they have draft root beer -- comes in pony kegs and is poured through a tap. I've had both root and birch beer in the draft form and it is definitely superior to bottled.

Since you're such a root beer aficionado, you should consider a follow-up article on food pairings. Root beer is a great accompaniment with certain plebeian foods. Goes great with steak hoagies and Mexican food, for example!

GARY ROSENSTEEL
McMurray

My comments are about the "Chilling with Gretchen" make-your-own-frozen-pops video [post-gazette.com/food, Aug. 14]: Thanks for including Harry, the dog, in the video. He is cute (and so are the twins) and he doesn't appear to be the hairless villain depicted in Peter McKay's Homemaking column. Of course, I have a Westie mix at home so I am partial. Anyway, the video was fun. I doubt that I will ever make the popsicles but good job to Gretchen and the girls.

JUDY PASTOR
Dallas

I really enjoyed Gretchen McKay's recent article on homemade ice pops. Growing up in the South Hills in the '50s, my earliest Popsicle memories are reaching into a small freezer and buying one twin pop at a time. My favorite flavors were banana, root beer and chocolate, the latter being a 'Popsicle' consistency that was different from a 'Fudgsicle'. Recently, I noticed that fruit juice has been added to the Popsicle brand pops. I don't think that the miniscule amount of added juice adds much to our overall nutrition but it's enough to corrupt the flavor.

Would you have any idea how to duplicate that old-fashioned popsicle flavor? I admit that the older I get, the more nostalgic I become!

MARJORIE WARREN
Massapequa, N.Y.

You have my unending gratitude, Miriam Rubin! A friend has shared a few of your Miriam's Garden columns. Not only have the recipes been inspiring and intriguing, but also your garden stories have taken me back 50 years to my grandparents' garden in northwestern Pennsylvania (near Warren). I remember all too well the bending, stretching, reaching, and pulling (both weeds and a hand cultivator to which my grandfather strapped me!). And, I remember it all fondly.

To this day, I enjoy the fruits of gardens (not mine, but others') from canning and freezing jams, veggies, and fruits. The challenge here in Chicago is finding someone who knows what canning supplies are!

Again, my gratitude! Ain't December gonna taste grand?!

FRED MAHAFFEY
Chicago