Canadian Bacon

At a time when cooks clamor for quick, easy recipes that ar low in fat and calories, lasagna -- time-consuming and rich, with layers of noodles, cheese, meat and sauce -- remains popular.It's second only to spaghetti and meat sauce in the affection of pasta lovers, according to a National Pasta Association survey. Nearly a fourth of the respondents picked lasagna as their family's favorite pasta dish.Once, lasagna was mainly white noodles, tomato sauce with meat, ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

When there is next to nothing in the refrigerator, canned soup in the cupboard provides a satisfying last resort. A few ordinary ingredients will change a predictable soup into an unexpected delight.The traditional match of potato and caraway adds dimension to a cream of celery soup base.German Potato SoupServes 32 teaspoons vegetable oil, preferably canola oil1 small onion, finely chopped1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds1 10-ounce can condensed cream of celery soup, preferably reduced-fat1 1/2 cups skim milk1 cup diced boiling potatoes1/2 cup buttermilk1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or 1 teaspoon dried dillsalt and freshly ground black pepper to tasteHeat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

Gianandrea Gavazzeni, 86, composer, musician and a former artistic director of Milan's La Scala opera house, died yesterday at his home in northern Italy, his family said.Mr. Gavazzeni, who had been ill for several months, began his career as a pianist and composer and wrote copiously for 20 years. He began working with La Scala in 1948 and served as its artistic director from 1966-1968.He conducted all the greats in theaters throughout Italy and wrote guides to the operas of Mozart, Wagner and others.

There's no reason to go hungry at the A-1 Crab Haven. The portions are hefty, the courses numerous, the prices reasonable and the selection, especially of seafood and the namesake crab, extensive.Unfortunately, the food didn't always taste as good as it looked -- or sounded.But that didn't seem to deter the Saturday night crowd that filled the comfortable dining room of this Essex restaurant. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, especially the folks in the adjacent bar who were carrying on -- loudly -- as Duke beat Kentucky in the NCAA basketball tournament.

MCDONALD'S IS asking you to change everything you thought you knew about the restaurant and come home.McDonald's, which is losing market share among baby boomers, says that the restaurant you grew up on can be the restaurant you grow old on (if you don't keel over from a heart attack first).What I'm saying is, and it's sad news, McDonald's needs a break today.Which is why they're introducing the Arch Deluxe, advertised as a sandwich for grown-ups, because, and hold on to your seats here, it has Dijon mustard on the burger, although no mention of whether it's Grey Poupon.

This week's menus Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost-cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's...

Begin the year with better breakfasts.The wonders of breakfast have been touted by every major food-related organization in the world.Studies demonstrate that hungry children do not learn as well as their well-nourished counterparts.Other studies show that dieters are most successful when they eat a good breakfast.If you work out in the morning, you need to follow up with high carbohydrate foods within two hours to replace your muscles' energy stores.Three hundred to 400 calories worth of good food choices is a great beginning for your day.Breakfast is an ideal place to start with mini-resolutions that are easy to keep and to build on throughout the year.

Your rebellious teen-agers may hold the key to better health for your whole family.Increasingly, I hear from parents worrying because their kids have gone vegetarian.When I meet with the kids and review their food diaries, I find that many of them have simply stopped eating meat, chicken and fish. They're eating lots of fruits and vegetables (and sometimes junk food), but haven't learned to fill in the missing protein with beans and lentils.And the kids are worried about their parents who are eating all that meat and fat, and haven't yet learned to eat more fruits, vegetablesand grains.

Italian openingsLook for a new Italian restaurant to open at 405 N. Charles St. where the Vanguard Cafe used to be. Extensive renovations are going on now, and Sotto Sopra, which means upside down, should be open at the beginning of March.The food will be from the south of Italy -- along the lines of tomatoes, olive oil and foccaccia rather than butter and cream.Meanwhile, a Little Italy favorite, Ristorante Tacchetti, has closed; and Il Porto has been open for three weeks in its place at 1018 Eastern Ave. Il Porto advertises its food as "southern Italian nouvelle cuisine," but no one I talked to could tell me exactly what that means.

As the name suggests, Pete's Restaurant on busy Fort Smallwood Road in Orchard Beach is friendly and unpretentious. In fact, Pete's might define friendly and unpretentious.The neighborhood restaurant offers a decent selection of reasonably priced, basic dishes, from seafood and steaks to burgers and sandwiches.If you want to fit in at Pete's, dress casual. On a recent weekday evening, the few diners in the restaurant and the regulars chatting at the bar wore shorts, T-shirts and jeans. With its dark interior, faux wood paneling and pictures of old and new Baltimore on the walls, the place had the feel of a club basement.