If there's any task I hate more than hauling out a week's worth of garbage to the curb on the eve of trash day, it's having to clean out the fridge beforehand to get rid of all the uneaten leftovers.

This week, I stumbled upon a forgotten head of cauliflower that I'd planned on roasting. It had a few brown spots but not so many that it wasn't ...Read more

Ice cream without toppings is like a salad without dressing, burger without fries, chips without salsa. It just should not be.

Toppings add pizazz to an ice cream -- whether it is in a cup or cone -- and oomph to any water- or dairy-based ice pop. Even ice cream desserts like banana splits, sundaes and rose-flavored faloodas get better with an ...Read more

Many years ago, before we ever started dating, the woman who became my wife told me the tragic story of a horrible weekend conference.

She was a reporter at the time, and she was sent to a journalism conference a couple of hundred miles away. She went with another reporter from the same paper, and that was the problem.

This man was odd. He was...Read more

Blending frozen melon with just enough liquid yields an almost ice cream-like texture. Make this a traditional, pourable smoothie by adding a touch more liquid before whizzing everything together. It’s a cool way to start off a hot and humid day.

Honeydew Smoothie Bowl

Serves 2

Active Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

4 cups frozen ...Read more

Dates are often used as alternative sweeteners because of their natural sweetness, but are dates healthy or are they just another form of sugar?

This sweet food contains more than just carbohydrates and sugars: dates are packed full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other health-promoting nutrients that can help you stay healthy. Dates ...Read more

Soft-shell crabs, a celebrated specialty of Maryland, are prized for their delicate flavor. The name refers to a growth stage of the crab (most commonly the blue crab found along the Atlantic and Gulf states), during which time it casts off its shell to grow a larger one. The crabs have an entirely different taste when they are in this state, ...Read more

I had some yummy early summer asparagus in my fridge that I wanted to use up, but I wasn’t in the mood to grill it. Currently we’re in the middle of a heat wave, so I was looking for something cool and filling to have for dinner.

I cooked the asparagus for a very short time in salted boiling water (only 1-2 minutes max) and then left it to ...Read more

Few weeks go by during the summertime months that I don’t have a big bowl of pasta salad in my fridge. This saucy pesto number (my family’s current favorite) is as verdant and vibrant as they come — corkscrew noodles are dressed with a vibrant basil pesto sauce, then tossed with sweet, juicy cherry tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, and pearls ...Read more

Shrimp on the grill is the very best shrimp there is — it cooks quickly and picks up smokiness and char. But you don’t have to limit yourself to simple shrimp skewers. Here, we’re taking inspiration from pasta and lemon garlic butter shrimp for a no-mess packet dinner you’ll crave all summer long.

The secret to cooking pasta in a foil ...Read more

Chicken is a family favorite during summer, especially when it's cooked on the grill. But it can be kind of a pain to prepare because the white and dark parts cook at different temperatures.

There's an easy solution to this -- remove the bird's backbone so that it lays flat on a roasting sheet or grill grate.

The technique is called ...Read more

Many an article about sandwiches begins with ye tired olde origin story: The Earl of Sandwich, desirous of a snack easily and ungreasily handled whilst he continued to play cards, demanded his joint of meat or giant drumstick or what have you be ensconced between two slices of bread, and so forth. The Earl's idea, born though it was of laziness ...Read more