Quick and easy for spring

Now that Mother Nature has finally made up her mind, we can all get out and plant our patio flowers and the annuals in our herb garden. What we want more than anything else is time outdoors in the sunshine and nothing labor-intensive in the kitchen.

Spring Lunch

When spring won't settle down, I comfort myself by planning menus for meals I'd like to make when we're finished with all this nonsense. Here's a lunch I will definitely serve some spring weekend when there are friends or family here for lunch.

CHS Baseball Boosters host all you can eat breakfast

CHESTERTON | The Chesterton High School Baseball Boosters is hosting an All You Can Eat Breakfast on Saturday, April 20 from 7-11 a.m. at the Chesterton Moose Lodge, 602 Broadway. Presale tickets are available from any CHS baseball player for $6.00 each or $7.00 at the door. Menu includes: p…

The noble fruit

Olives are as old as the history of man. As Mort Rosenblum mentions in his book, "Olives" (North Park Press, 1998), Greek athletes lubricated their bodies with olive oil and the first Olympic flame was a burning oil bough. The Romans even had a separate stock market and merchant marine for o…

HASH

A couple of days ago I made hash with some corned beef left over from St. Patrick's Day. My hash is good, but doesn't touch my brother's who makes the best I've ever tasted, hands down. I also recall the red flannel hash from my New England childhood - not a favorite - (the hash, not the chi…

Lake Station Fire Auxiliary has breakfast fundraiser today

LAKE STATION | The Lake Station Fire Department Auxiliary will hold a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at Fire Station No. 1, 1876 Fairview Ave.

Lake Station Auxiliary hosting pancake breakfast March 24

LAKE STATION | The Lake Station Fire Department Auxiliary will hold a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday at Fire Station No. 1, 1876 Fairview Ave.

Portage Lions host breakfast, Easter egg hunt on Saturday

PORTAGE | The Portage Lions Club is sponsoring a pancake breakfast and Easter egg hunt from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at Willowcreek Middle School, at the corner of Central Avenue and Willowcreek Road.

SWEET IRELAND

Saint Patrick's Day again - incredibly fast it seems. As always I've given a nod here to my favorite Irish author, the late Moira Laverty, who wrote so lovingly of the people and the goings-on in her small village, Ballyderrig.

Lake Station fire auxiliary set to host pancake breakfast March 24

LAKE STATION | The Lake Station Fire Department Auxiliary will hold a pancake breakfast from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 24 at Fire Station No. 1, 1876 Fairview Ave.

Don't have time to eat breakfast? Drink it

If you don't have time to sit down for a bowl of cereal in the morning, companies are hoping you'll want to drink your breakfast.

SAVORY SUPPERS FOR THE HOME STRETCH

Mornings are brighter, sunsets are later and, in spite of the rash of snowstorms, I like to think of this time of year as the "home stretch". Within a couple of weeks we'll be turning our clocks ahead in anticipation of spring. Meanwhile, more hibernation is fine with me, especially when sha…

COLD WEATHER SALADS

The meteorologists tell us we are more than half-way through winter. I'm sure those on the east coast would bitterly scoff at that as they continue to dig themselves out. We Chicagoans, however, have had it easy and find such weather statements believable. I'm getting bored with so much hear…

Valentine's Day Breakfast-in-Bed Egg Strata

Casseroles are a funny thing. You aren't likely to see them lauded as the hot new food trend any time soon. Yet make a great one, and suddenly folks clamor for the recipe.

JANUARY THAW

Writer, Bellamy Partridge, the father of one of my school friends, wrote a novel when I was about 14 entitled "January Thaw". I thought about that book this morning...not just because it was one of the first truly grown-up books I'd ever read, but because of how Januarys were back then.

WINTER VEGETABLE SOUPS

January, I've been told, is soup month, but I don't need a special month in which to make a pot of soup in the winter. I adore soup - especially heart-warming, soul-soothing Ribollita which could very well be my favorite, as it is Mario Batali's. The second soup, Golden Vegetable, is suppose…

BREAKFAST BISCUIT BUFFET

I was lucky enough one weekend this Fall to be a houseguest of a true (and fellow) biscuit lover. Nothing frozen out of a can for that lady; biscuits were from scratch and heavenly, reminding me very much of those my paternal grandmother used to make.

Poached eggs for breakfast, lunch or dinner

The beauty of poached eggs is their versatility. Depending on what you pair them with, they can be breakfast, lunch or even dinner.

BREAKFAST BISCUIT BUFFET

I was lucky enough one weekend this Fall to be a houseguest of a true (and fellow) biscuit lover. Nothing frozen out of a can for that lady; biscuits were from scratch and heavenly, reminding me very much of those my paternal grandmother used to make.

Breakfast with Santa benefits Carmelite Home

Emily Bello enjoys a Breakfast with Santa on Saturday with her 10-month-old daughter Melody. St. Catherine Hospital hosted the breakfast to benefit Carmelite Home.