Eat

The 10-day Baltimore Beer Week schedule is overflowing with food-related events, ranging from five-course dinners to pumpkin pancake breakfasts. There are tastings of beer with charcuterie, chocolate and cheese. Many of the dinners have limited seating and sell out fast.   Even before Baltimore Beer Week kicks off officially tonight with the Opening Tap Celebration at Power Plant Live, Big Jim's is convening a Power Brunch at Cross Street Market - get a three-beer flight of Flying Dog and a Big Jim's sandwich for $10.  The marquee dining events include the Stillwater Artisanal Beer Dinner on Monday at Fleet Street Kitchen, the Heavy Seas Brewery Dinner on Wednesday at Heavy Seas Alehouse and the Sierra Nevada dinner at Alewife on Oct. 27, when chefs from the Food Market and Roy's join Alehouse's Chad Wells.

OK, I was wrong about Billy Cundiff. Really, really wrong. Sharp readers of this newspaper - do we have any other kind? -- may recall that right before the season started, I wrote that the Ravens had made a mistake cutting Biilly Cundiff and going with rookie Justin Tucker as their kicker. I wrote that a team with serious designs on a Super Bowl berth needed an experienced kicker who had been through the NFL wars. And I wrote that Cundiff would bounce back from that disastrous 32-yard miss in the AFC title game last January against the New England Patriots and be dependable kicker again.

In an age when there are "baby apps" for the iPad and HBO is reissuing classic children's books as made-for-TV musicals, it's nice just to take the kids to visit some goats. Some hard-working, big-eating goats. My husband and I spent a weekend soloing as handlers for Mikey, the 22-month-old grandson with the halo of blond curls, and when a friend spotted a herd of goats along the side of a road, we were off. There's nothing toddlers like more than barnyard animals that are roughly the same size they are. "Goats!

Recently, The Sun published on-line a bizarre story about professional low-income affordable housing advocates lobbying Howard County to include affordable low-income housing in the future high-end pricey Columbia downtown residential development area ("Group hopes to provide affordable housing in downtown Columbia," Sept. 24). Million-dollar luxury condos and expensive apartments and town houses already exist in this desirable area. Your story offered no clue about how these future low-income residents would be able to afford to do their weekly basic survival food and household items shopping using food stamps in the high-end Whole Foods supermarket destined for this newly redeveloped Columbia Downtown luxury living community (with no affordable ordinary supermarkets or other basic family services in the nearby Columbia Villages of Wilde Lake and New Town)

Sedona, Ariz., is one of Chandler Tschand's favorite places in the world. He's been there dozens of times, so it's no coincidence that he and his wife,  Asha (the official owner), named their year-old Woodstock restaurant Sedona Grill. Nor is it a coincidence that Southwestern fare is the culinary theme here. This cuisine favors a kinder, gentler approach than the spicier Tex-Mex (and Mexican) styles of Arizona's neighbors. It is generally less heated with well-balanced background flavors.

Eat Maryland crab meat and win a prize. Throughout September, diners who eat at restaurants participating in Maryland's True Blue program can win a pair of tickets to the Mermaid's Kiss Oyster Fest, an after-hours celebration of Maryland seafood on Oct. 3 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore . Launched this spring by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the True Blue program allows restaurants serving DNR-verified Maryland blue...

It's back-to-school time, and perhaps you are settling back in to a family-dinner routine after summer chaos. Or perhaps you at least plan to. If your picky eater isn't getting into the groove just yet, perhaps these recipes will help. Tell your kids they are eating just like the Ravens do. You won't be exaggerating. These two recipes -- for Ravens jambalaya and roasted chicken and vegetable lasagna -- come from the Classic Catering People, the caterer for Baltimore Ravens training facilities, and are actually regularly fed to the players and coaches.

Pining for homemade pie, but don't want to crank up the oven while summer's still upon us? Then skip those preheating rituals in favor of no-bake pies. Also known as icebox pies, these delightfully retro desserts require minimal fuss and kitchen time, making them ideal summertime desserts. A no-bake pie generally begins with a cookie-crumb crust, which cradles some type of filling. Think pudding, custard and mousse. Creamy cheesecake, perhaps. Or airy whipped cream and fresh fruit combos.

I was startled by University of Maryland nutritionist Karen Kolowski's recent article about genetically modified foods ("Educate yourself on genetically modified food," Aug. 8). While it is true that such foods don't occur in nature and that their tolerance for pesticides and herbicides has been genetically enhanced, Ms. Kolowski glossed over the negative effects of eating these products. Ms. Kolowski says genetically modified foods are more nutritious than other foods. However, a recent report by Earth Open Source notes that these artificially created foods also harm biodiversity, soil quality and ecosystems, and that they can foster the creation of "super weeds" that are resistant to pesticides.

Celebrity psychologist Dr. Drew Pinsky recently admitted on CNN to exercising obsessively to stay slim, a condition not technically a mental disorder, but what some call exercise bulimia. He joked about his condition saying: “a little whiff of a mental health issue never hurt anybody.” Doctors at The Center for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Baltimore  found the comment disturbing. They say that calling exercise bulimia a “mild” mental health disorder sends the wrong message to the public.