Pantry

Many of us like to keep things simple. For example, when it comes to kitchen clocks we're likely to pick up the ordinary, hang it above the pantry or refrigerator and leave it there for years. Well, how about a kitchen clock with some character for once? Perhaps a clock that barks, or one shaped like that staple of the kitchen, the coffee cup. Clocks are focal points in kitchens, so why not pick one that dazzles the eye? Shops all around the area carry clever clocks. Here's a sampling of some that go beyond just telling time.

SO FAR Dick and Nancy Councill have had it easy with the disruption of their lives during their two-story addition and renovation project. All the work has gone on behind a plywood wall between the former pantry and the former kitchen.But now it's time to break through the wall into the existing space -- the former pantry -- that is involved in the project. When contractor Ron Nodine first tore out the existing kitchen, he reinstalled some of the old cabinets and appliances in the pantry space -- which at one time had been the house's kitchen.

MOUNT AIRY NET has provided emergency relief to people in need throughout the Mount Airy community.It needs help from residents to restock its Food Pantry at Calvary United Methodist Church, 403 S. Main St.The Food Pantry provides food to families.The following items are needed to ensure that needy families will have nutritious meals: canned vegetables and fruits, canned fish and meat, packaged dinners (macaroni and cheese, etc.), soups, pasta, dry goods (flour, sugar, crackers, pancake mix, etc.)

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN cooking too much, eating too much and watching too much football, we'll all give thanks for our myriad blessings. We'll remember family, friends, health and plenty in our grateful recital. But let us not forget to be thankful for the generosity of our neighbors. Savage and Laurel are indeed blessed with gracious, giving folk. Consider these examples.The members of Girl Scout Troop 538, now fourth-graders at Bollman Bridge Elementary School, have been together since kindergarten.

HERMAN PREHN, 69, is made of sturdy stuff. In the blazing heat of July 4, the Elkridge resident cooked hot dogs for volunteers who directed parking for the Columbia fireworks display.The display is organized by the Kiwanis Club of Columbia, and members of other service clubs help out. Prehn has been a member of the Elkridge Kiwanis Club for more than 35 years.Prehn and his wife, Marge, sat in the sun on the top deck of a parking lot next to the Merrill Lynch Building, near The Mall of Columbia.

A MEMORY grove of trees will be planted at 3 p.m. Sunday at Pine Valley Park in Manchester. The 19 trees were donated in honor of persons or occasions.Families are welcome to help plant the trees after a ribbon-cutting ceremony and program.Volunteers from Manchester Parks Foundation Inc., which oversees Pine Valley Park, will aid in the planting and watering. Water will be carried from a nearby stream and pond.The root holes for the trees were calculated by the fifth-grade math class of teacher Betty Smith of Manchester Elementary and dug by town workers.

There's nothing quite as much fun as heading to the farmers' market on a weekend morning, roaming the stalls, sparking a few ideas for dinner and then heading home to cook.But most of the time, we're cooking dinner between doing a half dozen other things. The mark of a real cook is being able to fix a good meal in the midst of real life.Let's face it: Given perfect ingredients, any fool can turn out a decent dish. It's when there's no time to find the perfect ripe tomatoes or the piece of fish that smells just like the sea that good cooking becomes a challenge.

I'm just getting home from work at 6:15 on a weekday evening. My job is to get the family dinner on the table at 7 o'clock. Moreover, I have to come up with something to satisfy all four of us.Kate, age 11, is a vegetarian who, as she puts it, "won't eat anything that has a face." Jake, at 15, seems to wake up taller every morning and won't be satisfied with anything dainty. My wife, Susan, and I prefer that the meal be reasonably healthful and have a "grown-up" flair.The last-minute solution to such a dilemma in our house, and probably in yours, is usually a big bowl of pasta.

The cranberry's future has never looked rosier. Not only has its refreshing taste and proven health benefits (such as fighting urinary-tract infections) made it one of America's most popular juice drinks, but the cranberry is making a splash on the fashion scene as well. Cranberry is the hot color this season, and decorators are recommending a variety of shades for everything from upholstery fabrics to wall paint.But it's more than just new hues. The berry's tangy flavor is popping up all over.

If you dream about the perfect home, what do you see? A big front porch, tall windows, high ceilings?If your thoughts run to practical matters, you may see a kitchen with room for all the pots and pans you need to cook everything from soup to nuts; one pantry with shelves full of your homemade jams, jellies and pickles and another containing your silver and crystal; and a closet for all your fine linen.If this is your vision of the perfect home, you may have been frustrated trying to realize it. The cook's pantry for the foods, the butler's pantry for the silver and crystal, the linen closet for the napery, all went the way of the walk-in attic in most American homes built after 1940.

