Pork

ARLINGTON, Va. -- There are laws - even ethics rules - against buying votes in Congress. Lobbyists (Jack Abramoff and others) went to prison for attempting to buy votes, and congressmen (Randy "Duke" Cunningham and Bob Ney) went to prison for selling them. As with so many things Congress does, the rules it makes for others do not always apply to some of its members. In the scandalous, shortsighted sellout of American troops in Iraq, a slim Democratic House majority passed a measure that Speaker and top vote-buyer Nancy Pelosi claimed would "end the war in Iraq."

Once upon a time, America's breakfast kitchens filled with the aroma of sage-scented breakfast sausage. Today? Not so much. People think sausage is fatty. They think it must be unhealthful. They've convinced themselves that they don't have time to cook breakfast. Yet homemade sausage is actually relatively lean, especially compared to the commercial stuff. It's simple to make and impressive. It is many times better than store-bought, especially if you mix it up a day or two ahead of the time you plan to cook it, so the flavors can blend.

Super Suppers Cookbook By Judie Byrd Dream Dinners By Stephanie Allen and Tina Kuna William Morrow / 2006 / $19.95 Likewise, this cookbook is the result of a meal-assembly franchise begun by the authors from their home base in Washington state. The twist? These recipes include directions for multiplying the servings and freezing the results. In addition, the authors provide quick tips for freezing - use dried herbs instead of fresh and don't try to freeze raw potatoes - and solutions for when the defrosted product doesn't measure up - add chicken stock if it is too dry, turn the oven up and remove the foil if it is too wet. There are crockpot recipes and grilling recipes, and a primer on the basics of freezing, including the fact that freezing does not kill bacteria, yeast and molds.

Street Food: Exploring the World's Most Authentic Tastes By Tom Kime Vatch's Thai Street Food By Vatcharin Bhumichitr Kyle Books / 2007 / $19.95 Though he's known for his Asian restaurants in London and Miami, "Vatch" is a native of Thailand who still remembers the thrill of hearing a bicycle bell or the clang of a spoon against a pan outside his home. It usually meant something good to eat was near. Vatcharin Bhumichitr's book explores the differences in street cuisine throughout the country's regions, from the Malay-influenced Curried Rice and Chicken With Fresh Pickle you might find in a Bangkok market to the Fried Vermicelli With Pork and Scallions served at village festivals in the northeast.

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Shopping ListWhat you'll need for this week's menus (consult recipes for exact amounts)

WASHINGTON -- At a time when the growth in overall federal spending is slowing, Republican congressional leaders are presiding over a striking increase in the amount earmarked for pet projects of individual lawmakers largely on the basis of their position and clout.This special-interest spending has swollen by about 25 percent in one year -- totaling at least $16 billion for fiscal 2000 compared with about $12 billion in fiscal 1999, according to one estimate. By contrast, overall spending has been growing about 3.3 percent annually during the 1990s, down from around 8 percent a year in the 1980s and 11 percent in the 1970s.

Overcooking will ruin pork. Chops and other small cuts need careful watching to prevent their drying out. -- Cole's Cooking A to Z

Genetic engineering won't change realities of pork productionUnlike the cute pigs featured in The Sun's article about genetically engineering pigs, "Altering pigs for less pollution" (June 29), descendants of the transgenic "Enviropigs" would be nameless numbers in a ruthless, death-dealing business.Rather than finding clever ways to perpetuate the pig industry, we should seek to shift public appetites toward a diet without animal products. Such a change would solve the environmental problems animal agriculture causes, bolster human health and curtail animal suffering.

REMEMBER those ads touting "the other white meat"? They've been very successful, as consumer demand for pork continues to grow and supermarket prices stay firm. But farmers who paid for the promotion are understandably unhappy -- hog prices hit a 50-year low last month and most producers are still selling their swine for half the cost of raising the animals.The nation's 115,000 pork producers have seen price drops of as much as 80 percent within a year. Political fallout from their financial toll threatens the success of the landmark Freedom to Farm Act of 1996, which steered national policy away from deep farm subsidies.

The easy way: recipe ideas from the Web* Item: McCormick Bag'nSeason Cooking Bag and Seasoning Blend* What you get: 6 to 8 servings* Cost: About $1.75* Preparation time: 25 minutes to 2 hours* Review: During busy weeks when cooking seems too big of a chore, I've learned to fall back on easy meal-makers like McCormick's Bag'nSeason mixes. But when even the mixes seem too familiar to family members, what's a tired chef to do? Fortunately, McCormick offers a Web site with additional recipes.

On a recent orange evening as the sun sank and red leaves dropped from the dogwood, I stood in the backyard, grilling bratwurst, racing daylight. Darkness sneaks up on backyard grillers these days. A few weeks ago we could cook in daylight as late as 8 o'clock. Now the sun disappears around 7. Yesterday the season officially changed to fall as the sun crossed the equator. It was the autumnal equinox, when the hours of day and night were approximately equal. That balance won't last long; the night is gaining.

