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We've got a new partnership with Padma Lakshmi! The host of the Emmy-winning Top Chef, writer, and designer started Padma Lakshmi, a social-networking site that celebrates our favorite topics including food adventures, recipes, and party planning. She'll be dishing up goodies for us here on YumSugar monthly. Today Padma makes a compelling point for why all of us should keep za'atar powder in our pantries.



Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice powder that is mainly used in Syria and parts of Armenia and Turkey. It contains oregano, thyme, and sesame seeds as well as sumac. It's an excellent seasoning to rub on freshly baked breads — especially flatbreads, as they do in the Middle East. Like sumac, za'atar powder will keep for ages in your pantry. I always keep it in mine to help me literally make something out of almost nothing.

Related: International Cheeses (From Brooklyn)

More on what to do with za'atar, after the break.

Translated: spaghetti with garlic, oil, and chili pepper flakes.

This is the kind of meal that makes you stop and think that the simplest foods are often the most wonderful. With only a few ingredients that are staples in most pantries, you can create a beautiful, flavorful, heartwarming meal from scratch.

Spaghetti aglio, olio, e peperoncino is a traditional Italian pasta dish. It's well loved by many because it's so easy and inexpensive to make. This is a perfect solution whenever you're in a bind. For example, if guests come over and you've got nothing to serve, they are certain to be wowed when you present them with this meal.

It packs quite a kick from the minced garlic and chili pepper flakes, and I highly suggest enjoying this dish with fellow garlic lovers. Keep on going for more.

We've had baked eggs on our mind lately, and this recipe from Monica Bennett sounds divine, doesn't it?

If you have never had the opportunity to taste what an organic farm-fresh egg tastes like, I hope that one day you will. I had my first experience with these heavenly treasures a little over one year ago, and ever since then, I have been on a mission to find as many as these as I can wherever I happen to be. This recipe is quick, easy, and so rich and delicious. It will keep you sustained with energy for hours, and I bet that once you try it, it will become a part of your recipe repertoire.

Visit Monica's blog for the recipe, and share your brilliant breakfast ideas in the YumSugar community.