Life

13 - 12:12am

More summer picks

Picking up some fresh wines for summer is in the bag — or shopping cart, actually — as supermarkets get in touch with their inner sommeliers. Grocery store wine aisles that once yielded row after row of generic bottles now boast a wide selection of domestic and imported wines, and some high-end chains even sport a few out-of-the-way “finds.” Picking up a rose for an afternoon soiree — or a crisp white for a warm summer night — has never been easier.

TX House approves bill expanding cottage food sales 05/08/13 - 12:11am

AP — A bill allowing cottage food businesses to sell more items at more locations is advancing through the Texas Legislature. Approved by a voice vote in the House on Saturday, the measure by Austin Democratic Rep. Eddie Rodriguez must pass a final time in the lower chamber before heading to the Senate. It would allow vendors, including farmers, bakers and other small-scale producers, to sell homemade, low-risk items like candy, nuts, jams, pickles, vinegar, dried fruits and vegetables out of their homes.

2013 James Beard restaurant and chef award winners 05/08/13 - 12:11am

AP — The winners of the 2013 James Beard Foundation restaurant and chef awards announced Monday are: National Chef Awards Outstanding Restaurant ■ Blue Hill in New York City Outstanding Chef ■ David Chang of Momofuku Noodle Bar in New York City and Paul Kahan of Blackbird in Chicago Best New Restaurant ■ State Bird Provisions in San Francisco Rising Star Chef of the Year ■ Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese Food in San Francisco and New York City

Demystifying a ham and cheese quiche 05/08/13 - 12:17am

Ham and cheddar quiche

Quiche has a reputation as a complicated dish. And I’m not sure why. Home cooks worry about the crust. They angst over the fillings. Do they have the right mix of meats or veggies? Which type of cheese? And how much is too much? And then there is striking the balance of egg and dairy, never mind determining the best way to season the mixture.

Science helps craft the perfect mac and cheese 05/08/13 - 12:17am

Modernist mac and cheese

Imagine your favorite cheese: perhaps an aged, sharp cheddar, or maybe a blue Gorgonzola or a gentle Monterey Jack. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to use those really good cheeses you love on nachos or as a sauce on macaroni or steamed vegetables? But if you have ever tried melting high-quality cheeses, you’ve experienced the problem: the cheese separates into a greasy oil slick that no amount of stirring will restore.

Things to do 05/07/13 - 12:20am

TODAY Discipline and Beyond (Ages 1-5) — 6:30-8:30 p.m. Parenting Guidance Center, No. 5 Briercroft Office Park. No child care provided. Call to register. 747-5577. OLLI-Safe Computing Practices — 5:30-7:30 p.m. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at TTU, 17th Street and University Avenue. Call for price information or to register. 742-6554. Discipline and Beyond (Ages 1-5) Part One — 6:30-8:30 p.m. Family Guidance and Outreach Center, No. 5 Briercroft Office Park. Free. No child care. Call to register. 747-5577.

LSO, Moonlight Musicals combine efforts to produce 'Les Miz' 05/10/13 - 12:36pm

The Lubbock Symphony Orchestra and Lubbock Moonlight Musicals will combine efforts to produce the hit musical “Les Miserables” in Lubbock in late November. Production dates are 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21, 22 and 23, and both 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 24, at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center Theatre Tickets will not go on sale until May 20 at Select-A-Seat outlets. They will be priced at $68.75, $53.50 and $43.50. The production also will coincide with the Lubbock Junior League’s Holiday Happening.

AARP announces $40,000 grant to South Plains Food Bank 05/07/13 - 12:00am

The AARP Foundation has announced a $40,000 grant to the South Plains Food Bank to support its provision of food to seniors through mobile pantries in 20 Lubbock-area counties. In its announcement, AARP reported that 9 million people older than 50, and 4 million older than 60, are at risk of hunger and have difficulty meeting expenses with fixed incomes in the United States. The AARP plans grants totaling $400,000 to 10 Feeding America food banks to support their senior programs.

Owen provides sentimental highlight at Aldean's rockin' country show 05/06/13 - 7:26am

Aldean intent on playing every number one song

Recording artists Jason Aldean, Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett steamrolled through a packed United Spirit Arena on Saturday night, leaving thousands of excited, screaming and apparently predominantly female fans in their wake. Looking at groups populating many sections, this was definitely a Ladies Night Out. But make no mistake. The songs this trio performed in Lubbock — and by they, I refer primarily to Owen and Aldean — bore little resemblance to casual country hits that fans find on car radios and sing along with on their way to work in the morning.

One of Patton's tank commanders recalls war 05/06/13 - 11:02am

James Earl Wilkins Jr. recollects his travel and times in WWII

James Earl Wilkins Jr. was living in Floydada and had not quite reached his 21st birthday when he attempted to enlist in the Army on Jan. 8, 1942. “I had to send a telegram from the Lubbock recruiting station to my mother in Floydada so she could give me permission to enlist. Then you had to be 21 or older. Later, they changed that down to 18,” he recalls. Military service for Wilkins was a kind of study in travel: