What's with agave nectar?

An unorganized rant on ingredients coming across my radar:

No less than six recipes this week calling for 'agave nectar' instead of sugar. I'm as freewheeling as the next foodie, but that's a bit much even for me.

Lots of recipes call for polenta these days. I love polenta, but making it from scratch (Your mama would have called it cornmeal mush, by the way) takes time. Never fear. Spotted at Winn-Dixie in Golden Springs Thursday night: a pack of ready-to-serve polenta on the shelf in the Italian food section.

Also on tap at the WD: pearl barley, which is big in some Mediterranean cuisines and is a super, super cheap way to stretch soup and stew recipes to feed a few more people.