My siblings and I think our mother is an all-around joyful role model in the Mom department. Because we grew up under her tutelage, we don't seem to mind if she rearranges our cabinets, tells us we ought to give our front doors a fresh coat of paint, or remarks that it's high time we replaced our frayed bath towels when she visits. We welcome the wealth of time-tested tips she provides on child-rearing, home organization and budgeting. Well, um, most of the time. But, my point is, it sure is funny how the very same suggestions coming from a mother-in-law tend to rattle us. When, in fact, it's all about nurturing.

On February 3, 2009, MARY AHLERS BLISS, a retired school teacher who was active in the College Club of the AAUW and as a volunteer at the Cares Food Pantry, died at the Gilchrist Center. She is survived by her husband William DeWitt Bliss, a son, Anthony De Witt Bliss, two daughters, Mary Clarke Bliss and Elizabeth Erskine Bliss, and three grandchildren, Carly Weinsheink and twins, Heather Anne and Andrew Michael Bliss. A Memorial Mass will be offered at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 5502 York Road in Govans, at 9:30 a.m. on March 7. Memorial contributions may be made to the church, Cares Food Pantry, c/o, GETCO, 5513 York Road, Baltimore, MD 21212.

On February 3, 2009, MARY AHLERS BLISS, a retired school teacher who was active in the College Club of the AAUW and as a volunteer at the Cares Food Pantry, died at the Gilchrist Center. She is survived by her husband William DeWitt Bliss, a son, Anthony De Witt Bliss, two daughters, Mary Clarke Bliss and Elizabeth Erskine Bliss, and three grandchildren, Carly Weinsheink and twins, Heather Anne and Andrew Michael Bliss. A Memorial Mass will be offered at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 5502 York Road in Govans, at 9:30 a.m. on March 7. Memorial contributions may be made to the church, Cares Food Pantry, c/o, GETCO, 5513 York Road, Baltimore, MD 21212.

John Iverson Toland Jr., a retired sociology professor and former chairman of the department of sociology at Towson University who also volunteered at a Govans food pantry, died Saturday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease, at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 79. Dr. Toland was born in Birmingham, Ala., and was raised in Atlanta and Columbia, S.C., where he graduated from high school in 1948. After serving in the Navy from 1949 to 1951, he served in the Army from 1953 to 1955.

Deborah Flateman's cell phone is squawking. Her schedule is full of board meetings, conference calls and cocktail parties. And she's sifting through reports with growth figures and projections. Like many corporate executives, Flateman is looking to increase production, streamline distribution and improve inventory tracking. But she never has to worry about losing customers. They are Maryland's hungry, estimated at 516,000 and growing. "It's a huge responsibility," says Flateman, director of the Maryland Food Bank.

Moths are flying in my house, and I'm worried about my woolens and rugs. How do I get rid of them? They're probably not clothes moths, which are tiny and rarely glimpsed. Indian meal moths, however, are common year-round. This pantry pest has a faint dark band across its dusty wings. It originates in pasta, spices, cereals and -- take note this time of year -- bird seed, among other sources. Call us or read our online publication, Pantry Pests, for simple measures you can follow to eradicate the moths.

Happy wanderers -- The Freestate Happy Wanderers walking club will hold noncompetitive walks on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day at Owen Brown Community Center in Columbia. Two 10K trails and one 5K trail are available; walkers can start any time between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and finish by 4 p.m. Home-cooked food and a place to sit and chat with other walkers will be available. There is a fee. Take a can of nonperishable food for a local food pantry. 410-437-2164 or 301-317-0639, before 9 p.m. Or www.ava.

There is something to be said for fast food: It is quick, convenient and - especially - cheap. We all know that it's bad for us, but when a bacon double-cheeseburger costs less than a head of lettuce, it might be hard to refuse. Fruits and vegetables are one of the keys to good health. Barbara Rolls invented the sensible Volumetrics diet, which encourages people to eat large quantities of low-energy-dense foods rather than small portions of energy-dense foods. This plan makes sense: You feel full, lose weight and end up eating a lot more fresh produce.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- Bob Randels, Rose Miller and Teresa Osborne spend most of their waking hours rescuing food. They're not dumpster divers, but they are relentless in their pursuit of pizzas that weren't picked up, sub shop bread that wasn't used and even small bags of shrimp from the local Red Lobster that didn't get tossed into a pasta Alfredo. Their efforts are part of a much larger, organized daily hustle to meet the increasing need to feed the hungry. "We're trying to keep pace, as much as we can," said Randels, executive director of the Food Bank of South Central Michigan, which served 92,000 people last year, up almost 50 percent from 62,000 in 2001.

Have I set the bar too high? Are my standards unrealistic? Am I just an incurable curmudgeon? As the calendar flips to a new year, it is a natural inclination to take stock of the months gone by. But while others may feel compelled to ask tough questions about their relationships or career choices, I'm content to limit my introspection to my walk-in pantry - stocked with another year's worth of as-seen-on-TV products. And from my perspective, what a crummy year it was. I began testing infomercial products two years ago, and I'm continuing a tradition of taking a year-end look back at the highlights and lowlights.