Cooking

Water. It is the source of life, a universal necessity and, as of recently, trending on social media. Content creators have been hyping “loaded water,” an arguably terrible name for a rather useful method of dressing up plain H2O with fresh fruit, herbs electrolyte packets and more, to promote better hydration.

Pizzas and calzones are two of Italy’s very popular culinary exports. Most accounts credit Naples as their birthplace, with the arrival of tomatoes from the New World in the 18th century and their near-instant marriage to mozzarella cheese, another Italian creation.

I wanted to take advantage of the season’s first sweet corn on the cob at the market, so I turned it into a light and flavorful summer corn soup. Fresh corn gives the soup a naturally sweet taste, and it comes together quickly, making it a perfect addition to an easy warm-weather dinner. For even more corn flavor add the de-kernelled cobs to the soup as it simmers. Simply remove the cobs ...

During summer, I shift into easy-meal mode. Admittedly, easy is my cooking MO most of the year, but I’m much more emphatic about it in July and August when I’d rather be outside than in the kitchen.

Sandwiches make very convenient summertime meals. They often require little or no cooking; they’re versatile and mostly self-contained. Adventuring beyond the house? Sandwiches are mobile. Tightly wrap them in parchment paper or aluminum foil for portability, convenient handling, and tidier eating. Include cooling when needed.

Are you ready for a huckleberry hunt? Harvesting huckleberries should be a pleasant, joyful experience. To avoid chronic back pain, sprained ankles and painful sunburn, experienced huckleberry pickers dress wisely. They wear shoes with a good grip, strong long pants (blue or other dark-colored jeans are ideal), and a shirt that can tolerate purple batik created by squashed huckleberries.

Just saying the word “pancakes” makes me smile – it’s a food that conjures countless joyful memories. When eating them, I get the same wave of elation I had as a small child with a plate of mini “silver dollars” in front of me at IHOP. The family outings we had there always felt like a thrilling occasion. When I make pancakes at home, I can still feel the pride my sister and I had as tweens making our first totally unsupervised batch together.

Our country’s 250th birthday is this Saturday. That’s not an insignificant achievement. America has the oldest continuous constitutional democracy on Earth. It’s a big deal, so celebrate and enjoy the event, and participate in the local festivities. After all, they’ve taken 250 years to materialize.

My wife Julie and I love huckleberries. Our decadeslong love affair with the treasured fruit of the Northwest forest began shortly after moving to North Idaho from Hawaii back in 1983. We encountered huckleberries for the first time while sightseeing on Gleason Mountain near Priest Lake.

Father’s Day, this Sunday, is set aside to honor the dear ole dads of the world. It’s a good time to express our appreciation for everything our dads have contributed to making our lives better. Take the opportunity to do something special to show Dad your gratitude; perhaps treat him to dinner out or a memorable meal at home.

I decided to give my usual Maryland-style crab cakes a fresh twist by incorporating a vibrant new flavor. A touch of pesto blended into the mayonnaise adds a bright note that complements the sweetness of the crab without overpowering it. Finished with a sprinkle of fresh basil, the cakes feel light, fragrant and perfect for warm weather.

As we approach the season of ice cream carts and icy-cold treats, we had a quandary scheduling Community Cookbook’s summer menus. We could stagger the heat-relieving desserts over the summer months, a balanced approach, or group most of them in a single blowout column near summer’s start so readers could enjoy the treats at their leisure. They’re predicting a hot, dry summer for the Inland Northwest, so we’re going with the blowout, and here it is.

When sisters Reyna and Maritza Vazquez emigrated from Mexico to Austin as teenagers, their first encounter with what was labeled Tex-Mex or Mexican food confused them. Nachos, liquid cheese, enchiladas drowned in red gravy and overstuffed burritos – top of mind when many of us think of Mexican food – were completely foreign to them. In the United States, we tend to get stuck on this limited idea of the cuisine. In reality, though, it is much more varied and healthful. The Vazquez sisters had never even seen these dishes in their native Veracruz, the coastal region famous for its vegetable- and seafood-based dishes.

Today’s recipes will build a delicious dinner around a classic main dish: Kraft Classics Tangy Italian Spaghetti. This dish serves up a generous portion of nostalgia, having been a popular food product back in the 1960s and ’70s. The box contained everything needed to make the dish except for tomato paste. It was a unique product back then, sitting on the grocery store shelves alongside its also-popular sister products, macaroni and cheese and chicken noodles.

How do I best maintain the longevity of my pots and pans?

For years, plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy have tried – and failed – to beat the real thing on price and taste.