Cream

Some of the most interesting recipes call for heavy cream. But at 838 calories a cupful, cream is sure to be on every waistline-watcher's forbidden list! What can you substitute that's light in calories but rich in buttery flavor and creamy texture? Low-fat, part-skim fresh ricotta cheese provides the perfect answer. More familiar as an ingredient in Italian main courses such as lasagna, this fresh cheese has a sweet cream flavor rather than a piquant cheesy taste. When you spoon it from the container, its texture is somewhat coarse and grainy, but a wonderful thing happens when you whip ricotta in the food processor or blender.

Buckets of berries and carloads of cats couldn't have lapped up all the cream that was spilled on York Road and Route 202 in Bucks County early yesterday. Police estimated that at least 225 gallons of the slippery liquid leaked from the back of a Lehigh Valley Dairies tractor-trailer as it made its way from Warwick to New Hope and then into New Jersey. The tractor-trailer, which began its trek in Fort Washington, was headed for the Johanna Farms dairy in Flemington, N.J., carrying 1,350 gallons of heavy whipping cream.

Dear Polly: Can whipped cream be frozen? - Anne Whipped cream freezes quite successfully. You can freeze it in a plastic container, or try this for easy serving: Drop single-portion dollops of whipped cream onto a foil-covered baking sheet. Freeze, then peel the frozen dollops off the foil and store in a plastic freezer bag. When you want to top individual desserts with whipped cream, simply remove as many frozen dollops as needed, place them on the desserts and let sit for a few minutes to thaw the cream.

Dear Polly: I have a biscuit recipe that calls for heavy cream instead of milk, and no shortening. I love the biscuits, but don't always have cream on hand. What will happen if I make the biscuits with milk instead? - Beryl Dear Beryl: If you simply substitute milk for the heavy cream, the biscuits are likely to be tough and unappetizing. That's because cream provides both liquid and fat. It's a substitute for both milk and shortening in ordinary biscuit recipes. You can still make the biscuits with milk, but you must also add some butter or other fat to compensate for the fat content of the cream, which is what makes the biscuits tender and flaky.

The 1960s came alive again at Tuesday's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame eighth annual gala in L.A., where Eric Clapton headed the first performance in almost 25 years of inductee Cream while a last-minute flow of bitterness blocked a planned gig by inductee Creedence Clearwater Revival. Along the way, inductee Ruth Brown sang her 1953 hit, "Momma He Treats Your Daughter Mean" with Bonnie Raitt, and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder stood in for the late Jim Morrison as he and the three surviving members of the Doors did a three-number set that included "Light My Fire.

Dear Polly: Could you repeat once more your recipe for whipped cream that holds up for more than a couple of hours? - Barbara Dear Barbara: A little gelatin stabilizes whipped cream so that it holds its shape for at least a day in the refrigerator. This is great for preparing desserts ahead of time. To make the cream, soften one teaspoon unflavored gelatin in 1 tablespoon cold water for five minutes. Heat over low heat or in a microwave oven until the gelatin melts. Add the melted gelatin to 1 cup whipping cream, whisking so the gelatin and cream are well combined.

Any given Sunday! Three little words that strike fear into the heart of gamblers everywhere. Take last Sunday. Please, take last Sunday! The Cardinals beat the Super Bowl champion Saints; the wretched Raiders beat the Chargers; and the smoke-and-mirror Redskins came from behind to beat the Packers. All of them home underdogs. Is this the week the cream comes to the top? What if there is no cream in the NFL? Too many questions, not enough answers. Let's go with $20 on the Saints minus 5 1/2, the Jets minus 3 1/2, the Colts minus 3 1/2 and the Titans minus 3 1/2. Then $30 on a teaser: Chargers minus 4 1/2, Giants minus 4 1/2, Jets plus 2 1/2, Colts plus 2 1/2 and Titans plus 2 1/2. Risking $40 on a super-teaser: Chargers plus- 1/2, Saints plus 4 1/2, Giants minus 1 1/2, Steelers minus 3 1/2, Jets plus 6 1/2, Colts plus 6 1/2, Titans plus 6 1/2. Last week: wagered $90, lost $90. Bankroll: $620.

It always seems wrong for the head doctor in our country to be called "the surgeon general. " The present surgeon general isn't even a general in real life. Dr. C. Everett Koop has fooled many of his critics who didn't want him put in the job by being a surprisingly good and active surgeon general. It is Koop, more than any other person, who has pushed the country to stop smoking. This week Dr. Koop says that a lot of Americans are eating themselves into the grave with bad nutritional habits.

Just as nature programs animals to hibernate during the winter, it appears that when the cold winds blow, humans are driven to crave meat, filling grains and fattening sauces. At this time of the year, a salade nicoise is about as appealing as leaving the house without wearing two layers of socks. Many winter food conversations are filled with cheese, cream, whole-grain breads, steaks, sausages and mashed potatoes. No one seems interested in going out for a light lunch. With that in mind, here's a midwinter meal inspired by Russian and middle European cookbooks.

