Food

Most of us have directly experienced the trauma of recent price increases in the fast-food world. Those prices make today’s recipes for takeout burgers seem particularly appetizing. Depending on your fondness for, or dare I say addiction to, takeout burgers, these recipes may even offer a timely lifeline.

Each year, tracks from musical artists of all types vie for the coveted “song of the summer” title. If there were an herb of the summer, that crown would always be snugly rested atop basil’s head.

Workers and residents in northeast Spokane in search of a good sandwich shop can now stop in and visit Ottimo Sandwiches and More at 912 E. Francis Ave., owned by the same family that runs Uncle Rusty’s Diner in downtown Spokane.

SEOUL – In the United States, Everything but the Bagel seasoning is a favorite from Trader Joe’s, known for the savory goodness it adds to foods from salmon to waffles. But in South Korea, the trendy topping is generating a different kind of buzz as fans realize it’s actually contraband.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The plate that landed on the table at Community Matters Cafe was immediately striking. Two offset pancakes, golden from corn, topped with pulled pork and a sunny-side-up egg, all connected with drizzles of a red glaze that appeared to be applied by an aspiring Rembrandt.

I have a salad fantasy, and it goes something like this: I open my fridge and am greeted by so many prepped ingredients, cooked and raw, that I can treat my kitchen like a fast-casual restaurant. I’ll pick out my base greens, the toppings, crunchy bits and dressing, ask myself whether I want bread with that, and sit down to a fresh meal that’s exactly what I want to eat at that moment.

The Spokane County Library is hoping to create a bridge between teenagers and cultures from around the globe – through their stomachs. Moran Prairie Library is hosting the first session of “Making Snacks from Around the World” at 3 p.m. on Friday, July 12.

For anyone who enjoys the art of food, taste -making, wine and assorted brewed beverages, Crave is a can’t-miss event.

Poached salmon will always hold a spark of romance for me because it was the first dinner I ever made for my husband, roughly this time of year 30 years ago. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say we fell in love over that meal of buttery, flaky fish draped in a cool, creamy yogurt sauce.

I can no more remember the first time I tasted a three-bean salad than I can remember the first time I breathed. It’s always been there, at every picnic, every cookout of my life, as unchanging as the air.

The best time of year has begun in earnest. Forget summer; it’s berry-picking season. Depending where you live, the strawberry crop may have passed its peak, but strawberries are just the beginning of a monthslong abundance. In June, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries began to ripen, and they should be available in excess for much of the rest of the summer.

Two hundred and forty-seven. No, that’s not my weight or age. It’s not my IQ. Lord knows, past experience has proven that time and time again. It’s not the dollars in my retirement fund, although it’s pretty close to that. Thursday is the 247th Fourth of July since the big one in 1776. Although armed hostilities had broken out a year earlier with the battles of Lexington and Concord, it was on that day in 1776 that the Declaration of Independence proclaiming America’s separation from the British Empire, was presented to the American public. The peace treaty acknowledging America’s independence was signed seven years later, in 1783.

A young girl walks into the Daily Grind on the second floor of the Paulsen Center, grabbing an M&M cookie and ordering a breakfast burrito.

Grocery shopping for a single person is hard. It’s something I’ve more or less had to do all of my adult life. When I lived with roommates, we would occasionally share things we cooked and would split kitchen staples, like oils and seasonings, but otherwise we focused on feeding ourselves when we made trips to the grocery store. Now that I’ve been living alone for the past few years, shopping just for myself has only become more challenging.

My family moved often while I was growing up, living in small apartments and even occasionally on a sailboat, so our entire kitchen inventory – including a saucepan, skillet, stockpot and wok – could fit in one box tucked into the back of our Chevy hatchback. We could cook pretty much everything with those pans, since they were easily adaptable for tomato soup, blueberry pancakes, steamed crabs, fried rice or any other hankering we might have.

Deciding what to make for dinner is as much about the time and energy one can muster as it is about the ingredients on hand. That’s why Yasmin Fahr’s gorgeous new cookbook, “Cook Simply, Live Fully: Flexible, Flavorful Recipes for Any Mood,” is divided into chapters based on levels of motivation to cook.

We’re in the season for backyard barbecues and dinners. These dishes can help fill out the menu. Smoked Sausage Dogs with HD Sauce offer a perfect sandwich for hot dog and sausage fans.

Krista and Robby French, owners of Stylus Wine and Vinyl Bar in Coeur d’Alene, are taking a new approach to wine and music by bringing it to some place unexpected.

Scroll TikTok or troll HGTV, and you might think kitchen organization begins and ends with open shelving stacked neatly with crisp white plates, or a pantry stocked with clear plastic bins filled with items arranged in rainbow order a la the Home Edit.