Bacon

Steamed, blanched or sauteed - these are the usual ways we quickly prepare our family's vegetables. No wonder the kids say, "What, that again?" If your household is ready for a change, bring your kids into the kitchen and watch what they can do with those same old vegetables. Everyone is a fan of home-fried potatoes, and with a twist, these home fries can be served alongside dinner as well as breakfast. The Fennel Potato Hash is a layered skillet dish that takes the unusual taste of the fennel bulb and combines it with potatoes and fresh herbs into a wonderfully delicious vegetable.

Here's a recipe for boeuf bourguignon inspired by Julia Child and her classic book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," from the Web site www.recipezaar.com . BOEUF BOURGUIGNON A LA JULIA CHILD For the stew: 6 ounces bacon, solid chunk 1 tablespoon olive oil 3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes 1 carrot, peeled and sliced 1 onion, peeled and sliced 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper, freshly ground 2 tablespoons flour 3 cups red wine (a full-bodied wine like Bordeaux, Burgundy or Chianti)

AFTER WEEKS of panicky talk about the looming fiscal cliff, I thought it was time for fresh perspective. You see, as a married father of three, I've long been standing at the edge of my personal fiscal cliff, so I'm used to being broke. I'm so good at it that if they awarded a gold medal for fiscal cliff-diving, I'd have more neckwear than Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. Don't feel bad for me, though. I've learned a thing or two while teetering on the edge, and I'd like to share some of it with you. The first thing you need to know is that there isn't going to be any fiscal cliff.

THIRTYSOMETHING BELLIES You probably didn't realize that yesterday was the 30th anniversary of pork belly futures. And if you did, you probably don't know how this grand tradition began. On Sept. 18, 1961, the contract for future delivery of uncured bacon was born at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange - now known as "the House That Bellies Built. " A key reason: Hog production peaked in late spring, but demand for bacon peaked in late summer, with the coming of fresh tomatoes that are integral to bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

Dear Polly: We use play dough in my preschool and kindergarten Sunday- school class. Children aged 3 to 6 can be taught quickly how to handle play dough responsibly. Here are the basic rules they proudly remember: 1. Keep dough on the work tray (a cafeteria-size plastic tray). 2. When finished playing, return the dough to the container and cover it with the lid so it stays soft. 3. Wash hands and dry. I find that with the addition of cream of tartar, homemade play dough may be kept one to three months at room temperature in a large plastic container with a lid. - J.M. Dear Polly: While making vegetable soup several years ago, I didn't have many vegetables so I used some apples.

Dear Polly: The chrome faucets on my bathroom sink are getting a crusty white lime buildup, especially around the faucet handles and in hard-to-reach places. Is there an easy way to clean these areas? - P.L.E. Dear P.L.E.: Help is at hand in the humble but hard-working form of an ordinary toothbrush and an inexpensive bottle of white vinegar. If wiping with a vinegar-soaked sponge doesn't do the job (and those tiny places certainly are hard to reach!), saturate a cloth or paper towel with vinegar and lay it over the crusty places for a few minutes.

Cupcake-crazed Philadelphians don't have to leave their habit behind at the Shore now that 26-year-old Katie Weigand has realized her baking dreams at Sandcastle Cupcakes in downtown Ocean City. This graduate of the Academy of Culinary Arts in Mays Landing, who worked as a poolside waitress at the Borgata in order to save up for her shop, which opened this spring, delivers moist and flavorful cupcakes topped with Italian buttercream that's smoother and richer than typical cupcake icings.

IN YOUR story regarding pay raises on June 25, you listed several individuals who won't be taking the raises afforded to all elected officials through a process similar to the midnight pay raise the state legislature passed several years ago. (Elected officials get automatic raises each year based on the Consumer Price Index for the previous year.) While City Council's been hard at work raising property taxes almost 14 percent over the last year, depleting the city's reserve balance and raising the sales tax an additional 1 percent, they have each received more than 13.2 percent in raises since July 1, 2006.

It might be a little hard to wrap, but I'll bet there would be no more welcome gift under any tree this Christmas than a side of beef. Any meat, for that matter, would likely be received with as much honest and enthusiastic appreciation as was the goose Scrooge sent to the Cratchits after his night of nightmares in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol. " Meat used to be a standard holiday gift back in the days when most everyone had a smokehouse out in the barn or a crock of corned beef in the storm cellar.

I flipped through the pages of my cookbooks yesterday, Thinking to myself that liver could be cooked in just one way, But I found to my surprise and my dismay There must be 50 ways to love your liver. You can cook it up with bacon or with ham. Don't forget the onions, leeks, peppercorns or currant jam. Bake it, broil it, stew it, fry it in a pan. Just make a puree, Ray. Or give it a grill, Lill. Try a saute, Mae. Whatever you will. Slice it quite thin, Lynn.