Kettle

PALATINE, Ill. - The man in an apron casually moves quartered slabs of zucchini off the hottest part of the grill to the cooler edges, where they can be turned to expose angled stripes of caramelized flesh. Then peppers, yellow and red and blistered, and saucer-sized portobello mushrooms, too. And finger-thick spears of asparagus, now freckled brown and fire-kissed. The flesh of filleted salmon is weeping surface puddles of its own oils. The swordfish steaks have been turned, and there is a crackle over the heat.

On July 22, 2005, THOMAS RUSSELL HOLMES, SR., of Bel Air, MD; beloved husband of the late Marian Wagner Holmes; devoted father of William J. Holmes and his wife Vickie, Patricia H. Kettle and her husband Patrick, Rebecca V. Holmes and her partner Helene Scharf, and the late Thomas R. Holmes, III. Also survived by three grandchildren, Michael Holmes, Stephen Holmes and Andrew Kettle. A Service will be in the family owned Mc Comas Funeral Home, P.A., Bel Air, MD, on Tuesday, July 26, 2005, at 12 P.M. Interment will be in Bel Air Memorial Gardens, Bel Air, MD. Friends may call at the funeral home in Bel Air, on Tuesday prior to service from 10 to 12 noon.

IT IS unfortunate that Newsweek magazine has had to issue a retraction of a report published earlier this month that military investigators corroborated allegations that an interrogator at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a copy of the Quran down a toilet. We still don't know if that actually happened. But given what we do know about prisoner intimidation and abuses at U.S. detention centers, such an act would hardly be surprising. It's unfortunate because reputable news outlets like Newsweek don't set out to be wrong, and journalists like the one who reported that story don't like to make mistakes.

In Baltimore City Police seek identity of body found under Curtis Bay bridge Police and the state medical examiner's office were seeking to identify and determine the cause of death of a man whose body was found floating yesterday morning under the Curtis Creek bridge in Curtis Bay, near the Anne Arundel County border. A passer-by walking in the 6300 block of Pennington Ave. shortly after 11 a.m. spotted the body in Curtis Creek and alerted authorities, said Officer Troy Harris, a police spokesman.

BOSTON - Here where America's most famous tea party was held more than two centuries ago, the Democratic Party is striving its best to keep the lid on a kettle of anti-Bush outrage that constantly threatens to boil over. Determined to accentuate the positive in coping with public uncertainty about prospective presidential nominee John Kerry, his strategists have decreed that this week's national convention speakers hold in check their hostility toward President Bush, on everything from his policies to his persona.

Kettle corn sounds like some folksy dish that ought to be served in a small Midwestern farm town. But these days you need to look no farther than the latest event at the Maryland State Fairgrounds or, if you're not a stickler for authenticity, your grocery-store shelves to find this popcorn treat that's a little salty and a little sweet. The ingredients are simple enough: popcorn, oil, granulated sugar and salt. Don't confuse it with caramel corn; kettle corn lacks the candy coating and has just a hint of sweetness.

Threatened by competition, bad weather and thieves, the Salvation Army's red kettle - long a symbol of holiday alms for the poor - might be on its way out of the cold and into a computer. One of the nation's most successful fund-raisers for human services, the Salvation Army has relied for more than a century on bell-ringing workers who stand outside stores collecting change to help the needy eat, buy toys and pay electric bills during the winter. But restrictions from some retailers and a tough economy are leading the organization to expect a lean year and to try fund-raising techniques unheard-of when the first kettle was hung in 1891.

Appetizing tips After the marathon cooking and baking sessions of the holidays, many of us still may be reluctant to get back into the kitchen. Still, winter entertaining doesn't need to be difficult. Here are some tips from Hillshire Farms: Stick to lighter fare, such as appetizers, so you can spend more time with your guests. Serve both hot and cold appetizers and place the food throughout the party space. Figure on eight to 10 appetizers for each person. Do as much preparation ahead of time as possible, and plan on offering a variety of cheese, meat, vegetable, poultry and fish dishes.

You might feel as if you're walking into your grandmother's house as you enter the one-story, white clapboard building. There is a casual, country feel to the Country Kettle Cafe in Poplar Springs, but the food is anything but ordinary. Owners and chefs Jim and Amy Crooks opened their cozy western Howard County restaurant a little more than a year ago after spending years looking for the right location. They have years of cooking experience at restaurants in Montgomery County, where they grew up. The couple had dreamed of owning a restaurant for some time.

Where: 8949 Baltimore St., Savage. Phone: 301-725-8838. Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Prices: $3.95 to $6.95. Credit cards: Cash only.