Dill

Until recently, the fresh-herbs-in-deep-winter department was mighty small, consisting mostly, if not entirely, of parsley, with the occasional bunch of watercress thrown in to relieve the monotony. Then, boom! As greengrocery grew chic and fresh produce acquired cachet, along with the kiwis and colored peppers came an expansion of available "fresh" herbs. Because tender herbs are among the most fragile-flavored of growing things, ill-suited to major transport or long storage, the results of this expansion are mixed.

Look, up in the sky, over the Vet! It's a pickle blimp! That hasn't happened, but don't be shocked if it does. Pickle mania has been spreading across the Dill-aware Valley since last Sunday, when the Eagles, sipping pickle juice to prevent cramps in steamy Dallas, crunched the Cowboys, 41-14. Want to dunk someone in a Giants uniform in a tank spiked with pickle juice? Would you relish a "Pickle Power" T-shirt? Wish to be the lucky fan who wins a year's supply of pickles?

At concession stands, there was a deluge of dill T-shirts and snacks. In the tailgating lot, ribs, burgers and chicken were rivaled by a plethora of pickles. And in the stands, signs featuring the green gherkins waved and fluttered. Long before the Eagles went sour on the field during the team's home opener against the New York Giants yesterday, fans were showing their passion for pickles. After hearing last week that Eagles players may have won their game against the Dallas Cowboys because many were drinking pickle juice to stay hydrated, fans have jumped on the briny bandwagon, chugging the juice and even slurping down water ice flavored like Vlasic dills.

A 19-year-old man, wounded Dec. 22 during a shootout at a Southwest Philadelphia recreation center, was arrested yesterday in connection with the incident, police said. The man, Nathaniel A. Dill of the 1700 block of South Frazier Street, surrendered to Southwest Detectives yesterday morning. "He came in on his own after he learned a warrant was about to be issued for his arrest," said Detective Thomas Strzepek. Police said witnesses had identified Dill as one of the men involved in the shootout during a basketball game at the Francis J. Meyers Recreation Center at 58th Street and Kingsessing Avenue.

If you have an herb garden, be sure to make some room for dill. This flavorful herb will reward you twice: once with fragrant feathery leaves - luscious in all sorts of light dishes - then with dill seeds. They're great for making pickles or flavoring potato salad. If you're not a gardener, you might want to harvest fresh dill leaves in the supermarket. You can have a steady supply if you chop the leaves and freeze them in plastic bags. "Dill" is from a Saxon word that means "to lull.

Give Mark Dill a thunderstorm to watch and he's happy. Give him a good snowfall and he's entertained for hours. A tornado can be cause for celebration. Dill is not a lover of disaster. He is a weather-watcher, and a meticulous one at that. A member of the Association of American Weather Observers and the Atlantic Coast Observer Network, the 33-year-old West Chester resident helps the National Weather Service more accurately predict the meteorological future by giving detailed observations of local weather conditions.

The dog days of summer aren't here yet, despite the recent hot spell. But as the temperatures cooled yesterday, it was this dog's day along the Delaware River in Palmyra. Jillian Molettiere of Philadelphia brought Dill for a romp in the water while visiting her boyfriend's parents.

For bubble and squeak: 1 pound Idaho potatoes, peeled 3 ounces butter, plus more for cooking 1 leek, cleaned and thinly sliced 1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced 3 ounces heavy cream Vegetable oil Salt and pepper 8 ounces sliced smoked salmon 4 eggs (optional) For dill hollandaise: 6 egg yolks 1 lemon 14 ounces clarified butter 1 sprig fresh dill, chopped   1. Place potatoes in a stockpot and cover with cold water.

On the Bravo kitchen-competition series Top Chef , the cheftestants are charged with creating cutting-edge food on the spur of the moment. Two weeks after his win on Season 7, Kevin Sbraga had us out to his real kitchen - in the childhood Willingboro home he shares with his pastry-chef wife, Jesmary, daughter Jenae, 5, and newborn son Angelo. Mealtime at the Sbragas' place is nothing fancy, and the Top Chef, 31, cooks on an electric stovetop. One of his favorite dishes is a one-pot creation of steamed clams and Italian sausage on top of chickpeas, perfect for Sunday after church.

CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH FLORETS AND DILL 1/4 cup butter 2-1/4 cups sliced Spanish onions 3-1/4 pounds cauliflower chopped into small pieces 1 quart milk 1-1/2 cups water 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon salt White pepper to taste 1/2 bunch dill wrapped in cheesecloth 1 cup cauliflower florets 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill Salt to taste Melt butter in a pan, then add onions and cook till...

