Officers combat crime -- with chili (Florida Today)

Cocoa Police treated residents to a free lunch Saturday as they reached out in goodwill.

Add a little spice to culinary life (The Post and Courier)

Follow these rules to get the most out of herbs: Basil (best fresh) "You taste fresh basil in your nose more than you do on your palate," says Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of "From the Cook's Garden." That's why it's best added at the end of a recipe, such as pasta sauce...

Got gumbo? If not, get going! (The Wichita Eagle)

F at Tuesday falls early this year -- Feb. 5. Is your gumbo recipe ready? Gumbo is the essential Mardi Gras dish, even though it has some competition from jambalaya, crawfish pie and those other south Louisiana delicacies that Hank Williams sang about. I like a dark, spicy gumbo, somewhere beween soup and stew. The key is the roux, the mixture of flour and vegetable oil used to thicken, ...

Edgecomb (Boothbay Register)

Get away from the stove for your Sunday supper, January 20, 2007! The kids in the Soup Group will provide all you need! You can choose either hamburg or ground turkey 'stoup' (a cross between soup and stew).

Herbs: When to use fresh vs. dried (Lansing State Journal)

In the days when salt and pepper formed the core of the American spice rack, parsley probably was the most exotic fresh herb to be found at most grocers.

A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in water or other water-based liquid, typically by simmering, and that are then served without being drained.Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables (potatoes, beans, etc.), fruits (such as peppers and tomatoes), meat, poultry, sausages and seafood. While water can be used as the stew-cooking liquid, wine, stock, and beer are also common. Seasoning and flavourings may also be added.. Stews are typically cooked at a relatively low temperature (simmered, not boiled), to allow flavors to marry.The distinctions between stew, soup, and casserole are fine ones. The ingredients of a stew may be cut into larger pieces than a those of a soup and retain more of their individual flavours; a stew may have thicker liquid than a soup, and more liquid than a casserole; a stew is more likely to be eaten as a main course than as a starter, unlike soup; and a stew can be cooked on either the stove top (or range) or in the oven, while casseroles are almost always cooked in the oven, and soups are almost always cooked on the stovetop. There are exceptions; for example, an oyster stew is thin bodied, more like a soup. The choice of name is largely a matter of custom; it is possible for the same dish to be described as soup, stew, or casserole.Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat that become tender and juicy with the slow moist heat method. This makes it popular in low-cost cooking. Cuts having a certain amount of marbling and gelatinous connective tissue give moist, juicy stews, while lean meat may easily become dry.Stews may be thickened by reduction, but are more often thickened with flour, either by coating pieces of meat with flour before searing, or by using a roux or beurre manié, a dough consisting of equal parts of butter and flour. Other thickeners like cornstarch or arrowroot may also be used.