As a little inside scoop, when I first pitched this recipe, the title was “pizza beans (hear me out!),” but no one needed convincing (I mean Smitten Kitchen’s aptly named recipe is quite well-known). At the intersection of cozy and easy, you’ll...Read more

Despite my deep love of cooking and affinity for hours-long projects like multi-layered lasagna and homemade challah bread, I also have a soft spot for ...Read more

Coffee Mate makes my go-to coffee creamer: Italian Sweet Creme. It’s just the right mix of sugar and creaminess, and it stands up well to my dark roast coffee.

So I was intrigued with Coffee Mate’s newest flavor: Kit Kat. It’s just as creamy as any Coffee Mate product but the flavor is more robust, with definite chocolate flavor to perk ...Read more

I’m not a patient cook, so traditional pickling is off the table. Too much is involved — boiling the water, sterilizing the jars, finding the right tongs — and there’s anxiety over whether or not the lid has properly sealed.

Then I stumbled across several easy and extremely fast recipes for small-batch condiments that take just a few ...Read more

Shawarma, the inexpensive protein beloved by young traveling backpackers all over the world, is usually prepared by stacking thin marinated slices of lamb, chicken or beef in an inverted cone on a large, upright rotisserie.

The meat gets browned and crispy as cooks occasionally shave off the outside pieces to stuff into pitas or pile onto rice....Read more

Six hours. That’s how long it took prolific pepper breeder “Smokin” Ed Currie to recover from his ultimate creation: Pepper X. Recognized in October 2023 by the Guinness World Records, it’s the hottest on the planet.

A “millisecond” of flavor followed by a quarter-day of intestinal cramping, the 2,693,000 Scoville Heat Unit fruit is...Read more

Come dinnertime, pasta made with corn, rice, lentils or chickpeas can be a godsend to those with gluten sensitivities. But it also can break their hearts, just a little.

Not only is gluten-free pasta super expensive when compared to "regular" spaghetti, rigatoni and other noodles made with milled durum wheat, but it's tough to find a gluten-...Read more

I am not a fan of doing stories about people I know but I held my nose the other day and met Josh Noel at a bar. He’s the former beer and spirits writer for this newspaper. I held my nose because he wrote a smart new book about Malört, a subject that requires a little nose holding. Regardless of your history with this Chicago-bred atrocity, ...Read more

I swear this was an actual conversation:

My wife: The refrigerator is a bad refrigerator. We hate it. We’re going to replace it.

Me: No, the refrigerator is a good refrigerator. We love it because it’s so wonderful and we want to keep it forever.

The conversation was, naturally, held within earshot of the refrigerator. That’s why we ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — J. Jhondi Harrell, the founder and executive director of the Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC), remembers life before food stamps.

When he was 12, his father, a long-distance truck driver, had a heart attack. That was in 1967, and the family's economic well-being plummeted as his mother became the sole provider. To help make...Read more

Let’s face it — saying goodbye to summer can be tough. But Dairy Queen is here to soften the blow with a fall treat that might just have you cheering for cooler weather.

For two weeks (from Sept. 9-22) the dairy chain is offering a two-for-one Blizzard deal. To take advantage of this delicious offer, download the DQ Mobile App and head to ...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- Cooking every day is not easy. It’s even harder when you have to juggle school, work, extracurriculars or a full-time job with it.

While I would love to spend three hours each day experimenting with elaborate dishes, being in college or doing a full-time summer internship means that I’m always looking for quick recipes for ...Read more

Squirrels are cute and furry and absolutely adorable. But my wife calls them “little turds.”

Actually, my wife is a former newspaperwoman and she does not use as mild a word as “turds,” but it is as close as I can get in a family newspaper.

Our neighborhood squirrels dig up the dirt of all of our potted plants. They slurp up the sugar ...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- No one likes to say goodbye to summer, but there's no denying a new school year can be pretty exciting.

After chilling by the pool, sleeping in late and traveling with family on vacation, it's fun for kids to be back with their friends. And what parent or caregiver doesn't like the predictability of returning to weekday routines? ...Read more

Kit Kats are one of my favorite treats. Who doesn’t like those crispy wafer bars coated in milk chocolate?

Lately, the folks at Hershey’s have been introducing new flavors. I am a huge fan of the birthday cake flavor, which coats the wafers in a white chocolate. This new iteration, Chocolate Frosted Donut, isn’t as good as that, but it�...Read more

PITTSBURGH -- In the mood for a quick and easy dessert that ushers summer sweetly into fall?

The end of August and beginning of September are typically when peaches shine the brightest at Pennsylvania farmers markets and in local groceries. Georgia may call itself "The Peach State," but Pennsylvania grows a lot of the fruit, too — nearly 40 ...Read more

This is a light meal of pasta and fresh vegetables.

Substitute any fresh vegetables you might have on hand and use this recipe as a blueprint for quantities.

HELPFUL HINTS:

Any type of whole wheat pasta can be used.

2 crushed garlic cloves can be used instead of minced garlic.

COUNTDOWN:

Place water for pasta onto boil.

Saute vegetables ...Read more

Cubed deli turkey takes the place of chicken, while cheddar replaces blue cheese in this easy Cobb-inspired salad. The protein-rich turkey and cheese, plus eggs and bacon, gives the salad staying power, so you won't get hungry an hour after you eat. Feel free to swap out the turkey for cooked chicken or chickpeas to mix things up. Serve the ...Read more

A health food darling of the ’70s, carob fell out of favor and virtually vanished from the mainstream. The good news is, it’s back!

The folklore

Carob dates back about 4,000 years to the Mediterranean region. Carob pods were used by ancient Egyptians to feed livestock (a practice still used today), and the gum made from ...Read more

Who doesn’t love a slice of summer fruit bread? As late summer fruit begins to disappear, try making this when peaches are still in season.

The best part of this recipe is that this can be enjoyed any time of day. For breakfast, a coffee break, an afternoon snack, teatime, or dessert after lunch or dinner, this peachy bread will satisfy all ...Read more