Vegetable Soup

When I heard that Barack Obama's favorite food is pizza from Italian Fiesta Pizzeria in Hyde Park, Chicago, I got to wondering about what our past 10 presidents liked to eat best. Most of the following foods are debatable, but that doesn't make the information any less interesting. I tried to get at least two sources for each one: 1 George W. Bush: Mexican food 2 William J. Clinton: Chicken enchiladas (allergic to chocolate!) 3 George H. W. Bush: Pork rinds 4 Ronald Reagan: Macaroni and cheese 5 Jimmy Carter: Sirloin steak 6 Gerald Ford: Pot roast and red cabbage 7 Richard Nixon: Cottage cheese and ketchup 8 Lyndon Johnson: He liked Fresca so much he had a fountain dispensing the soda pop installed in the Oval Office.

Americans are usually pretty lukewarm about chilled soups.Unlike the Spaniards with their indispensable gazpacho, the Russians who belt down the borscht and the French who dip daintily into vichyssoise, Americans tend to like their soups hot and hearty.There's also a feeling that cold soups are time-consuming and complicated to make, and that is the ultimate misunderstanding. With a blender or food processor, the tedious work is nearly nil. They can be whipped up the night before or in the morning and refrigerated until serving time.

I grew up in a house where every window stayed open in June, but despite the fresh air, there was no mistaking what would be going on the table that night. I cannot claim I inherited the cooking ability of my grandmother Lily Rose and her sister, Great-aunt Cora, but every so often I stumble into their kitchen techniques. I bought a bunch of rhubarb and a quart of overly ripe strawberries last Saturday at the Waverly Farmers' Market.

Dorothy C. Sartorius, a former educator who was a homemaker and active volunteer, died of cancer Monday at Broadmead retirement community in Cockeysville, where she had lived since 1988. She was 91. Dorothy Cooper was born in Baltimore and spent her early years in Glencoe before moving to Burke Avenue in Towson with her family in 1920. She was a 1930 graduate of Towson High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Goucher College in 1934. She began teaching English at Kenwood High School where she met and fell in love with William S. Sartorius, a history teacher.

Despite threatening skies and occasional showers, visitors crowded the streets of Darlington yesterday to pay tribute to their favorite fruit at the rural Harford County village's ninth annual autumn apple extravaganza.The Darlington Apple Festival has become a regional rite of fall where the apples are red and golden, fresh and crisp, dipped in caramel and rolled in nuts, baked in pies and cooked in cakes.Visitors attend the festival for the apples as much as the small-town atmosphere kept alive by village residents.

Be a 4Kids DetectiveVisit these Web sites to find the answers, then go to http://www.4Kids.org/detectives/What is the first step in starting a school garden?How many crocodile species are there?(Go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/crocs/ to find out.)What was the name of President F. D. Roosevelt's wife?PLANT SOME FUNIt's time to get some mud on your knees and some dirt under your nails. Dig into KinderGarden http://aggie-horticulture. tamu.edu/ kindergarden/kinder.htm This site is full of great ideas to get the family out and growing.

Eugenia M. Nesbitt, a retired registered nurse and longtime Catonsville resident, died of heart failure Jan. 3 at Charlestown Retirement Community. She was 90. Eugenia Cameron McClung was born and raised in Lexington, Va. She attended what was then Longwood College in Farmville, Va., before entering the old Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, and graduated in 1938. She worked as a pediatric nurse for several years at Hopkins before contracting pulmonary tuberculosis. After recovering at a sanatorium at Saranac Lake, N.Y., she resumed her career in 1940 in pediatric nursing at Union Memorial Hospital.

From the isle of Capri off the coast of southern Italy comes a fresh mozzarella cheese so mild and velvety that once you've sampled it, you want to devour it at every meal.Also from that area of the Amalfi coast comes a style of pizza so divinely simple that the pure flavors shine.Here is a pizza inspired by my recent travels to that region.To accompany the pizza, serve a "quick-cut" Italian vegetable soup. If you use a canned soup, add some fresh or frozen Italian-style vegetables, such as Italian style green beans or sliced zucchini.

Garlic, Cheese and Pimento Bread 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese1/2 cup ricotta cheese2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and forced through a press2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs, crushed1/4 teaspoon salt1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepperL 1 (7-ounce) can whole pimentos, drained and coarsely chopped1 (11-inch) loaf French bread, cut in half lengthwiseCombine the mozzarella and ricotta cheeses, the garlic, parsley, Italian herbs, salt, pepper and pimentos.

The Rev. Leland Wilson is serving as interim pastor at the Westminster Church of the Brethren.A native of Oklahoma, he has served pastorates in Kansas, California and Pennsylvania.He is a writer and he has served on national staff positions withthe Church of the Brethren. Most recently, he was the director of the denomination's Washington office.He also has served as the chair of the American Committee for the World Friendship Center in Hiroshima, Japan.Wilson lives with his wife, Patricia, in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, where he has been employed as part-time director of Arundel Habitat for Humanity.