I collect many ingredients to use in my kitchen, but some of the most interesting are found in the assortment of spice mixtures crowding my pantry shelves. Some of the mixtures come from friends, others from my own shopping.

So I was thrilled when my friend Catherine Evans introduced me to dukkah, a spice mixture from Egypt. Evans, who taught cooking classes for children at the Smithsonian Institution, is one of the most intuitive cooks I know.

Read With Me: Chinese folktale The Emperor's Flowers

When Chang heard the news, he filled a bright blue pot with moss and compost, topsoil and sandy loam. Satisfied that his soil was rich and moist, he carried it to the palace. There he stood in line among hundreds of others. Each young man held a pot — some huge, some tiny, some round, some tall and slender — and each received a seed from the emperor's own hand.

Chang pressed the seed into the soil and carefully covered it with a light coating to keep it warm. Then he hurried home.

There Chang tended his seed with the same devotion he offered all his other plants. He was careful not to give it too much water or too little. At the proper times he treated it with fertilizers, and was careful to protect it, like all the others, from insects, dust and mold.

February 2008

When the program was returned to the FISA court in January of '07, initially we had coverage that we had asked for. But over time, because technology had changed, and the law of '78 had not been changed, because technology had gone from a wireless world to a wired world, foreigners communicating in a foreign country, more than likely the communications would pass through the United States. Therefore the court said that if it touches a wire, consistent with the law, you have to have a warrant. Now, a warrant means probable cause, which is a very time consuming process to go through. So we were in that situation last summer, we passed the new act to improve our situation--that act has now expired."

Follow the Reader 2007: The rest of the world, from Bali to Scottish ...

The heart of the Dordogne Valley in France is within a short distance of prehistoric painted caves, beautiful medieval villages and their castles, and famed farmers' markets. An ideal base to visit the region is Les Lavandes, which has three spacious houses set in a lovely parkland.

Anyone who enjoys driving through the French countryside will love having a base in Les Lavandes for one or more weeks to soak in all that the Dordogne region offers.

Jonas Brothers Concert

Look farther ahead in traffic. Action by other drivers can alert you to problems.

Don't use cruise control or overdrive.

Stopping on snow and ice without skidding requires extra time and distance. If you have anti-lock brakes, do not pump the pedal. Instead, press the pedal down firmly and hold it down while it chatters and vibrates.

If you don't have anti-lock brakes, gently pump the pedal. Either way, give yourself plenty of room to stop.

Source: State Department of Transportation



Safe heating tips

When using a generator:

Many homeowners have the urge to fire up a portable generator if the power goes out or to boost the heat. But if not used properly, a portable generator can cause a deadly accident or could be damaged when power is restored.

Caught in tangled Web

He told Callender he was a widower and was just getting back into dating. She told him she was an independent writer who had worked mostly in theater but that she was trying to break into writing for films and television. Callender said Anderson told her he was in a similar business and that he could help her get established.

Tight "Money"

There is a whole big issue...which has not fully played out in regard to providing credit and liquidity to institutions, so I think it is a dangerous period for the world. I think we are going to go through next year, certainly the first half of next year, with considerable traumas.'"

November 28 - Financial Times (Michael Mackenzie and Saskia Scholtes): "Investor flight from anything bearing the taint of the US subprime mortgage crisis has pushed financial companies debt to its weakest versus US Treasuries in more than five years. Energy, utilities and telecommunications companies, conversely, have seen their lower-rated BBB bonds attract haven buying. This divergence is a stark indicator of one root cause of the current credit crunch: the unwinding of leverage on the part of investors.

Update: Girl in intensive care after train track fall

A schoolgirl who fell on tracks at Worcester Park station as she ran to catch a train is being treated in intensive care.

The incident caused chaos for commuters who were told to get off the 7.52am train from Epsom to London Waterloo at Worcester Park yesterday.

Picks Videogames: From Sea to Shining Sea

Since its release more than a year ago, the Nintendo Wii has excelled at selling games based on real-life activities. Rather than focusing on the lives of wizards or outer-space warriors, popular games for the Wii find players cooking, bowling and sprinting, thanks to the Wii's motion-sensing remote. One of its newest titles, Endless Ocean, takes the Wii into fresh territory, allowing players to experience diving without any worries about the bends. And although the deep isn't quite as infinite as the title suggests, there's still plenty to explore.