Okra

For Brunswick stew and mayonnaise cake recipes, you've landed in the right spot.Joy Lipscomb of Fayetteville, N.C., wrote that she would "really like to find a recipe for Brunswick stew which is the kind made with barbecue and chicken as well as vegetables."The response from Diane C. Meilinggaard of Sparks was full of information about the stew: "It is a favorite dish down South, especially in North and South Carolina and Georgia where I, the original Georgia Peach, am from. My mother and grandmother made this stew with leftover beef and/or pork and added a fresh hen. I have always made mine with fresh ingredients, but leftovers work great.

Most sequels aren't as good as the original. But the new Kawasaki Cafe in Fells Point is even better than Kawasaki, the excellent Japanese restaurant on North Charles Street. Of course, better is a relative term -- especially among restaurants. Still, the cafe is younger and hipper than its parent, and more user-friendly. In fact, the staff is incredibly friendly, period. They greet you with a cheery hello when you walk in. They're happy to explain anything on the menu you don't quite understand.

Each Christmas, Colonial Williamsburg's floral services staff creates what may be the most famous traditional holiday decorations in America. For the past 60 years, hundreds of thousands of people have visited the historic area to take part in Williamsburg's celebration of Christmas. Countless magazine articles and books have been written about the decorations, made from the natural materials -- such as greens, berries, fruit, cones and pods -- that would have been available in 18th-century Virginia.

This savory rice salad based on gumbo ingredients makes a delicious main-course dinner for warm autumn days. When selecting okra for this recipe, buy the smallest pods available. Or, if you decide to omit this much-maligned vegetable, stir in 1 teaspoon of file powder (made from ground sassafras leaves). It's sold in the herb-and-spice section in most supermarkets. Tip Substitute equal amounts of your favorite cooked seafood for the shrimp in the recipe. Menu Gumbo rice salad French bread Fresh raspberry iced tea Lemon ice and butter cookies Gumbo Rice Salad Makes 6 servings Preparation time: 20 minutes; cooking time: 18 minutes VINAIGRETTE: 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 teaspoons sherry vinegar juice of 1/2 lime 1/2 teaspoon salt freshly ground pepper SALAD: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 small onion, diced 1 can (14 1/2 ounces)

Try these recipes for more healthful versions of traditional soul food.Oven-Fried Okra1 1/4 cups cornmealPepper to taste1 3/4 pounds fresh okra, washed, drained, tips and stems removed, cut into 1/2 -inch slicesVegetable cooking sprayPreheat oven to 450. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cornmeal and pepper. Dredge okra in cornmeal mixture. (Okra must be moistened, from washing, for cornmeal mixture to coat well.) Lightly coat a 15x10x1-inch jellyroll pan with cooking spray. Spread okra in a single layer in pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally.

The culture of food Learn how one culture developed its ways with food Wednesday at the William Paca House and Garden in Annapolis. The Historic Annapolis Foundation's director of horticulture, Mollie Ridout, will use slides and lectures to explain how certain foods, such as peanuts, chili peppers, okra and sweet potatoes, became integral to African and traditional Southern cooking. "African Plants, American Plants: The Great Exchange" is a free program, but reservations are required.

Some people have trouble with colors. They look good in blue, for instance, but awful in brown.I have trouble with vinegar. It works fine when I use it as a meat marinade. Or when I clean the carpet with it. But it gives me fits when I get it near seafood.The other night, for example, I cooked some fish in boiling vinegar. It was not a great success. When I took one bite, the flavor of vinegar was so strong my mouth puckered up like I was a grouper.I tried this "Soused Fish" dish because I liked its name.

This Shrimp and Scallop Gumbo is a variation on the ones I grew up eating during my childhood in the South. For my version, I used more vegetables than in traditional gumbos. Chopped onions and green peppers are staples, but I also added sweet red peppers, carrots and celery for extra flavor and texture. Also, instead of making this classic soup with a single shellfish, I combined shrimp and scallops.Although the recipe is for four portions, it can easily be doubled or tripled and would make a delicious entree for a buffet.

What! No turkey?It is Brunswick stew time, according to the request of L. J. of Essex, who writes that she believes the dish is made with chicken and vegetables.The origin of this stew is worth noting. According to "Food Lover's Companion" (Barron's Educational Series, 1990), it originated in Brunswick County, Va., in about 1828 and was a hearty stew made of squirrel meat and onions. Today it is generally made with rabbit or chicken and contains such vegetables as okra, lima beans, tomatoes and corn.

As novelist and cookbook author Dori Sanders invites me into her hotel room, she insists I look toward the bed."I can't believe this," she says pointing upward. Over the big four-poster is a ceiling mirror. "I just can't get over that," she says.That kind of odd luxury is a long way from her life and that of her forefathers, who were farmers in South Carolina dating back to ++ the 1800s.Ms. Sanders, who has written two novels plus "Dori Sanders' Country Cooking" (Algonquin, 1995, $18.95), can trace her family's history back to slavery.