Jar

Making kernels jump If your popcorn doesn't pop, it may be too dry, says the Popcorn Board, a product marketing group. Try filling a 1-quart jar three-quarters full with unpopped kernels and adding a tablespoon of water. Cover with an airtight lid, shake the kernels until they absorb the water and store the jar in a cool place for two or three days. Then try popping the corn. Students' weighty issue Many students heading to college this fall will encounter a 10- to 15-pound weight gain that often comes from eating cafeteria food and dormitory snacks.

How is it best to preserve seeds, maybe for many years? Store them in a cool, dry location in a container with a tight-fitting lid. An ideal way to prepare seeds for long-term storage is to place seed packets in a jar, seal the jar tightly and place it in a refrigerator or freezer. To help absorb moisture, place a small, cloth bag filled with dry, powdered milk or silica gel in the bottom of the jar. On Oct. 19, my husband aerated and overseeded. If and when the new grass appears, will it be OK to vacuum the leaves or mulch them with a mower?

Vodka pasta sauce is hardly a novelty item in 2006, judging from the menus of many Italian restaurants and the fact that we had no trouble finding so many jars of it in supermarkets. But it is hardly a classic sauce, according to the Web site, foodtimeline.org. According to the attributions collected on this amusing and informative food site, vodka sauce showed up at the height of nouvelle cuisine - or, more accurately, nuova cucina in 1980s Italy. Vodka is not as dominant an ingredient as cream and cheese in this rich sauce, and our six tasters had trouble detecting its presence in most of the brands.

School's out and parents will likely hear the summer lament, "I'M BORED!" Be prepared for those times with some of these learning games that use everyday household items. They can be fun for you and your child to do together.Likenesses and differences: Let your child sort and place things such as buttons, marbles or dried beans or noodles into each section of an egg carton, putting things that are alike in each section. As a variation, you could label each section with a different letter and write words beginning with those letters on small pieces of paper.

The print on the cocktail napkins at Fells Point's newest hot spot, Bond Street Social, says it all: "Socialize". The bar and restaurant, a warm, earthy, industrial lounge, is dedicated to this simple concept. "It's all about sharing", said General Manager Shane Gerken. "We're committed to that theme: from the aesthetics and design to our menus. " While the food, described as "high-end comfort" is based around the trendy small plates concept, Bond Street's social drinks, with their 80-ounce infusion jars, brings a unique new idea to the table.

Here are three ways to get seedlings started:1. Save and wash three or four small yogurt containers and poke drainage holes in the bottom. Fill 3/4 -full with potting soil. Poke a hole in the soil in each container and drop in a seed. Mist with water.2. Place three or four peat pellets (available at garden shops) on a dish and gradually add warm water. When the pellets are fully expanded (about 20 minutes), pour off excess water. Poke a seed in each pellet. Label each pellet.3. The easiest way to watch seeds sprout is to set each one on damp cotton on the bottom of a clear glass jar. Keep the cotton moist.

City police today caught two teen-age boys in a city school with their hands in the cookie jar, or at least the junk food jar.The teens, 14 and 16, were nabbed about 1 a.m. on the roof of Carver Vocational-Technical High School, in the 2200 block of Presstman St. Officers were doing a routine check of the school when they heard noises in the cafeteria. They also discovered that a window had been forced open.The officers went inside and found that a door to a pantry had been forced open. More officers, with dogs, were summoned.

Kensington. -- I have a bizarre project which, in the tradition of science, needs repeating. It has to do with conjuring a life form from its dark, airless, subterranean home. Junior and senior high school students take note, if you dread next spring's inevitable science fair: It's an easy project.Back in the mid 1950s, when I was about 13 years old and graduating from firebug preadolescence to building actual combustion engines, I also began wondering about atmospheric carbon dioxide: Would the eventual use of all the coal and oil in the word completely pollute the earth's atmosphere?

Coffee commercials used to be such cozy and homey affairs, what with kindly Mrs. Olson dropping by with her can of Folgers, or girlfriends spending a rainy day indoors with their Cafe Viennas.But then Taster's Choice started an ongoing series of seductive commercials in which a pair of neighbors use the instant coffee to meet and engage in some flirtatious bantering. To date, the elegant brunette and her roguish, sandy-haired neighbor have exchanged teasing words and jars of Taster's Choice, but have yet to consummate their flirtation with even a shared cup of the stuff.

Because peanut butter often is the go-to grub for school lunches, we decided to put it center stage in a tasting of natural, crunchy peanut butters. Emphasis on natural. The eight contenders' ingredient lists included just peanuts, and maybe salt and / or peanut oil. Unlike regular peanut butter, these nonhydrogenated spreads are devoid of sugar as well as additives that prevent the oil from separating from the solids. This means that oil rises to the top and the contents have to be stirred prior to first use. Our panel was seeking true peanut flavor with a nut-studded yet spreadable texture.