Cooking in aluminum foil is a slick campfire trick: Fold and crimp the foil shut, place the packet over hot coals (or into a hot oven), and a few minutes later you're serving up lean cuisine. ...more

July 19, 2008

SEBRING — When Army Sgt. First Class Judy Puffenbarger went to Iraq, a photo of her taken when her unit was being deployed to the war was sent to her hometown in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. Everybody who saw it broke out in laughter. Puffenbarger's blonde hair has grown back, but the day before she left for the war zone she shaved her head. "I did it on a bet, a bet I lost," the 49-year-old Avon Park resident said at the Veterans Administration Community Based Outpatient Clinic, where she works as a receptionist. Puffenbarger, whose father was a World War II Army veteran who lost one of his legs in the battle of Okinawa, bet members of her squad that they would not be deployed to the Iraq war. She offered to shave her head if the order came down for her 33-person unit to ship out to the war. ...more

May 25, 2008

Wherefore art thou, nifty packet of flour tortillas? From the most simple wrapped-slice cheese quesadilla to a foodie-approved extravaganza of grilled lamb, radicchio and goat cheese tacos, flour tortilla dishes are never-ending. ...more

February 20, 2008

Anyone who cranks out more than a hundred pizzas on a Friday night is doing their part to keep the community well-fed. Anyone who cooks them the way they do at Cristino's deserves a traditional Neapolitan toast. ...more

October 19, 2007

My old hand-cranked fresh-pasta machine came out of the cabinet the other day. And that meant it was time to make lasagna. ...more

October 3, 2007