10 Hours of Tofu

“Jackie Olden’s Terrific Tofu Tips”--a 20-show series devoted exclusively to cooking with soybean curd--will fill the San Fernando Valley’s cables during February. Check Channel 6 in the West Valley, Channel 30 in the East Valley: 2:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

It’s a Naive Domestic Potato Wine

“Country Wines: Making and Using Wines from Herbs, Fruits, Flowers & More” is a single-minded study of making wine from just about anything but grapes. Authors Pattie Vargas and Rich Gulling give recipes using fruits, flowers (dandelion, honeysuckle, various clovers), nuts (hazelnut, almond) and even main-course carbohydrates (wheat, cornmeal or potato wines--no kidding, though oranges or raisins seem to sneak in). It’s $14.90 postpaid; inquire at (800) 827-8673.

Thyme in a Bottle

The best herbs are fresh herbs, of course. But they have problems: They don’t stay fresh and they don’t permeate as well as they might in quick-cooking methods such as microwaving. There have always been herb-infused oils, of course, but they’re not as flavorful as fresh herbs. Dilijan Liquid Spice is a line of oils with much stronger and fresher herb flavors. Available at Vons, Albertson’s, Mrs. Gooch’s and many other stores, usually $1.99 for a 1-ounce bottle.

Hey--How About Purple Blush Wine?

You know, of course, that February is National Grapefruit Month. If you look around you can already find some unusual grapefruit in the stores, such as the huge Pomelo and the small Lavender Gem (Wekiwa), a very sweet cross between a tangerine and a grapefruit that has a purple blush to its skin.

Break the Granola Habit

Hershey Food News wants to clear chocolate bars of the bum rap that they are a big cause of tooth decay. Actually, chocolate contains some tannic acid, which blocks the production of plaque, and anyway chocolate melts right away in the mouth. Things that stick to the teeth are a bigger problem--raisins, say, or granola bars.

B.Y.O.P.

A miniature (three-inch) pepper mill in its own travel pouch so you need never again endure a burger without freshly ground pepper--it sounds too cute for words. Actually, the Unicorn Minimill works quite well (grinding element made in Italy by Tre Spade) and darn it, it is cute: $17 postpaid from Tom David, Inc., Old Quidnet Milk Route, P.O. Box 541, Nantucket, Mass. 02554.

We Hope Red Potato Wine Counts

Supermarket sales of red wine jumped 44% in the four weeks following Nov. 17. That was the date “60 Minutes” had reported on the low rate of heart disease in France and connected it with the average French consumption of nearly 20 gallons of wine a year, mostly red.