Meatballs

In a U.S. Hot Rod Association event at the Spectrum yesterday that was prompted by a television commercial about an invincible Volvo, drivers in big- wheeled pickup trucks playfully squished a row of junked Volvos. But it wasn't all that easy for the trucking behemoths, as the Black Stallion and other motorized bullies needed several passes to compress the Swedish automobiles.

She holds world records and titles in hot dogs, oysters, hard-boiled eggs, cheesecake, and chicken wings. Now she's moving on to meatballs. Sonya Thomas of Virginia, the top-ranked eater in America, will compete today in the Tropicana World Meatball-Eating Championship at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City. It will start at 1 p.m. at Carmine's Restaurant; whoever eats the most meatballs in 12 minutes wins $2,500. Prizes total $5,000. Bob Shoudt of Philadelphia is among those competing against the 100-pound Thomas in the event, sponsored by the International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFOCE)

Police are looking for a pair of thieves who stole 17 cases of frozen meatballs from a tractor-trailer parked in Old City early today. But why anyone would steal 510 pounds of beef meatballs, they don't know. Police said the driver was sleeping inside the rig on the 500 block of North Columbus Boulevard when the thieves broke the trailer's seal and started unloading the frozen meat around 12:40 a.m. The driver of another truck discovered the heist while it was under way and two meatball thieves sped off in what appeared to be a brown Ford Windstar van.

It happens all the time, at least to me. There I am at the meat department, acres of concentrated protein spread out for my delectation. I am determined, for once, to have something besides chicken or fish, yet I am utterly stymied by the very vastness of the selection. For reasons some psychiatrist could probably fathom instantly, I usually end up buying ground round. But I don't make hamburgers, which tend, in spite of one's best efforts, to come out lunky and bland. Nor do I make meat loaf, which is simply too much food when one dines, as I often do, alone.

This recipe goes out to all those diehard meat-eaters who mistakenly believe vegetarian foods are for sissies. Govinda's Gourmet to Go, a little takeout stand at 15th and South, makes truly awesome meatless meatballs for a sandwich that will prove that meat-free can be delicious. The faux beef is made with fresh veggies and chickpea flour, plus seasonings like hing, a garlicky, bark-based spice from India, also known as asafetida, and garam masala, which are both available in Indian groceries or natural foods stores.

Does healthy eating mean that all of your family favorites are suddenly off-limits? Is it difficult to make meals that are good-tasting and good for you? Not at all. Making food choices that lead to optimal health and overall well-being has never been easier. There are many ways to make almost any favorite recipe healthier and more nutritious. You can develop strategies to improve a meal's nutritional profile, modifying favorite dishes to easily fit into a plan for healthier eating.

The object, when one is seized with a sudden hunger for bolognese (or its less exalted red-gravy cousin, the meatball), is not to spin your wheels fretting over who has the most authentic version - the traditional recipe was actually registered in Bologna in 1982 - but to track down the closest place open. Until a handful of years ago, this meant a place called Giuliani's in Narberth. It was a barn of a dining room, an Italian family place that after maybe half a century closed up shop, leaving town folk - leaving me - without an old-shoe go-to joint for weekday meat sauce and meatballs and spaghetti (a dollar or two extra got you the square-cut, house-made stuff)

After dinner at IndeBlue, the refined, new Indian BYOB in Collingswood, we settle in for a plate of - spaghetti and meatballs? Hold the fork and take off the bib. It's chef-owner Rakesh Ramola's clever take on the Northern Indian dessert glob jamun, a doughnutlike confection in a syrup flavored with cardamom and rosewater. Their dark color makes them look like meatballs. Ramola softens vanilla ice cream and extrudes it through a colander. Mama Mumbai!

Campbell Soup Co. is recalling 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs with meatballs after a cooker malfunctioned at one of the company's plants in Texas and left the meat undercooked. The Agriculture Department announced the recall late Thursday. Anthony Sanzio, spokesman for the Camden-based company, said the company is recalling certain lots of the product manufactured since December 2008 "out of an abundance of caution" because officials don't know exactly when the cooker at the Paris, Texas, plant malfunctioned.

Maddie Berardelli, 7, had just the word for the meatball she was shaping in her small hands. "Gooshy," said Maddie, of Worcester, making a face. Ninety minutes later, with the meatballs nicely browned and kid-made angel-hair pasta piled on her plate, Lauren Moses, 7, had another word. "Yummy," said Lauren, of North Wales, laying claim to four meatballs. "Yummy. Yummy. " Children attending cooking camp at Mermaid Country Day Camp in Blue Bell learned the basics of cooking - including the perils of bacteria and cholesterol, the trick to separating strands of pasta (cornmeal)

