RECIPE: July 4th Layer Cake

A patriotic layer cake. Photo courtesy Harry & David.   You can buy this delicious Red, White and Blueberry Cake from Harry & David ($49.95 plus shipping). Or you can make your own. First, Harry & David’s cake: Made in the company’s bakery, three layers of fluffy vanilla cake are separated by strawberry and blueberry…
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TIP OF THE DAY: The Dirty Dozen & The Clean Fifteen

The bounty of summer produce encourages us to eat more fruits and vegetables. It seems like the healthy thing to do, and it is. But it’s also time to consider the issue of pesticide residues, and when you should buy organic versus conventional produce. Rinsing the produce does not remove all of the chemical residue.…
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National Chocolate Pudding Day, Pudding History & Best Chocolate Pudding Recipe

[1] From-scratch chocolate pudding; the recipe is below (photo © Bonchan | iStock Photo). [2] You can get creative with the serving dish, as well as with garnishes that turn everyday chocolate pudding into a fancy dessert (photo © Taryn Eliott | Pexels). [3] You can garnish chocolate pudding to make it as festive as…
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PRODUCT: New McDonald’s Quarter Pounders

Front and center: Bacon Habañero Ranch, Bacon & Cheese and Deluxe Quarter Pounders. Photo courtesy McDonalds.   We don’t often head to McDonald’s to have a burger: Our neighborhood is dotted with gourmet burger emporia that command our attention. But one of Mickey D’s new Quarter Pounders will have us stopping in more frequently. Updating…
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PRODUCT: Awake Chocolate, Caffeinated

Now you can roll out of bed in the morning and…have a bar of chocolate? Awake Chocolate, created by three friends in Toronto, contains the same caffeine kick as a 20-ounce cup of coffee or a 250ml energy drink. Alas, compared to calorie-free or low-cal cup of coffee (that is, unless you start piling on…
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