For a smart baby, eat more fish.

Few seafoods bring to mind the taste of the sea as readily as mussels. These meaty mollusks are also a pleasure to cook - a quick burst of heat will open them, releasing natural juices that form a ready-made sauce.

COFFEE'S MULTIPLE MATES

Q. My mom used to make the best pound cakes and other goodies, but now with the trans-fat-free shortenings, her cakes have "sad streaks" or just crumble. Can you give any substitutions to make when using the no-trans-fat products?

PARIS France will lose its spot as the world's largest wine producer to Spain unless it can shake some of its outmoded traditions and boost sales to younger drinkers and consumers overseas, the country's independent wine producers say.

Americans have embraced plenty of four-star French desserts, including crepes, creme brulee and cream puffs. But the less glamorous clafouti remains something of a novelty.

For summer cookouts, we bring you the waist-watching wiener edition of Supermarket Sleuth.

Question: I found a squash relish recipe online that is cooked and includes vinegar. Can it be kept in the refrigerator instead of processing in a hot water bath? I've never canned. The recipe does note that you can keep it in the refrigerator. But water-bath canning isn't hard, and you won't have to fill your refrigerator with jars of relish.

Chalk up another win for Cook's Corner sleuths: We've got the signature Key lime pie recipe from the Fern Inn in Islamorada, Fla., home of a renowned version of the South Florida favorite in the 1950s and '60s.

More than a century after his grandfather, Leoncio Arizu, planted the first vines for Bodega Luigi Bosca in the foothills of the Argentine Andes, Alberto Arizu finds, as he travels the world, he still has to explain that Argentina does, indeed, make wine.

This is the season for fresh, plump peaches. The fruit goes well with roasted pork. For this dinner, I made a fresh peach salsa to spoon over sliced pork tenderloin and serve the entree with Brown Rice Salad.

Jan. 19

In the spirit of the holidays many of us will try to find ways to relax after a hard day of last minute shopping, traveling or planning the New Years Eve party. The perfect sidekick to relaxing after a stressful day is ... a holiday cocktail! Whether having a romantic nightcap or entertaining your closest family and friends, cocktails will definitely bring back the holiday spirit.

Thanksgiving Day also hailed as "Turkey Day" is dominated by good food and wide-screen plasma TV football. Traditionally, families and friends gather to feast and cheer their favorite teams to victory.

SONORA, Calif. Tim Diestel was happy to show off the free-range turkeys his family raises east of town. One of the toms wasn't so welcoming. He kept nipping at the ankle of a reporter who walked amid the birds at Diestel Turkey Ranch on Tuesday morning.

Tony Degliomini and his wife, Julie, have been eying up the vines in their yard.

FRESNO, Calif. _ To the untrained eye, the mini watermelon is, well, just a small watermelon.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Perhaps never in the nation's brewing history have so many beers in so many permutations been made.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The barbecue trail to this Midwestern city, known for its historic rail and steamship routes, pioneer trails and cattle drives, is paved with a thick, ketchup- and molasses-based sauce _ and leads to a crossroads of sorts.

Flor de sal hibiscus. Danish Viking-Smoked. Peruvian pink. Hawaiian red alaea. Black Cyprus. Australian Murray River.

With the older of her two sons just off to kindergarten, Robin Miller may be new to the school-year drill, but she's more than ready for the daily challenge of fitting healthful, home-cooked dinners into a busier-than-ever schedule.

A quick, pork tenderloin is perfect for this weekend. The flavorful glaze combines honey, ginger, garlic and toasted sesame oil, which is available in most supermarkets.

Call it peer pressure. My food writer friend in Pittsburgh sent me the link to her recent column and said that she has had overwhelming reader response to it.

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Come hungry and wear flip-flops. Sounds like a great summer dinner party theme, doesn't it?

FRESNO, Calif. - It sounds so simple: Place food in a couple of pots, then open them hours later to find a hot meal. And you don't even have to turn on the stove.

Got plenty of ice?

FORT WORTH, Texas - My back yard is a festival of fecundity these steamy summer days.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Put some sizzle on your plate, what most redblooded Americans crave: a thick, juicy, grilled steak.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Darren Cusick drinks iced tea all day, every day.

Cuisines are defined by clusters of ingredients that make up regional or national flavor palettes and by techniques that reflect cooks' collective conclusions about how best to achieve particular effects. In Latin America, no method is more emblematic than braising.