Search results for

Whether it's meant to soothe or to celebrate, the act of giving sustenance communicates caring and strengthens neighborly bonds. Food writer Michele Kayal shares heart- and hearth-warming recipes for quiche, soup, cinnamon rolls and more.

A gruesome tale of one very dysfunctional family, courtesy of Richard Strauss' intense one-act opera.

The Italian crostata balances a simple, seasonal filling with the sweet dough that encases it — unlike many pies, which make the filling the star. For fall, try a lattice-topped crostata filled with tender apple and pear chunks, or sweet squash mixed with delicate ricotta and spiked with cinnamon.

The crunchy five-spice mix of India, the searing hot harissa from Tunisia, the aromatic herbes de Provence of southern France and the earthy berbere of Ethiopia are simple ways to bring global flavors into the kitchen with little effort.

This subtle relative of bitter chicories may masquerade among the lettuces, but it's not just for salads. Sturdy escarole stands up to a saute, simmer or braise; with heat it seems to mellow and ripen in flavor, growing only sweeter for the ordeal.

Originally just a convenient boxed lunch for Japanese field workers, bentos today can be high art, with flower-petal carrots, hard-boiled eggs shaped into bunnies, broccoli sculpted into trees. But you don't have to cook Japanese food — or make cute cutouts — to reap the benefits of the bento.

After some hikes, a granola bar or apple is all you need to recharge. But some treks call for a proper picnic — food you can sit and linger over, savoring the meal along with the summit view. These sturdy, well-seasoned dishes go the distance.

Steve Inskeep talks to author J.K. Rowling in the second part of the interview on Morning Edition looking at her new novel The Casual Vacancy. The character of Krystal, a troubled teenager, grows out of Rowling's observations as a teacher.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Katherine Boo spent more than three years in Mumbai's Annawadi slum. In her new book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, she profiles people living in extreme poverty — right in the shadow of luxury hotels.

It takes a few leisurely hours to draw the magic out of meaty beef bones. Boiled at length, they produce a savory base for all sorts of soups, from borscht to pho.