Meal

A n excerpt from the blog "My Daughter's Kitchen. " Giada DeLaurentiis has a new cookbook, Weeknights With Giada , to be released this month, with recipes designed for throwing together a good dinner after a long day at work. Even TV chefs want family dinners. Giada wants to give her daughter the home-cooked dinners she remembers growing up. But even she doesn't have hours to spend. "Because my daughter is 4, I want to spend my free time hanging out with her," she told me in a phone interview.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Too often it is after the fact that teachers discover their students worry less about math and reading and more about where the next meal comes from. So Doug White, principal of Garfield Elementary School in inner-city Kansas City, was relieved when his school, like many across the country, began offering dinner to students enrolled in after-school child-care or tutoring programs. With breakfast and lunch already provided for poor students, many children now get all their meals at school.

OUR CITY sits only about 60 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, even closer to the Delaware Bay, and our river port is one of the busiest on the East Coast. While you wouldn't exactly call Philadelphia "maritime" (as one might call Baltimore), the sea certainly isn't a foreign concept. Yet, when it comes to dining, seafood is so often a struggle in this city. Why aren't there more, and better, seafood places here in Philadelphia, I often wonder? Many others seem to feel the same way, if I judge by how often I'm asked to recommend "a really good seafood place.

Here's one of the benefits of spending Valentine's Day at home: You get to eat what you want. Sure, you have to make it, but that also means costs can stay down, and you don't have to fight the crowds or be subjected to a rule-ridden tasting menu. And honestly, when is the last time you had a special dinner with your loved one at home without the TV on? Light some candles. It's a nice thing. Sticking around the abode means you can casually indulge. I've created a menu that allows just that, taking the best of a steak-house dinner and combining it with pop-a-pilsner elements.

BILL VALENTINE liked nothing better than to sit in front of the TV with his Aunt Kitty and watch sports. In addition to the pleasure of sharing an important game with his aunt, he knew that she would fix him a big meal to go with the experience. "Bill loved to eat - a lot," his family said. William T. Valentine, a social worker for the city Department of Human Services, former teacher in the Philadelphia School District, community activist, athlete and coach, died Jan. 30 after a brief illness.

What happens beyond the swinging doors that lead into a restaurant's kitchen isn't always the infernal scullery you see on reality TV. Sure, plates get dropped, stockpots get banged around, kitchen crews shout above the din, and temperatures rise as the evening's service hits its peak. Happens in any kitchen (even yours or mine) as the clock ticks toward dinner. What helps many top restaurants keep their kitchen crews cool and in sync when working in high gear? They sit down together before dinner service for a meal, often simple comfort foods, prepared by staff.

Resolutioners, let's get real: Convenience is key. If the gym is too far away, the supermarket too busy, the salad spot a block past the hoagie hut, you might as well put your good intentions out with the Christmas tree. But meal-delivery companies, which bring prepared food right to your door, have become increasingly affordable and flexible - and have made their food tastier - over the last few years. Some are even local. As our definition of "healthy eating" shifts, so do the offerings from these companies.

Question: A good friend has recently lost a lot of weight, and I am happy for her accomplishment. However, I can't escape the sense of jealousy I have when our mutual friends constantly applaud her on how great she looks, and how it annoys me to read her daily updates on Facebook on how far she's run or what skinless boneless healthy meal she's cooking up for dinner. I suppose part of this jealousy stems from my gaining weight, despite my best efforts (a rigorous exercise regimen and restructuring what and how much I eat)

TUCSON, Ariz. - U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords helped serve a Thanksgiving meal to service members and retirees at a military base in her hometown. Giffords arrived in the dining hall at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson at midday yesterday wearing a ball cap and an apron with her nickname of "Gabby" sewn on the front. She was accompanied by her retired astronaut husband, Mark Kelly, who also donned an apron. Giffords used only her left hand as she served, a sign that physical damage remains from the injuries she suffered when she was shot in January.

Inside a Kensington church, a group of low-income families sat, quiet and expectant, at cloth-covered tables adorned with fresh flowers. Crime and deprivation are everyday elements of their lives in the neighborhood, in the First Congressional District, one of the hungriest places in the United States. But within the sanctuary of West Kensington Ministry in Norris Square, this was a moment of sweet civility for around 70 people gathered for a free Thanksgiving dinner. The meal was part of a weekly program known as Sunday Suppers established by Mount Airy activist Linda Samost in the spring.