Flavor

In 2004, Heather O'Reilly was just a 19-year-old lucky enough to be playing soccer alongside her idols. Then she scored the overtime goal that sent the United States women's national team into the gold-medal game of the Olympics. The squad went on to win the gold over Brazil. "I was definitely awestruck," O'Reilly said. "First of all by making the team and playing alongside my idols like Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, all players that I looked up to for years. In 2004, I was just along for the ride.

Alan Krawitz is spending Monday and Tuesday stocking up on bread and cheese - 500 to 700 loaves of bread and about 100 pounds of cheese. Krawitz, owner of Say Cheese Philadelphia, a food truck specializing in grilled cheese, is preparing for his first year at Taste of Philadelphia, held Friday through Sunday at Penn's Landing as part of the 10-day Wawa Welcome America celebration that begins Monday. "Because of the scope and the number of Philadelphians present, you really need to put your best foot forward," said Krawitz, who plans on serving barbecue grilled chicken cheese and a Gruyere grilled cheese with caramelized onions.

Peter Doubleday took the call last September. We want your horse show for the Olympic observation events, a United States Equestrian Federation committee member said. Get ready. Doubleday, manager of the Devon Horse Show, and the rest of the show's employees have been doing that for the last two years, he said, even if they didn't quite realize it. In 2010, they replaced the footing in the Dixon Oval. Last year, they improved the footing at the Gold Ring. Earlier this spring, they renovated the horses' exercise area.

2012 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS AWD: And now for something really different. Price: $26,404. Conventional wisdom: They still import Suzukis? Marketer's pitch: Suzuki lets others do their bragging. The website points out that Motor Trend seemed to love it, saying, "From a style standpoint, the Kizashi succeeds inside and out" and it's also "light and flickable around a good hairpin or two. " Reality: Despite positive reviews from big names in the automotive world, I'd have to say different is not always better.

Provençal rosé is doing the quick fade, at least when it comes to color. Popularity of the refreshing southern French pink, in fact, has never been stronger, with a 62 percent growth in U.S. imports between 2010 and 2011, according to the French customs agency Ubifrance. "It started with the yacht crowd in the Hamptons," one distributor told me, "and spread from there. " The fashion among Provence's modern rosés, however, has been to make them as pale as possible, and the best, like Château D'Esclans, manage to achieve this without sacrificing fullness of flavor.

Kale is about as unlikely a food star as you can imagine. It's tough and fibrous. Bite a piece of raw kale and you'll practically end up with splinters between your teeth. Nevertheless, kale has become a green of the moment because, given a little special care, it's not only edible but delicious. You can cook it, of course, the lower and slower the better. But surprisingly, one of the most popular ways to use kale these days is in salads. Though kale leaves have always been found on almost every salad bar, it wasn't for reasons of edibility - it was for decoration, because this was one green so tough it would last forever without wilting.

Food Network chef Giada De Laurentiis will be signing copies of her new cookbook, Weeknights With Giada, Quick and Simple Recipes to Revamp Dinner (Clarkson Potter), at the Williams Sonoma store in King of Prussia at noon Thursday. (If you miss that appearance, try the Wegmans store in Allentown at 5 p.m. Thursday.) We chatted with her for 12 minutes on the phone - literally all her schedulers would allow. Question: How are your recipes created? Answer: We come up with themes for the shows, and I write recipes based on those.

Bold, dramatic, and invigorating, tangerine tango is dancing its way into home-decor trends in 2012 with a punch of reddish-orange panache. The hue is a vivacious alternative to last year's honeysuckle, and design experts say it's easy to incorporate. Pillows, bedspreads, and tabletop accessories in this high-impact color can add spice to any room. Or add tangerine appliances and personal electronics for an unexpected pop of color, says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Institute, the research arm of Pantone Inc. of Carlstadt, N.J., which sets color standards for the home and fashion industries.

WELCOME to Cheap Buzz, where we eavesdrop as sommelier Marnie Old attempts to teach the joys of wine and fine spirits to Buzz, a guy with no sophistication and not much money. Here's their latest conversation: Buzz: So Marnie, Saturday is St. Patrick's Day. Are you a green-beer gal? I bet you'd look great with a green tongue. Marnie: Very funny, Buzz. I prefer Irish whiskey. It's getting more popular every year, and not just in March. People are discovering it's a milder, softer style of whiskey than scotch or bourbon.

AUSTIN, Texas - The 2012 South by Southwest Music Festival officially got under way Wednesday, with day parties all along the Texas state capital's Sixth Street strip and official showcases for up-and-coming and already-arrived bands banging on at more than 100 venues. There are more big names than ever this year in Austin - rap kingpin Jay-Z played a free show downtown on Monday before the festival began but while the SXSW film and interactive conferences, the latter a must-attend for tech and social-media geeks, were peaking.