If you missed last December's screening of "King Corn" at the Oak Street Cinema, it's going to be on the small screen of public television's "Independent Lens" at 10:30 p.m. Sunday (KTCA, Ch. 2) and 8 p.m. Monday (KTCI, Ch. 17). "King Corn" is a documentary about friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, who set out to learn where their food comes from. Drawing on their shared heritage of Iowan farm families, they plant an acre of corn and end up with a bumper crop. Where it gets interesting is how they try to follow their harvest into our stomachs, in sweetened sodas and faster fast food. A companion website is at pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn.

When Charlie Ayers was executive chef at Google HQ, he fed a lot of smart people. Now he's teamed up with the California Walnut Marketing Board to find the "smartest" salad recipes. The "Smart Salads" Recipe Contest seeks recipes that use walnuts, have minimum saturated fats and served in a portion size in keeping with the USDA's recommended dietary allowances. Four winners will receive handmade walnut wood salad bowls. Salad tips and forms for this online-only contest are at www.walnuts.org. Deadline is June 30.

Salad fans at the Mill City Farmers Market last summer discovered Pam Powell and her Salad Girl Dressings that she and her husband, Jim, launched last year, inspired by an old summer job making salads at Madden's in Brainerd. Now her intensely flavored pairings of Blueberry Basil, Curry & Fig, Pomegranate Pear and Crisp Apple Maple are available at Kowalski's Markets, as well as through Simon Delivers. She's also matched Salad Topper combos of glazed nuts and dried fruits.

KIM ODE

Last week's mention of pomegranate molasses in a recipe brought many calls from readers looking for the ingredient. It's available at Middle Eastern specialty stores, including Holy Land Deli, 2513 Central Av. NE., and at Bill's Imported Foods, 721 W. Lake St., both in Minneapolis. The molasses also is easy to make. It is, basically, pomegranate juice that has been reduced to a syrup. A simple version can be done by simmering the juice for up to an hour until it's syrupy. Another version is to add sugar and some lemon juice to the juice before reducing it. The proportions are these: 4 cups juice, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Again, simmer until it's the right consistency. Pomegranate juice usually is sold in the refrigerated juice section of supermarkets, often under the brand POM.

LEE SVITAK DEAN