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Tastes remembered from our mother's kitchens have been an abiding theme of Cook's Corner columns over the past 25 years. My favorites are those that educate as well as endear, and in so doing celebrate the lives of women who warmed our lives with sick-bed chicken soup and after-school brownies.
Tempura embodies qualities Japanese cooks hold dear: fresh ingredients, precision cooking and beautiful presentation. It also exemplifies the uncanny ability of the Japanese to absorb outside influences -- in this case, from the Iberian peninsula -- and mold them into new constructs that are very much their own.
As the South Florida skyline grows, it's nice to know a pocket of one-story cottages from another era exists at Cauley Square, just off Dixie Highway in far south Miami-Dade. The ''village'' is a cluster of about 25 structures, many housing galleries and small shops, set on 10 acres with tropical gardens, gurgling fountains and little plazas.
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Since our teens were tots, we've loved a Mexican ''feast.'' When they were very young, we simply opened a taco kit and cranked up the mariachi tunes. In the middle grades, we introduced ''So Simple Salsa'' (find our five-minute recipe at www.desperationdinners.com). Years later, our daughters had advanced to making their own guacamole with fresh avocados.
PASTA
It is a rare soul who does not appreciate creamy cheese and pasta baked together and served piping hot out of the oven. For the cook, these dishes offer flexibility in timing; all may be prepared well in advance and baked just before serving.
COOKBOOKS
Just in time for produce season, publishers are showering cookbook enthusiasts with vegetarian options. Here are three of the latest:
COOKBOOKS
A recent book offers comfortable takes on traditional -- and easy -- dishes. Clifford A. Wright's Bake Until Bubbly (Wiley, $22.95) thoroughly probes the historical and modern origins of his subject, collecting casserole recipes that span the globe, from moussaka and cassoulet to Brazilian fish casserole and the Iraqi stuffed eggplant casserole known as ``Tongue of the Judge.''
HEALTHFUL EATING
It seems every food manufacturer has jumped on the portion-control bandwagon with a 100-calorie version of a coveted treat. But if you want variety and maybe even more nutrition from your 100-calorie snack, consider these:
QUICK BITES
Food 2.0: Secrets From the Chef Who Fed Google, by Charlie Ayers (DK Publishing; $25), is a fun and interesting volume from the chef who cooked for the Google canteen known as Charlie's Cafe for six years. By the time he left the company in 2005, Ayers had five sous chefs and 150 employees working for him in 10 cafes in the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters serving 4,000 lunches and dinners daily.
CHIP TIPS: Frito-Lay's new Pinch of Salt line proves that low-sodium doesn't have to mean bland. The reformulated corn chips, potato chips, tortilla chips and SunChips have 75 to 180 milligrams sodium per 1-ounce serving -- 30 to 50 percent less than the originals. Our resident junk-food fans couldn't tell the difference. Suggested retail price is $2.29 per 6 ¼- to 8-ounce bag.
Q: My boyfriend's birthday is coming up and I'm looking for a fun restaurant in Fort Lauderdale that isn't too expensive. He eats anything!
Wine Fridays at Azul: Bottomless pour of selected wines for $20; noon-3 p.m., Azul at the Mandarin Oriental, 500 Brickell Key Dr., Brickell Key. 305-913-8254.
MAIN DISH LEE COLEMAN'S MOTHER'S STUFFED CABBAGE This classic recipe was offered after a reader asked if anyone had Barbara Walters' mother's stuffed cabbage recipe. ''I would put my mother's up against anyone's,'' wrote Lee Coleman of Coral Gables. ``I have been serving it for years, and people say the flavor is so good it makes their toes curl up. One must have a pumpernickel or rye bread with it to sop up the marvelous sauce.''
SIDE DISH SCALLOPED PINEAPPLE We were introduced to this Southern specialty, usually served with ham, when three dozen readers responded to a request from Georgie Nichols for a recipe like her mother's. This recipe is the one Deborah Dawson got from her grandmother during the late 1960s. But it's very much like the one Lettye Vennell got from her husband's grandmother, who died in 1944 at age 85.
DESSERT LAZY DAISY CAKE We received hundreds of responses to a 1990 reader request for this nut- and coconut-topped cake recipe. ''I think it was called Lazy Daisy because it was made in just one bowl when other cake recipes called for 2 or 3,'' Jane Anderson wrote. ''Mom almost always sort of apologized because it had been so simple to make. But, since it was so good, we forgave her!'' added Joyce Langley of Miami.
MAIN DISH BLACK BEAN AND PORK STEW Dallas' Matt Martinez Jr. of Matt's Rancho Martinez suggests garnishing this stew with sour cream and shredded cheese and serving it with sourdough bread.
DESSERT CRANBERRY-APPLE-WALNUT CRISP 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, defrosted 4 apples (such as Granny Smith, Cortland or Empire), cored, peeled and thinly sliced (about 4 cups sliced)
SALAD GUACAMOLE SALAD We prefer Haas avocados from California for their buttery taste. These are the smaller avocados with bumpy skin.
APPETIZER MELTED BRIE, PEAR AND HAM TOASTS Serve as hors d'oeuvres or as a light lunch with soup. ¼ pound baked ham, minced
DESSERT CRANBERRY-WALNUT CRUMB CAKE This moist cake is great with a cup of hot tea. Pecans can be used in place of walnuts. Note that half a stick of butter should be left at room temperature to soften and the other half refrigerated until needed.
MAIN DISH FIRST-PRIZE MACARONI AND CHEESE This was the winner of a macaroni and cheese recipe contest we ran in 1988, out-cheesing more than 600 other entries. Rod Solva of El Salvador, a Barry University student, got the rich and gooey recipe from his mother, who created it after first tasting the classic U.S. version.
DESSERT LEMON SPONGE PIE When a reader from Ohio asked for help replicating a creamy lemon custard pie with a cake-like top layer that her mother had made, more than 50 readers responded. James R. Scull of Fort Lauderdale copied it ''from my mother's hand-written recipe book. It is dated October 1917, which is the month she and my father were married. . . . This was, back in my salad days, a favorite dessert in our home.'' Pettrina Jones of Hallandale Beach unearthed ``a very old recipe given to...
