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Deconstructed pot pie a hit with turkey, beans

I've updated the basic potpie before, using cabbage and white beans and giving it a sweet-potato-topped, curry-flavored twist. This version goes much further, to a deconstructed state: The filling is a chili-pepper-spiked turkey and black bean mix. It's fresh, lively and light.

Letter: CRC alternative merits a look

In a June 15 story "Murray targets opponents of CRC," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., was quoted as saying, "The people who are opposing (the Columbia River Crossing) need to tell you what the backup plan is."

Letter: Legislators need a 'timeout'

The taxpayers are again reaping the effect of nonproductive state legislators, who, by their foot dragging, have added to the budget deficit.

Pepper flakes perk up shrimp and pasta

Pasta is dressed up with shrimp, zucchini and red bell pepper in this 15-minute meal. The vegetables cook for a couple of minutes in a skillet, white wine is added, and shrimp cooks for a few more minutes in the white wine sauce. The shrimp remain juicy and tender this way.

Shishito: From hipster menus to your grill

Never had shishito peppers? You need to track them down. Right now.

Putting a healthy spin on fish tacos

Mexican cuisine has been popular for a long time, but my recent travels around our country have persuaded me that fish tacos are big now in a way they never were before.

Weather Eye: A cool, showery welcome to summer still warmer than in 2011

The weekend turned out pleasant and Monday's weather wasn't bad either. That upper-level low is still offshore and will head our way triggering scattered thundershowers, showers and perhaps some steady light rain. Unstable conditions and cooler conditions will persist through Thursday; nothing else new to add to the mix.

Brunell: Portland ignores proven benefits of fluoridation

When it comes to drinking water, Portland is an odd duck. Since 1956, voters have consistently rejected adding minuscule amounts of fluoride to their water supply to prevent tooth decay. They again flocked to the polls in May to kill the latest ballot measure.

Go ahead, overcook that eggplant

In its natural state, eggplant is tough, spongy and bitter — pretty vile, all in all. Generally, vegetables (especially ones with a reputation for being vile) do not benefit from overcooking — think fetid Brussels sprouts, gray peas, floppy asparagus. Eggplant is the opposite: Its unpleasantness is directly correlated with how undercooked it is. I would rather go hungry than eat a grill-marked yet stiff slice of eggplant — which is how eggplant is traditionally served in workplace cafeterias, airport sandwich kiosks, and other venues that don't pride themselves on their vegetarian offerings. But eggplant so mushy it falls apart when you so much as prod at it gently with a finger? Eggplant so tender that stabbing it with a fork with your eyes closed feels no different from stabbing a patch of empty space? Now we're talking.

Talking Points: Case against Merion

What's the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking: U.S. Open venue; minor league baseball.

Letter: A day in the life of a Vancouverite

Tired of spending my Saturday afternoon standing in line at a local retail store — the same store that sends out "support your local small business" fliers — only to pay more than my Oregon-licensed fellow Vancouverites, I slowly trundle south across the rickety I-5 bridge (suffered through a bridge lift as a newly manufactured drilling derrick slowly drifted past, barely clearing the bridge) to the uberweird and wonderful land of no sales tax.