Food

SCARBOROUGH, Maine – During World War II, the government urged Americans to plant "victory gardens," backyard plots of fruits and vegetables that were supposed to ease reliance on the war-strained public food supply. Today, Roger Doiron is repeating that call, this time to ease the strain of industrial agriculture on the environment and help people take control of what they eat.

Take a trip to the immigrant neighborhoods of Paris in "The Ethnic Paris Cookbook: Bringing the French Melting Pot into Your Kitchen." The book, by Charlotte Puckette and Olivia Kiang-Snaije, features vivid, bright-hued drawings by illustrator Dinah Diwan.

Memorial Day's almost here. Time to go camping. Before heading out, stock up on camp favorites. Soup in a cup. Hot dogs. Canned pork and beans. Instant coffee. Freeze-dried packets of alleged goodness. Maybe not. Maybe this year, it's time to stretch the culinary muscles and try something different. Something real. Something gourmet. It's not a big challenge. Any food that can be cooked in a pan, grilled on a barbecue, skewered on a stick or wrapped in aluminum foil and roasted over hot coals can be cooked in even the most primitive camp sites.

The importation of ingredients from China contaminated with an industrial chemical has rocked American food regulators, along with possibly thousands of U.S. families who lost a cat or dog to tainted pet food. Serious questions about China's reliability as a food source have been raised as two major U.S. government agencies – the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration – investigate the tampering that led to the feed given to thousands of pigs, millions of chickens and an untold number of farmed fish being contaminated with melamine, which is used to make plastics.

The weather's warming, the sun is shining. Must be time for … a little spring cleaning. Here are some kitchen cleaning tips from Mr. Appliance of North Idaho in Athol:

I wonder what the half-life of buttermilk is. Recent experimentation, with admittedly incomplete data (I ran out of milk), verifies that it's good for at least 30 days past the stamped expiration date. I don't normally have much use for buttermilk, but a couple of months or so ago, my wife had a hankering for KFC-style coleslaw, which was easy enough to find via Google. I just picked one that sounded close, since there were several. (This version varies slightly from the one that appeared in the Cook's Notebook on March 7.) However, I think we changed our meal plans, and I never got around to making the slaw until after the buttermilk had expired. It still smelled good, though, and in a stroke of luck, my wife's sister (Hi Bern) from back east sent us a couple of lobsters, hunky two-pounders, in honor of my AARP-qualifying birthday.

With spring upon us, fresh asparagus is showing up in abundance in supermarkets. Here are some handling and preparation tips from the California Asparagus Commission: Choosing and storing

All-City Civic Military Luncheon - Hosted by the Spokane Lilac Festival Association, honoring military persons of the year. Thursday. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post St. $28. (509) 535-4554 for reservations. Sons of Norway Celebration Dinner - Includes happy hour, dinner and program. Dinner includes four open-faced sandwiches and your choice of meatballs or lutefisk with rhubarb dessert. Thursday. 5:30 p.m., Sons of Norway Tordenskjord Lodge, 6710 N. Country Homes Blvd. $15. Reservations required. (509) 326-9211.

Farmers' Market at Sandpoint - Wednesdays, 3-5:30 p.m., Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., through Oct. 13. Farmin Park, Third at Main, Sandpoint. (208) 263-2844.

Sample more than 100 Pacific Northwest wines and beers Friday at the fourth annual Vine, Stein & Dine to benefit the March of Dimes. In addition to drinks and appetizers, the event includes a silent auction of items including a cruise through the San Juan Islands, symphony tickets, gift baskets, dinner and hotel packages, and many others.

Dee King of Spokane called the paper a few weeks back with a rather delicate question about lentils. She wanted to know if there was something you could do with them before cooking to help prevent gas. We turned to our regional lentil experts with the National Lentil Festival (held each August in Pullman) for help.

Here are some tips and tricks to doing barbecue right: First, prepare the grill

If you ever have The Spokesman-Review Food Panel over for dinner, you may want to pass on the Rice-A-Roni. The San Francisco Treat's new Savory Whole Grain Blends offerings were torpedoed by our tasters in rather stark terms. All three of the flavors sampled – Spanish, Roasted Garlic Italiano and Chicken and Herb Classico – scored two stars or fewer for taste and value.

Dear Recipe Doctor: I would be deeply grateful if you could invent a light version of Starbuck's Cranberry Bliss Bar. If you can do this, I would be able to make these at home throughout the year. A. I started out with a light blonde brownie recipe I developed a couple of years back using half whole wheat flour, less sugar, and a less-fat margarine, and topped it with a light lemon frosting made from lemon curd, less-fat margarine and powdered sugar. The dried cranberries and white chocolate chips were stirred into the brownie batter.

Area wine-lovers know this weekend promises more than just brunch in Mom's honor. It's also time for the Spokane Winery Association's annual Spring Barrel Tasting, when moms, dads and everybody else can sample the latest releases from area wineries.

Reader Sandy Terry from Spokane Valley loved the recipe for Little Lemon Meringue Pies from Taste of Home's "Down-Home Cooking for One or Two" cookbook that we published on March 28. However, she noticed that the instructions failed to address a couple of the ingredients in the list. Specifically, the beaten egg yolk for the filling and the 2 tablespoons of sugar for the meringue.

Friendship High Tea – Mother's Day Tea for men and women. Menu includes tea sandwiches, fresh veggies, fruit, cheesecake and lemon cake. Beverages include lemonade, iced tea, coffee and assorted teas. Thursday, noon, East Central Senior Center, 500 S. Stone St. $5. (509) 625-6693 for reservations. Healing Foods Kitchen Cooking Class – Cooking classes for cancer survivors and their family and friends. This month's topic is "Fruits and Vegetables - More Matters." Thursday. 5:30-7 p.m., Holy Family Hospital, 5633 N. Lidgerwood St., Education Center 1. Free. Call to register. (509) 474-5490.