I've been dilatory for a reason: I've been sick. Still am, actually. Bad cough, weak, dizzy. Tried to bluff my way through it and ended up at the local walk-in clinic, where the doctor listened to my lungs in alarm, and demanded that I take some time off. Which I've sort of been doing, though since I don't have a job with sick pay or anything, there are things I have to do regardless. Still, I've been trying to take it easy.

But there's big, big news today, and I had to be the first to let you know. So -

Read on!

[Update by Eric:] From Reuters: Diet study tips scale in favor of Atkins.

NOTE: This release based solely on what news accounts were available the afternoon of Tuesday, March 6th, 2007. I'll elaborate as I have more information.

Jimmy Moore is King of the Low Carb Bloggers. Read him at livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com

If, like me, you're a big low carb research geek, you can't do better than Regina Wilshire's blog - I love this stuff: weightoftheevidence.com. Technical, but oh, so informative.

Both Dr. Michael and Dr. Mary Dan Eades - the Protein Power folks - have blogs.

I wrote this column last spring, right around this time. Eggs should be cheap again within a week or two, so a reprint seemed in order. You'll notice this isn't a strictly low carb column, but the recipe sure is, if you use the recipe for Almond-Parmesan crust:

As I write this, I have a dozen cartons of eggs in my refrigerator. Why? Because they were three cartons for a buck. At that price, we can eat a lot of eggs! We like them fried, scrambled, and in omelets. But to turn eggs into supper, there's nothing like quiche.

Thanks to the French name, and the 1980s book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche," quiche has a reputation as foofy girly food. Hah! Quiche is simply egg-and-cheese pie, often with ham or bacon thrown in. That's some solid eating. It's easy to make, infinitely variable, and reheats well. What's not to love?

It's spring! Okay, it's almost spring. Still, you're going to need recipes for festive holiday dinners, what with Easter and Passover coming up and all. This undeniably spring-y starter is very easy, delicious, and tastes great.

I have to add: Last year I ran a Passover recipe that included mayonnaise, and drew a very angry response from someone who was furious that I would run a Passover recipe that "wasn't kosher." Since I'd run that recipe by Rabbi Hirsch Meisels, (www.friendswithdiabetes.org) I was comfortable that it was, indeed, kosher. So no angry email, okay? There's kosher-for-Passover mayonnaise out there.