We have reached the season of the year when we must peer deep into our souls and ask ourselves a question of great magnitude: What do we do with the leftover turkey? My answer is simple: Eat it. I’m perfectly happy to graze at the open refrigerator door and pick off whatever I need. Or better yet, make one of those Thanksgiving dinner sandwiches that Dagwood might concoct if using Thanksgiving ingredients.

Like many people who face a long commute to work, I found myself spending upward of $100 each week just to make it to and from my paycheck. Something had to give, so I began to look at other areas where I could pinch pennies and cut costs. The most obvious place was my food costs. As a bachelor, I have spent very little time in the kitchen, opting instead for fast food or, if I was feeling adventurous, a sit-down restaurant or ordering a pizza.

China’s premier said yesterday the country will take steps to improve its food safety, saying that tainted milk products that are believed to have killed four babies and sickened thousands of children was a failure of regulation. Speaking at a 43-nation Asia-Europe Meeting summit, Wen Jiabao said the milk scandal will spur the introduction of China’s first major food safety law and China’s food exports will meet international standards.

CAPE CHARLES The presidential election is more than a week away, but restaurantgoers in Cape Charles will vote today. With their bellies. All nine restaurants in the Eastern Shore town will conduct a gastronomic poll—“You Are What You Eat”—appealing to the political appetites of their customers by offering special, presidential-inspired dishes.

Among chicken-wing lovers, there is a subset—those seeking the hottest of all hot wings. I belong to this informal group. I have had a sweaty brows and a runny nose at wing joints throughout this great land. But no wings, not even the scalding habanero wings some places in Florida serve, have kept us out of the Clean Plate Club.

Probably everybody is tempted from time to time to load up on cookies, chips, soda and ice cream while at the grocery store. Richmond-area residents tend to give in to that temptation more than people in most other metropolitan areas, according to a report from a Florida marketing firm. Shoppers here spend about 11.45 percent of their annual grocery bill on junk foods such as frozen pizza, cookies, sausage and ice cream, according to data from Florida-based Catalina Marketing, which analyzed buying habits at more than 17,000 grocery stores nationwide.

Agreat bowl of soup is satisfying, comforting and, it has been said, good for the soul. It also can be a quick and easy dinner solution that’s good for your health. Soups—especially those that are broth-based rather than cream-based—are an excellent way to fill up on vegetables and liquid, which is a good strategy for consuming fewer calories without feeling deprived.