Fowl

Consumers can recognize the difference between frozen food and fresh food, despite efforts by the Department of Agriculture to confuse the issue for the benefit of Arkansas interests that helped Hillary Clinton hit the commodities futures jackpot.USDA upholds a curious legal fiction that frozen chicken may wear the "fresh" label in stores. Despite pledging to review the deceptive policy, the department is still dragging its heels.The USDA has also joined the frozen-fowl flock in a lawsuit to overturn a California law that bars poultry chilled below 26 degrees from being sold as "fresh."

GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST, without skin or bones, is everywhere -- popping up on restaurant menus and backyard barbecues. Chicken has fewer calories and fat then red meat and, if grilled properly, plenty of flavor.Grilled chicken's biggest enemy is overcooking. Diane Rozas, author of "More Chicken Breasts," a new cookbook with nearly 100 recipes, has these suggestions for perfect chicken:* Spray the cold grill with a non-stick vegetable coating such as PAM to keep the chicken from sticking and to make clean-up easier.

Stuffed Squash1 large Turkish or Hubbard squash or pumpkin12 slices bread ( 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat bread)1/2 cup butter1 stalk celery1 onion1/2 tsp. sage1 tsp. thyme1 vegetable bouillon cube1 tbsp. Braggs Liquid Aminos1/2 cup boiling waterOpen squash. Scrape seeds out of cavity. Prepare stuffing. Place bread slices on cookie sheets in 400-degree oven for 15 minutes to dry out bread so stuffing holds together better. Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan. Chop celery and onion, add to butter.

This dish is sure to be a hit with busy people. The recipe, from the National Broiler Council, uses skinless, boneless chicken breasts and the microwave to create a fast, delicious recipe.Deluxe Chicken Breasts 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved3 tablespoons bottled microwave browning sauce1 teaspoon seasoned salt, divided1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper, divided1 cup nonfat plain yogurt1 teaspoon grated onion1 teaspoon prepared mustardBrush chicken with browning sauce and arrange on rack around outside edges of circular microwave dish.

When summer weather lures you outdoors, rely on quick-to-fi salads to make meal preparation simpler and get you out of the kitchen fast.This recipe is from the Potato Board and Mushroom Council.Grilled Chicken Summer Salad4 medium potatoes, about 1 1/3 pounds1/2 pound mushrooms, halved1/3 pound green beans, halved, trimmed and blanchedTarragon vinaigrette, recipe follows4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 6 ounces each1/4 cup chopped red onionHalved cherry tomatoes for garnishIn covered saucepan, cook potatoes in about two-inches boiling water until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

It looks as though Anne Arundel County Executive John G. Gary and his $733 million budget proposal have ruffled a few feathers.Last week, Mr. Gary sent a memo to County Council members urging them to support his budget and exhorting them to follow the example of geese, which support each other. At budget hearings this week, the executive's aides were greeted by honks of derision from council members who think some of Mr. Gary's spending ideas are for the birds.How did Mr. Gary, the acclaimed fiscal wizard who helped wrestle state budgets into shape while serving on the House of Delegates Appropriations Committee for eight years, get himself into such a predicament?

Three years ago, Maryland-based Perdue Farms stopped using feed treated with the antibiotic roxarsone, which contains arsenic. The company found that with better management of its flocks and contract chicken houses, the drug wasn't needed to keep chickens healthy. Unfortunately, too many in the industry have failed to follow suit. A recent study released by a Washington-based consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch found poultry available in supermarkets contains three times more arsenic than other meats.

In the current issue of Ducks Unlimited Canada Conservator is an article about the zebra mussel, the tiny striped clam whose presence within a few hundred miles of Prettyboy, Liberty and Loch Raven caused the Baltimore Department of Public Works to restrict fishing boats on the city's reservoirs.City officials feared that anglers would bring the mussel into the reservoirs where it could block water piping systems as it has in the Great Lakes.Officials thought that the clam has no natural predators in this hemisphere.

I CAN SYMPATHIZE with William Hahn's complaints about years of aural assault by peacocks. But he doesn't know how bad it could get.He says his sleep and peace of mind have been persistently disrupted by these bejeweled birds and their shrill screams, which he compares to the cries of a sick cat.The distraught Gamber resident appealed in vain to the Humane Society, the Maryland State Police, the Carroll County Planning Department and the farmer who raises...