Lifestyles

To Your Good Health: His PSC morphed into cancer

DEAR DR. ROACH: No parent should ever outlive their children. A couple of years ago, my son, who is now approaching 54 years young, was diagnosed with what I am told is an extremely rare illness called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Since he required special bile duct tubes to be installed and repeatedly changed out, he had been waiting for a proper liver transplant. When this was finally about to happen, the disease apparently morphed into abdominal cancer, thus rendering the (long-awaited) liver transplant no longer viable. I had never heard of this illness before, but ...

Friday evening TV

Bridge by Steve Becker

1. One spade. You might not like the looks of your spade suit, but you are not responsible for the quality of the suit you bid when you respond to your partner’s takeout double. The doubler is expected to tread gingerly after a forced response unless responder makes a strength-showing ...

A freezer full of stock and a handful of shiitakes

Shiitake mushrooms from North Tabor Farm, on Martha’s Vineyard, inspired this recipe from my cookbook “The Beetlebung Farm.” For this soup, you can replace the chicken stock with water for a vegetarian version — but if you do, increase the quantity of mushrooms to make sure you get a ...

Lovina’s 8-year-old granddaughter pens the column

Hi, I am Jennifer Susan and I am 8 years old. I like to read and write and hold my baby sister Sharlene. She likes when I feed her corn pops. Sometimes I rock her to sleep and sometimes I play with her. I have two sisters and four brothers. My sister Kaitlyn and I sleep in the same room. We ...

Make cooking for a crowd more manageable

Milestone moments like graduations, birthdays and wedding anniversaries are worthy of celebration. When such celebrations feature a significant number of family and friends, it’s customary to host a gathering at home. Celebrations held at private residences tend to be less formal and lengthy affairs. Such gatherings also require hosts to decide which foods to serve, and who will prepare them. Cooking for a crowd can be a tall task, but there’s plenty of ways to make the job more manageable. • Choose simple fare. A homecooked gourmet meal might suffice for a more intimate ...