Nutrition: Fennel offers a lot of nutrition with few calories. One cup raw sliced fennel bulb contains about 27 calories. This vegetable is very high in vitamin C as well as potassium and dietary fiber. Fennel contains several health-promoting compounds and antioxidants including anethole, which reduces inflammation and may combat cancer.

...Read more

When a cabbage costs only 99 cents, it is easy to go overboard and buy more than one at a time.

I am one of those shoppers who goes cabbage giddy in the week leading up to St. Patrick’s Day, when the price is more than right for bright-looking heads that are tightly wrapped with verdant leaves sans black spots or holes.

Without giving a ...Read more

Everybody, it seems, has at least a drop of Irish blood flowing through his or her body on March 17. Chances are your celebration will involve a glass or three of beer or maybe a car bomb or shot of Irish whiskey. But you’ve got to eat, too, if you want to wake up with a clear head the next morning.

To that end, we offer two dishes with Irish...Read more

It’s a rarity in the kitchen: a vegetable that’s sweet.

But that’s just part of the allure of fennel, a Mediterranean staple that’s finally catching on with American cooks and diners.

“One of the main things I like about fennel is its versatility and the way its flavor changes from raw to cooked,” said award-winning author ...Read more

I’ll admit we have been on quite a pizza obsession of late. Coming up with different combinations is just plain fun, and if done right, absolutely delicious. In today’s edition of BBQ My Way, I am going to share a pizza recipe that my son, Andrew, came up with, centered around a white horseradish sauce he recently received from a great ...Read more

When it comes to cooking seafood at home, it doesn’t get much easier than scallops.

Less of a hassle to eat than crabs, less expensive (and more satisfying, to me) than lobster, scallops are simple to prepare and add that hint of special that’s just right for an at-home Valentine’s dinner.

Scallops pair well with steak or on their own, ...Read more

With Valentine's Day around the corner, consider baking your way into someone's heart.

Some say it with flowers, others with jewelry. Then there are those who shift to the oven to turn up the heat. We’re talking, of course, about love and the biggest day to show it (at least commercially).

If you’re not a baker but love one, you may want ...Read more

Goodbye, rat, hello, ox.

Chinese New Year begins Feb. 12 and it's the year of the rat. Despite celebrations being canceled, the 15-day celebration lasts until Feb. 26.

Chinese New Year is also known as the spring festival and the Lunar New Year.

The Chinese zodiac is designated by animals.

Are you an ox? You are if you were born in these ...Read more

With Lent comes Mardi Gras, and with Fat Tuesday comes all those little plastic babies tucked away in king cakes.

If you want to make your own king cake — Mardi Gras falls on Feb. 16 this year — let’s turn to Ann Maloney, the former food editor at the Times-Picayune who now works as the recipes editor at the Washington Post. She suggests ...Read more

In the winter season, it is natural that we would crave some heartier meals. I can assure you: This one fits the bill. It is beefy, rich and smoky with a thick and delicious Guinness broth that is liberally drizzled over the meat and polenta. We served this with country style green beans. Bare in mind you could do all of this in the oven, other ...Read more