Charges in New Year's Eve killings * Frankford and Lehigh avenues Kevin Brown, 30, was stopped for a traffic violation at 1 a.m. yesterday, but cops soon charged him with more-serious violations. Brown was arrested and charged with murder and related crimes in the New Year's Eve shooting deaths of Arlette Aguero, 31, of Tampa Street near Wyoming Avenue in Juniata Park, and Alejandro Garro, 36, of Dungan Road near Cottman Avenue, Burholme. Police Capt. James Clark, commanding officer of the homicide division, said that after arguing with Aguero earlier, Brown asked her to meet him on 2nd Street near Chew Avenue, in Olney, where he shot her and Garro more than once as they sat in a parked 2001 Hyundai Elantra just before midnight Dec. 31. Police said that Garro was not involved in the argument and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Police are looking for a pair of thieves who stole 17 cases of frozen meatballs from a tractor-trailer parked in Old City early today. But why anyone would steal 510 pounds of beef meatballs, they don't know. Police said the driver was sleeping inside the rig on the 500 block of North Columbus Boulevard when the thieves broke the trailer's seal and started unloading the frozen meat around 12:40 a.m. The driver of another truck discovered the heist while it was under way and two meatball thieves sped off in what appeared to be a brown Ford Windstar van.

Cops: Teen-ager robbed of meatball sub * Myra Avenue near Bonsall, Yeadon Yeadon police were heroes Saturday when they put four po'boys through the grinder for allegedly robbing a Shorti of his meatball sandwich at gunpoint. Police said the 13-year-old victim had just left Nick's Deli on Church Lane about 7 p.m. when he was approached by two men who had gotten out of a Ford Expedition. Rashawn Mallory, 21, of Philadelphia, pointed a gun at the boy and said, "Whatever you do, don't move" and "If you do anything, I'll cap you," according to court documents.

When my daughter and I decided to start a cooking blog, I wanted to teach her the recipes she remembered eating at home, along with good basics that she could make for herself, her friends, and, one day, her own family. I think of recipes as alive and ever-changing, so I plan to update many of the recipes I made for my children when they were growing up. I'd like the recipes to reflect our current taste and, especially, our attempt to eat healthfully without sacrificing flavor.

_ That unexpected square of green open space at the otherwise bustling corner of 20th and Market streets is transforming into a garden where veggies, herbs, grains and flowers will be cultivated to showcase the work of City Harvest, which provides fresh produce to underserved residents. The PHS Pops Up garden will host foodie and gardening events from noon-2 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays starting June 15 through October (the official opening is Monday). Local chefs will cook with the garden crops, too, including R2L's Daniel Stern; Chris Scarduzio, of Table 31; Guillermo Tellez, of Square 1682; Michael Schulson, from Sampan; Marcie Turney, of Barbuzzo; and Lynn Rinaldi, of Paradiso.

IT WAS AN IDEA born out of a post-Thanksgiving get-together and a spouse thinking the other half needed to get the ball rolling, so to speak. The Marabella family grew a small, regional empire in the '80s with eight restaurants. They later sold all except for the original location in Stone Harbor, N.J. Today, Judy Marabella, husband Gabe Sr. and their grown son Gabe Jr. have come full circle and find themselves back in the restaurant business. "It was time my husband found something to do," Judy Marabella said.

The object, when one is seized with a sudden hunger for bolognese (or its less exalted red-gravy cousin, the meatball), is not to spin your wheels fretting over who has the most authentic version - the traditional recipe was actually registered in Bologna in 1982 - but to track down the closest place open. Until a handful of years ago, this meant a place called Giuliani's in Narberth. It was a barn of a dining room, an Italian family place that after maybe half a century closed up shop, leaving town folk - leaving me - without an old-shoe go-to joint for weekday meat sauce and meatballs and spaghetti (a dollar or two extra got you the square-cut, house-made stuff)

U.S.: Toss states' suit on health law PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by 20 states, including Pennsylvania, challenging President Obama's health-care overhaul. Its motion said the U.S. District Court in Pensacola lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over some claims raised in the suit. Other parts of the suit fail to state claims upon which relief can be granted, it said. A key issue is whether the federal government can require individuals to buy health insurance and fine those who don't.

Campbell Soup Co. is recalling 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs with meatballs after a cooker malfunctioned at one of the company's plants in Texas and left the meat undercooked. The Agriculture Department announced the recall late Thursday. Anthony Sanzio, spokesman for the Camden-based company, said the company is recalling certain lots of the product manufactured since December 2008 "out of an abundance of caution" because officials don't know exactly when the cooker at the Paris, Texas, plant malfunctioned.

Repertory Films Bistrot la Minette 623 S. 6th St.; 215-925-8000. www.bistrotlaminette.com . La Vie En Rose (France, 2007) 6/7. Bryn Mawr Film Institute 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr; 610-527-9898. www.brynmawrfilm.org . Daddy Long Legs (1955) $9.50; $6.75 seniors and students. 6/8. 7 pm. You'll Never Get Rich (1941) $9.50; $6.75 seniors and students. 6/9. 7 pm. Burlington County Library - Cinnaminson Branch 1619 Riverton Rd., Riverton; 856-829-9340.