For bubble and squeak: 1 pound Idaho potatoes, peeled 3 ounces butter, plus more for cooking 1 leek, cleaned and thinly sliced 1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced 3 ounces heavy cream Vegetable oil Salt and pepper 8 ounces sliced smoked salmon 4 eggs (optional) For dill hollandaise: 6 egg yolks 1 lemon 14 ounces clarified butter 1 sprig fresh dill, chopped   1. Place potatoes in a stockpot and cover with cold water.

CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH FLORETS AND DILL 1/4 cup butter 2-1/4 cups sliced Spanish onions 3-1/4 pounds cauliflower chopped into small pieces 1 quart milk 1-1/2 cups water 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon salt White pepper to taste 1/2 bunch dill wrapped in cheesecloth 1 cup cauliflower florets 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill Salt to taste Melt butter in a pan, then add onions and cook till...

On the Bravo kitchen-competition series Top Chef , the cheftestants are charged with creating cutting-edge food on the spur of the moment. Two weeks after his win on Season 7, Kevin Sbraga had us out to his real kitchen - in the childhood Willingboro home he shares with his pastry-chef wife, Jesmary, daughter Jenae, 5, and newborn son Angelo. Mealtime at the Sbragas' place is nothing fancy, and the Top Chef, 31, cooks on an electric stovetop. One of his favorite dishes is a one-pot creation of steamed clams and Italian sausage on top of chickpeas, perfect for Sunday after church.

The biannual Clark Park Festival in West Philly is now in its 40th year and it's something of an institution, where punks, hippies, dogs and babies go to frolic in the grass year after year. The lineup is always quite eclectic. This year it includes fiddle-jug trio the Dill Pickles , the punk-metal explosion the Spades , indie pop band Conversations With Enemies , and the dance-heavy big beat of festival closers Prowler . Dozens of vendors are on hand for shopping and eating, as are family-friendly arts and crafts.

A 37-year-old fugitive from Florida is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges that he killed a woman in the Regal Cinema parking lot in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., on Friday morning. Walter Anthony Dille Jr., who has no permanent address, is accused of shooting Cindy Cade, 44, a wife and mother of two from Galloway Township, N.J., Atlantic County Prosecutor Jeffrey S. Blitz said. As Cade was getting out of her company car, a gunman walked up to her, told her to get back in the car, and then fired at her head at close range, Blitz said.

Sitting on a chair in his Southwest Philadelphia home last night, Alvin Dill Sr., a police officer and single father, remembered his only son, Alvin Jr., as a peacemaker who was gunned down over the weekend at a block party. "You just never know when trouble is going to come," Dill said. "It's a heartbreaker that you just can't imagine. " Police said the younger Dill was shot about 10:50 p.m. Saturday at a block party on the 2500 block of Bonaffon Street, not far from where he lived on 76th Street.

When Stephen Dill graduated from Delaware County Christian School in 1968, there were 26 students in his class and only 300 in the entire school. Now, in his first year as the school's headmaster, the student body is more than three times that size, and the school is split into two campuses in Newtown Square - kindergarten through fifth grade at a former public elementary school on Bishop Hollow Road; grades six through 12 at the main campus at Malin and Goshen Roads. Dill has seen most of those changes firsthand, having spent only a year of his career elsewhere.

In years past, Chester was renowned for its shipyard and its auto-assembly plant - both long since gone. It is still home to manufacturers of everything from bread rolls to tissue paper and chemicals. Now Stanley and Christine Coleman would like to see their hometown become famous for another product: gourmet pickles. About three years ago, a good-natured challenge to Stanley Coleman by his father-in-law, Dwight Greene, about who could make the best pickle led Coleman to begin developing his own trademark combination of pickle brine and spices.

At concession stands, there was a deluge of dill T-shirts and snacks. In the tailgating lot, ribs, burgers and chicken were rivaled by a plethora of pickles. And in the stands, signs featuring the green gherkins waved and fluttered. Long before the Eagles went sour on the field during the team's home opener against the New York Giants yesterday, fans were showing their passion for pickles. After hearing last week that Eagles players may have won their game against the Dallas Cowboys because many were drinking pickle juice to stay hydrated, fans have jumped on the briny bandwagon, chugging the juice and even slurping down water ice flavored like Vlasic dills.

Look, up in the sky, over the Vet! It's a pickle blimp! That hasn't happened, but don't be shocked if it does. Pickle mania has been spreading across the Dill-aware Valley since last Sunday, when the Eagles, sipping pickle juice to prevent cramps in steamy Dallas, crunched the Cowboys, 41-14. Want to dunk someone in a Giants uniform in a tank spiked with pickle juice? Would you relish a "Pickle Power" T-shirt? Wish to be the lucky fan who wins a year's supply of pickles?