Chew on these stories...

It's spring break, and my first grade son is climbing the walls looking for things to do that don't involve the humdrum of the daily school ritual. After flipping to the crafts section in his new issue of Big Backyard, the boy brought a recipe for cereal breakfast bars to my attention from his favorite periodical, and I couldn't say no. These homemade cereal breakfast bars carry the theme of that classic trail mix trinity of peanuts, raisins and M&Ms, and bind it together with the perfectly sweet combination of peanut butter and honey.

We're on the verge of grilling season proper in these parts, and while it's great to be dreaming about all the seared critter coming off the fire, it's also a good time to consider the unsung hero of the backyard BBQ: The side dish. A proper barbeque just isn't complete without sides, and everyone knows that beans are the quintessential side for outdoor cooking. Assuming you like to grill it up the right way, you'll want to start those beans from scratch; and assuming you've got access to a cast iron dutch oven, it's not at all as scary a prospect as it sounds. These smoky-sweet, spice-kissed BBQ "Cowboy" Beans can be made in the oven or over the coals; and thanks to the not-so-secret "no-soak" dry bean…

"They're known to some as "salmon cakes", or even "salmon burgers", but I grew up eating "salmon patties" and they were as common to evening dinner as any meatloaf or mac and cheese. Nostalgia often has a way of disappointing where food is concerned, and after again tasting recipe I grew up with, I knew that some immediate changes were in order; and in the end, I decided to throw the old recipe out and start from scratch. For this reinterpretation, wild-caught Sockeye…

Sometimes, there just isn't time for anything more than "dump a can and go". However, by choosing the right ingredients, even lowly canned food has the potential to become something wonderful. A can of black beans, a can of tomatoes and chiles, and a bag of frozen corn lay the foundation to carry a slightly spicy and smoky-sweet dressing that turns so much pedestrian pantry fare into something that's downright difficult to stop eating.