Most times, reissues simply remind us about glorious music from days gone by. But every now and then, a time-traveling trip to the vaults helps clarify - and ideally, extend - the legacy of an artist. The fourth quarter of the year is always rife with new reissue packages that the record labels hope we'll remember at gift-giving time. But new titles offering previously unreleased or long-missing music from Cream, the Replacements, Jimi Hendrix and the pioneering fusion band Opa stand out. CREAM Those Were the Days (Polydor )

Food: Handmade ice cream in unconventional flavors. Earl Grey Srichacha sounds like a bad idea. We assure you, it is not. There are usually six flavors, three Philadelphia-style (with 16 percent butterfat cream from Trickling Springs Creamery in Chambersburg) and three nondairy. Who's behind it? Founded one year ago by Pete Angevine, Martin Brown and Jeffrey Ziga. What's in that name? Ziga says: "It sprang out of the ether. It's emotional. I'm a little baby, you're a little baby.

Jordan Smart's name is perfect for a scholar. Or, for that matter, for the recipient of a scholarship. A cerebral Sicklerville resident who plans to become a mechanical engineer, Smart, 23, is among four Camden County College students awarded $1,000 each from the Riletta T. Cream Scholarship Fund. "I can't thank [them] enough," Smart says. Cream, a longtime educator who served for 17 years as a Camden County freeholder, was married to Arnold Cream, the boxing champion better known as Jersey Joe Walcott.

16 ounces fresh baby spinach or 1 (12-ounce) bag thawed frozen leaf spinach 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 onion, preferably Vidalia, finely chopped 6 ounces mixed mushrooms (such as cremini, chanterelle, morel, shitakes, white button) thinly sliced 1 clove garlic, very finely chopped 1/3 cup heavy cream 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 large eggs 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano chees (?

1 can regular coconut milk (13.5 oz.) 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons agave syrup 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon sea salt 1. Whisk ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Let chill in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight. 2. Add to ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's directions. When done, transfer to container and let freeze for a minimum of 2 hours before serving. From Ross Olchvary, Sprig & Vine Per serving: 334 calories, 2 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams sugar, 23 grams fat, no cholesterol, 98 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fibers

  Bio: He's 35, from Blueville, Pa.; she's 38, from Ohio. Married eight years, they live in South Philly with son Gus, 4 1/2. Local restaurant connections: She's worked at James. He's been at Le Bec-Fin, Maia, Fork and James. What's new? Russet (1521 Spruce St., 215-546-1521, russetphilly.com ), their just-opened 50-seat BYOB in the former Ernesto's. Andrew controls the savory; Kristen handles all the sweets. He said: "It's been our dream to have a restaurant where we can do things to our vision.

By George Ball Last summer, I discovered a profound contradiction deep in the fertile soil of community gardening. First lady Michelle Obama has boldly proclaimed that the urban poor are at serious risk of deprivation of fresh produce. "Food deserts" stretch from border to border in the poor and underprivileged sections of every major American city. One of the ways she proposed to solve this problem is to expand the size and number of community gardens. However, there is also a stylish movement in contemporary gardening toward old-fashioned or "heirloom" vegetables that were popular in our grandparents' day. In community gardens everywhere, I see tall, rangy, low-yielding and romantically named heirloom varieties made popular by environmental activists.

ENJOY A STRONG DOSE of protest in a performance, with ice cream for dessert? "Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream" promises all that. Debuting here tomorrow on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the event aims to raise awareness about excess militarism in the United States with testimonies from 9/11 and Iraq War survivors, plus more diverting, arts-happening-styled fare. Take the mural to be created live onstage by Scott Erickson, the anti-violent act by world-champion juggler Josh Horton, or the live welding performance by Josh Seitzer to "tie an AK47 in a knot.

WATER ICE IS A cherished summer institution in Philly, and those of us who skip dairy, whether for ethical, health or other concerns, can appreciate this cool vegan treat. Sorbet, Popsicles, frozen fruit bars and the like are also delish. But let's face it: "You can always have water ice [or sorbet]" is the cool-treat equivalent of "you can always have a salad. " Nothing against salad or water ice, but we sometimes want that singular richness and flavor associated with ice cream.

In 1945, Alice Handel started selling her handmade ice cream in a corner of her husband's gas station on the South Side of Youngstown, Ohio. When the steel mills shut in the late 1970s, about 50,000 workers lost their jobs, people left in droves, and the gutted city became known for its poverty, corruption, and crime. Yet Handel's Ice Cream not only survived, it thrived. The company now operates 32 stores in six states, including one on Lancaster Avenue in Berwyn. So how did an ice cream stand that originated in a hardscrabble place like Youngstown end up on Philadelphia's storied Main Line?

As Reading Terminal Market opened in 1893, months in advance of the great train shed overhead, teacher Lewis Dubois Bassett set up a white-tiled ice cream shop along the 12th Street windows. The trains have come and gone. So has every other Reading Terminal merchant. On Saturday, Bassetts - run in the same spot by two great-great-grandsons - will lead an ice cream festival in the market's center court, with free ice cream and games. Attendees can re-create the old-time service technique of sliding dishes along the marble counter.