Chicken

U.S. CONSUMERS are no birdbrains. Or, more precisely, they can tell the difference between a serious risk to human health and a disease that kills livestock. And, as a certain stock-trading criminal defendant/TV personality might say, that's a good thing. Witness the lack of panic over poultry. Nobody in the U.S. seems to be chickening out about eating chicken despite the recent news concerning avian influenza. Perhaps that's because people are paying attention -- or at least avoiding misinformation.

A proposed settlement that could net consumers $5 million in refunds and coupons from the nation's largest poultry producer moved a step closer to fruition Friday when a federal judge signed off on the preliminary agreement. Judge Richard D. Bennett repeatedly expressed concerns about the $3 million in plaintiffs' attorneys' fees and court costs that could be paid by Tyson Foods under the terms of the settlement. Bennett said he would be hard-pressed to sign off on what he called such a disproportionate scale, with the plaintiffs' counsel set to get about 37.5 percent of the total, with consumers' refunds capped at $50. Consumer lawsuits were filed across the country in 2008 and later consolidated in Baltimore, accusing Tyson of lying about the drugs that go into its birds.

Sure, a boneless, skinless chicken breast is an economical and lean protein source. But it can also be boring! What to do? To paraphrase Emeril: Kick it up a pinch! Any blend of seasonings will do the trick - French, Cajun or Indian-inspired, as is the case with this recipe for Saffron Chicken With Fennel Seeds. Any chef will tell you that fat carries flavor. So the key to low-fat cooking - bam! - is to pump up the flavor. Adding exotic spices can be a great way to add flavor, color and texture.

A tagine (pronounced "tah-zheen") is a hallmark of Moroccan cooking. The slow-simmered stew mingles meats and vegetables with spices, such as cumin and cinnamon. This Moroccan Stew With Roasted Vegetables pairs chicken and prunes, an ancient combination that continues to offer good nutrition. Sometimes marketed as "dried plums," prunes are a quick source of energy and aid in the absorption of iron. A quarter cup of the fruit contains 317 milligrams of potassium, which promotes heart health.

* Item: Butterball Chicken Requests, Crispy Baked Breasts* What you get: 14 ounces, or 4 servings* Cost: $4.29* Preparation time: About 20 minutes in conventional oven* Review: Unlike the frozen, fat-free, chicken breast tenders I've tried, these have a normal consistency and decent taste. They don't qualify as low fat (a third of the calories are fat calories), but you'll feel less guilty knowing they're baked instead of fried. I recommend the Italian, lemon pepper or Parmesan over the original flavor.

THE MAN who turned a small Eastern Shore family egg business into a chicken empire may have been the least likely TV pitchman in history. With his slender build and beak-like nose, Franklin Parsons Perdue was a natural for the poultry business, but his status as an advertising icon was serendipitous. In some 175 television commercials beginning in 1971, he spoke of how it took a tough man to make a tender chicken. East Coast consumers loved it, and the name Perdue soon became synonymous with chicken.

This pasta dish features Italian flavors, but I'm sure many would point out that Italians don't put chicken in their pasta dishes. Instead, they would serve it as a second course. But who has time to eat that way on busy weeknights? So this recipe incorporates quickly sauteed chicken, using easy-to-cut-up tenders. To save money, you can use whole chicken breasts and cut them up yourself. Buy good-quality pitted olives by-the-pound at the olive bars featured in many supermarkets. Joe Gray writes for the Chicago Tribune, which provided the recipe analysis.

If your auto insurance has lapsed, or if you're just a nervous driver, please disregard what I am about to say: You need to get in the car, drive as fast as the law will allow to the block of Broadway just south of Pratt Street, buy a bagful of food at Rotisseria and dive into it before you even back out of your parking space. Roast chicken isn't the easiest thing to eat in the car, and it's tough to dip the pupusas in their sauce if you have a manual transmission, but it's worth a few upholstery stains.

AS FORMER Sen. Charles McC. Mathias surveyed by air Monday the results of his 30-year crusade to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, talk among his traveling companions was liberally laced with chicken droppings. The conundrum of what to do with the tons of manure left behind by the 1 billion chickens raised each year on Maryland's Eastern Shore illustrates why after some early progress and public relations success, the bay cleanup is dead in the water. Chicken waste is a major source of the nitrogen that washes into the bay, especially during these recent weeks of rain, and feeds the algae that choke off life-giving oxygen.

Boston. -- It was almost yuk, yuk and a playful roll in the mud for environmentalists in the early days of Bill Clinton's presidency. ''I've spent more time visiting the president and vice president in the last two weeks than in the last 12 years,'' said Jay D. Hair, president of the National Wildlife Federation. ''I know these guys so well. I feel comfortable calling them, and they feel comfortable calling me.''This comfort was due in part to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt's plan for new fees for commercial exploitation of public lands.