Loaded Cornbread Looking to up your cornbread or biscuit game? This will do it. Load it up with fresh veggies and get out your oven-proof skillet! Serves 6 Ingredients: 2 tbsp canola oil 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 large egg 1 cup buttermilk ¼ cup honey 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ⅓ cup grilled corn Toppings: cherry tomatoes fresh basil leaves sliced […]

One morning in grade school, our teacher said, “Because Alaska and Hawaii are now states, we need a new flag.” I knew Alaska and Hawaii had recently joined the Union. And I knew that on the American flag, there was one star for each state. But I hadn’t put the two facts together and realized […]

I had to take a week off from the column three weeks ago when “Nope” opened at #1 at the domestic box office. While I’m not sorry that I gave all my attention to a wedding that weekend (shoutout to my Uncle John and new aunt Amy!), it is a shame that this movie didn’t […]

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will offer some nice opportunities for households to save on energy costs and reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Electric vehicle tax credits, an extension of the residential rooftop solar tax credit, a new 30% tax credit for residential battery storage systems, direct rebates to low and moderate-income households, and […]

I believe in God, but I also believe in science. Many people try to pit these two beliefs against each other. Some scientists belittle religion, and some religious people speak disparagingly of science, but I see no conflict and stand comfortably in both realms. I have no problem believing in a Creator who fashioned this […]

This is your new Summer Pot Luck salad! Serves 6 Ingredients: 1 14-oz can low sodium black beans, drained 2 large handfuls baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped 2 large tomatoes, chopped into large chunks ½ cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds scooped out and sliced on an angle 1 mango, peeled and chopped into chunks 1 large […]

I love movies like “Bullet Train.” Get a bunch of thieves, assassins, and criminal types in a compact space and watch them careen and bounce off each other like bumper cars for two hours. It helps that I also like trains. Taking a train out of Penn Station in New York City is my favorite […]

My parents were divorced when I was quite young – five, maybe – and my mother and I left New York and moved to Oklahoma. She wanted no contact with my father, so I grew up knowing almost nothing about him.There were times in my teenage years when I yearned to find him. And that […]