Mango

What it is -- A new line of pomegranate juices infused with wild-berry extract and mango and apple flavors. What we like about it --Odwalla's new 100 percent juices use other flavors to smooth out the sharpness of regular pomegranate. The PomaGrand mango juice was our favorite; the mango's sweetness balanced the pomegranate's aftertaste. The berry blend, which mixed apple, strawberry, raspberry and blueberry juices with pomegranate juice, still had a touch of the expected tartness we've come to expect from this trendy, potassium-rich fruit.

DELHI, India-- --Cardamom. Indigenous to India, this astringent spice has a name that sounds like a mental reminder of something you really must do before Mother's Day. "Note to self: Send flowers or, at the very least, a cardamom." This somewhat-punishing pun occurred to me one afternoon a few weeks ago as I jostled along on the back of a bicycle rickshaw and my hardworking driver pedaled me deep into the ever-narrowing streets of Old Delhi, India. A chaotic warren of atmospheric alleys, this was once the walled city of Shahjahanabad, a Mughal capital founded in the mid-17th century.

The 2005 Crabtown Auction was about selling off 60 crabs - the 5-foot-tall crustaceans by local artists that had been decorating Baltimore for a few months. Crab was in lots of the edible offerings, such as macaroni and cheese, bruschetta, crab and mango stacks and crab soup. You could even get a cocktail - the crabtini. "It's just like a margarita, but it's made with vodka. And the rim of the glass is dipped in honey, then Old Bay," bartenders Mike Murphy and Jason Epps explained. The crab theme also turned up in guests' attire, as did the color orange.

It was a picturesque scene -- a chilly, rainy fall Saturday in one of the city's most attractive neighborhoods, Bolton Hill. Shiny wet leaves in shades of orange, red and brown dripped to the sidewalk outside the handsome brick buildings. Students from Maryland Institute College of Art walked from the nearby campus. It seemed as though everyone was heading to the same place: On the Hill, a tiny coffee and sandwich shop that opened in May at John and Mosher streets. People shook out their umbrellas as they entered the cozy space and joined a line at the counter that swelled and shrank but never disappeared.

Frozen fish fillets, always at the ready in your freezer, are quick to cook, low-calorie and quite nutritious - and if you purchase large packages with 10 or 12 fillets, they are economical as well. (Of course, if there's time, you can stop at the market and buy fresh fillets.) The downside: Alone, they can be bland. But seafood is so easy to dress up. Here, we're topping halibut fillets with a colorful, zesty salsa inspired by one from Robb Walsh's The Tex-Mex Cookbook. Don't be alarmed by the ingredient list: All you do is chop these items and combine them in a bowl.

The Cigar Roller By Pablo Medina. Grove Press. 352 pages. $21. Amadeo Terra can do nothing but remember." A truer statement was never made. For Amadeo Terra is completely paralyzed, unable even to speak. He lies in bed in a hospital in Florida, abandoned by everything but his senses, and his memories. And those plague him. In Pablo Medina's new novel, The Cigar Roller, Amadeo Terra is a middle-aged Cuban immigrant who, in his younger, healthier days before his stroke, worked in a cigar factory.

On February 11, 2005, SOTERIOS J. MANGOS; beloved son of the late John and Sophia (nee Mallis); loving brother of Michael and Nicholas Mangos and Lemonia Nikoloudis. Also survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins, Bessie M. Butanis and Michael and Mary Mallis. A Trisaghion Service will be held at the family owned Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc., 1050 York Road (beltway exit 26A), on Monday at 7:30 P.M. Mr. Mangos will lie in state at the Annunciation Cathedral (Maryland Ave & Preston St.)

Last year my mango had the same problem that it has now: spider mites. I grew this mango from seed about 2 1/2 years ago. Do you have a remedy that will kill these insects? Obviously, it is very cold outside right now, so I need something safe for indoors. Spider mites thrive in hot dry air. Rinsing the plant can eliminate spider mites already on it. If the plant isn't too large, you can put it in the shower. While there are miticides registered for use on houseplants and spider mites, read the label to be sure they can be used on edible plants, even though your plant may not fruit for years.

It's nice to splurge. Even when rushed on a weeknight, you may run across times when a celebration is in order. Bring out the lobster, I say! Stashed neatly in your freezer, of course, ready to be thawed quickly and turned into a festive main-dish salad. Be as generous as you like. This salad is imminently flexible, so you can serve as much lobster in it as you can afford. And, if this is all too fancy for you, shrimp makes an excellent stand-in. Serve with a flute of champagne, some crusty bread and a chocolate tart and you'll soon forget that it's just a weeknight.

Without televised racing from elsewhere, the annual thoroughbred meeting at the Maryland State Fair would probably be history. "The power of simulcasting is what keeps us going," Timonium general manager Howard M. "Max" Mosner Jr. said yesterday. "Without it, we might just as well close the gates." Timonium's eight-day stand opened with cameras piping in races from Saratoga, Delaware Park, Monmouth Park and Calder Race Course. With less money available for purses, the meet has been reduced from 10 to eight days for the third straight year.