Oven

YOUR CHEATIN' HEART Don't kid yourself that you're doing your spouse a favor by having an affair. The thesis that extramarital loving can revive intra-marital loving doesn't hold water, psychologist Judith F. Slater writes in Lear's magazine. "While (an affair) may begin as an attempt to solve a problem, it can easily become the overwhelming problem. " A PRESSURE SITUATION Sorry, but moderate exercise alone does not appear to lower blood pressure enough for it to be a reasonable alternative to antihypertension medicines, says a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

After one of my cooking classes, a student appeared at my side with a problem. She was looking for an accompaniment for Cornish hens or roasted chicken that would help cope with the winter doldrums. I often serve my family Baked Wild Rice, a simple preparation that's perfect with fowl. I gave her the recipe and suggested that she serve a first course of butternut- squash soup, and, for dessert, pears baked with honey and lemon. BAKED WILD RICE 1 1/4 cups wild rice 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 3/4 cup finely chopped onion 3/4 cup finely chopped celery 1 1/4 cups long grain converted white rice 3 cups chicken stock 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved lengthwise 1 cup seedless green grapes, halved lengthwise 1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds (see note)

Take one bite of the featherweight pitas from Feders, and you'll understand why people travel to buy them. Imported from an Israeli company and baked throughout the day in a special pita oven, the wheat are as good as the white.   - Ashley Primis Pitas, 65 cents for one, $1.75 for three, Feders Fresh Produce & Flowers, 1822 Spring Garden St. (enter on 19th Street), 215-568-8010, federsfresh.com .

Try one of these flavorful and affordable dishes as a hearty antidote to blustery, late winter weather, or to feed the crowd for Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7. They're easy to make ahead. 1 5-6 pound Boston butt or pork shoulder 2 tablespoons bacon fat (or olive oil) 2 Spanish onions, sliced 2 bulbs fresh fennel, sliced 1 carrot, sliced 10 bay leaves 6 sprigs rosemary 2 bulbs fresh garlic, split 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 cups white wine Water as needed Preheat oven to 225 degrees.

YO, CHEFS! I've tried the pound-cake recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook, but it always comes out dry. What am I doing wrong? Joyce Sampson Philadelphia Dear Joyce, We got these tips from Marcia Copeland, director of the Betty Crocker Food Center in Minneapolis. (That's not Copeland in the picture, by the way. That's the current composite Betty Crocker, whose face is a computer-generated morph of 75 real women.) 1. Be sure your eggs are the right size.

Beginning around the age of 9, your kids will enjoy taking a much more active role in dinner preparation. It could range from wanting to set the table in a particular fashion to surprising you with supper. These are genuine and generous contributions from the heart. Unfortunately, they are spontaneous and often don't give you time in advance to help them plan their menu. If these are continuing offers in your family, perhaps choosing a day a month when your kids can make dinner would give all of you time to plan.

A delicate, warm fragrance spilled into Cacia's bakery when Raymond Cacia opened the door of the massive brick bread oven about noon yesterday. He bent and peered inside. He was looking for a bird, a specific bird. And there, among the dozens of turkeys roasting to a golden finish, Raymond found the bird he wanted - Lucy's turkey. Wielding a long-handled bread spatula, he pulled the turkey to the front of the oven. Leon DeFulgentis, wearing insulated gloves, carried it to a nearby table to be exclaimed over and then claimed by its hungry owners.

Barbara Cummiskey Tacconelli, 70, co-owner of Tacconelli's Pizzeria, a Port Richmond landmark, died Saturday, Dec. 22, of heart failure at Kennedy University Hospital-Cherry Hill. Mrs. Tacconelli grew up with 13 siblings in Port Richmond. At 16, she married Vincent Tacconelli and began helping him operate his family's pizza shop. The couple raised four children on the second floor. Tacconelli's crispy-crusted, brick-oven pizza was always popular with locals. Its fame spread to the suburbs and beyond in the 1980s after it was chosen as a "Best of Philly" by Philadelphia Magazine, and was profiled in The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News and on local TV stations.

There may have been a time when you could explore ethnic markets for exotic ingredients and experiment with new recipes. But now you have kids. So much for souffles, getting to know Indian food or starting that diet with carefully prescribed meals. Kids are not into experiments, and their idea of exotic is any food that isn't white (unless it's a pizza). Their ideal meal comes wrapped in plastic or cardboard. They like familiar foods, preferably in separate little piles, so they can choose which ones they're not going to eat. Summer makes matters worse, with even more mouths to feed than you gave birth to. Why is it that the most finicky kids always want to eat at your house?

As your child matures into a teenager, he or she is probably feeling very grown-up. But along with this new sense of maturity and authority comes a lot of anxiousness and insecurity. One way to help your growing child deal with these personal stresses is to let him or her feel in control, one small task at a time. Cooking is a great way for a child to gain back some self-confidence and treat a few good friends to a very special evening. Pasta dishes are always a perfect choice for this age group to cook: The teenagers enjoy cooking it as well as eating it. To make a simple pasta dish seem a little more grown-up, this recipe for linguine pairs it with a hearty red clam sauce.