Kids All Right In The Kitchen

Teenagers are known as world-class consumers of food, but they’re busy on the supply side as well.

Nearly three-fourths of American teens help prepare a family meal at least once a week, according to a survey for the National Pork Producers Council.

While clearing the table/washing dishes (71 percent) and setting the table (52 percent) are the most common chores, many teens are doing much more. About a third (36 percent) grocery shop for family dinners, while 31 percent prepare side dishes and 17 percent put together complete meals.

But family meals, of course, are fewer and farther between these days. Because of busy schedules, 30 percent of the teens polled said they make dinner for themselves three or more nights a week.

For a free brochure of recipes developed by teens, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: National Eat Dinner Together Week, c/o National Pork Producers Council, P.O. Box 10383, Des Moines, IA 50306.

Junior achievement

Four recipes from “Gold’n Delicious,” the cookbook published by the Junior League of Spokane, are included in a new national collection of the best dishes from community cookbooks.

Caribbean Snapper, Bleu Ribbon Dip, Autumn Salad With Spicy Walnuts and Fabulous Four Pepper Stir-Fry are featured in “America’s Best Recipes - A 1997 Hometown Collection” (Oxmoor House).

The collection costs $19.95, including shipping. Call (205) 877-6560, or write to: Oxmoor House, P.O. Box 2463, Birmingham, AL 35282-9556.

Core values

Golden Delicious, by the way, was second among all apple varieties in the nation’s 1996 crop, behind Red Delicious and ahead of Granny Smith. (In Washington, the top apple-producing state, the first two are the same but Fuji finishes third.)

The average American eats about 19 pounds of fresh apples and 27 pounds of processed apples each year. For more information about apples and ways to use them, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-size envelope to: Apples & Five-A-Day Brochure, U.S. Apple Association, P.O. Box 1137, McLean, VA 22101-1137.

Honor roll

For the second straight year, IN Food has been named the third-best food section in the country for newspapers of our size (100,000 to 250,000 circulation) by the Association of Food Journalists.

While awards are nice, the bottom line is how well we’re serving you, week in and week out. Feel free to let us know how we’re doing.

, DataTimes