Zach Johnson has spent the past 12 years racing pigs at fairs nationwide, and this weekend marked his sixth return to the Maryland State Fair in Timonium. But the goateed Kansas City resident still seems to enjoy watching the creatures waddle-trot around the tiny track. Or as he'd undoubtedly put it, the job isn't boaring. The man is a pig pun machine, cranking them out like a sausage factory, especially when it comes to the names. Consider the lineup for the first of three races Saturday afternoon: Kevin Bacon, David Hasselhog, Brad Pig and Simon Sowell.

Jennifer Debnam cringes every time she hears a television report or reads a newspaper article about the H1N1 flu pandemic and - inevitably - comes to the part where the disease is called "swine flu." Debnam raises 12,000 hogs a year on her family's Kent County farm and she, like others in the industry, is losing megabucks this year - which they attribute to the misperception that you can catch flu from eating pork chops or a plate of ribs. Exports (and prices) are down sharply as Russia and China have put major restrictions on American pork products after questioning the health of the nation's hog population, experts said.

Do people up here in pit-beef country fight over what makes good barbecue? I know many people have strong opinions about barbecue, but often as not, they turn out to be from one of the barbecuing pilgrimage sites like Memphis or the Carolinas, where people will go on about it. I kind of like that we're more relaxed about it here. It leaves the door open for more upstart businesses and more variations on the theme. Which brings us to Harbor Que (rhymes with "barbecue"), which opened around Memorial Day in a free-standing porch-front place on Lawrence Street where Alladin's Cafe used to be. It's just off Fort Avenue, along the eastern boundary of the Riverside neighborhood.

On swine flu and falling pork prices Joyce W.: I think the Egyptians destroying all of the pigs in the country might have been a little, um, overkill. I'm continuing to buy and eat pork. The lower prices are very much appreciated, and if I had a chest freezer, it'd be filled with pork right now. I think the panic is somewhat reasonable owing to the amount of deaths from this illness, but it's been pointed out numerous times that eating pork has nothing to do with it. Dahlink: I agree with ... Joyce W., but it does gives me pause when I read that swine in Canada have been diagnosed with this flu. Robert of Cross Keys: The Egyptians are killing all the pigs?

The Baltimore Sun 's restaurants blog) and nearby workers. There were some waits, and some things ran out, but only a true crank would mind now. One short flight up from street level, Mekong Delta's brightly painted but sparely furnished dining room even looks like the kind of place that draws a loyal following. There are prints and paintings of the old country on the sunny yellow walls, a few other decorative touches behind the partly concealed kitchen. Word will keep getting out and, soon, Mekong Delta is going to need some more help.

Andy Nelson's Barbecue 11007 York Road, Cockeysville; 410-527-1226; open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday When I check out a barbecue establishment, I always take a gander at the back of the joint. That is where the wood should be stacked. Without wood, there is no smoke. Without smoke, there is no legitimate barbecue. The back of Andy Nelson's barbecue not only had a stack of hickory, it also had rows of picnic tables filled with smiling eaters. The "Cue," in particular the pork, had drawn the crowd.

A good way to enjoy watching the Summer Olympics is to snap on the television, put the recliner in the deep-comfort position and order Chinese takeout. I started my Olympics regime about a week early by ordering three versions of Moo Shu Pork, then settling into a recliner and alternately nibbling on the pancakes stuffed with meat and vegetables and working the remote control. Best Bite The Bamboo House Address: 26 Cranbrook Road, Cockeysville Phone: 410-666-9550 Hours: 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, noon-midnight Friday-Saturday The gold-medal winner.

The Bel Air Downtown Alliance will hold its seventh Maryland Barbecue Bash from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and noon to 10 p.m. Saturday in the Mary Risteau State Office Building parking lot. Nearly 50 barbecue grilling teams from as far away as Texas have signed up to compete for $10,000 in prize money as part of the Maryland State Barbecue Championship, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. Chefs will arrive early Friday morning and spend nearly 24 hours cooking chicken, ribs, pork and brisket before the judging by a panel of certified officials begins at noon Saturday.

You may feel like the new Clementine in Hamilton is deja vu all over again in a good way if you enjoy the SoBo Cafe in Federal Hill. After all, Winston Blick, who is chef and the owner of Clementine along with his wife, Cristin Dadant, headed SoBo's kitchen for a decade. The restaurants look somewhat different but have much of the same feeling: a neighborhood gathering place where kids are welcome, but also where you'll get grown-up food. Clementine, so named to suggest both the Southern nature of the food and its French and Spanish influences, is stylishly done up with dark blue walls, wooden chairs and tables, a pressed tin ceiling, revolving ceiling fans, terrazzo flooring, and an attractive charcuterie case in back.