Life

Tacoma zoo's leopard cub now on public exhibit

TACOMA — A clouded leopard cub born May 1 at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma is now on public exhibit.

Drone aircraft to study rabbit habitat

PULLMAN — A group of researchers will use an unmanned aircraft small enough to be launched by hand to study potential pygmy rabbit habitats in eastern and central Idaho.

Two busted on suspicion of running rooster-fighting operation in George

Men are also suspected of drug-trafficking

GEORGE — Two George men are in jail on suspicion of drug trafficking and running a rooster fighting operation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Food and Wine Calendar

A weekly list of food and wine related classes and events

Strawberries, whipped cream take shortcake to greatness

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them."

Get Ready for summer flavors

When the garden or the market offer corn, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and peppers, try these creative ways to bring that seasonal bounty to the table. Here are 20 fresh recipes for these five vegetables:

Use two-zone heat to grill your Dixie Chicken

Let's face it: Chicken is a grilling go-to for both weeknight and weekend cooking.

Watercress finesse: Crisp, peppery green takes a starring role in sprightly main-dish salad

Watercress is a treat I had come to associate with spring and the return of farmers markets — that is, until I came across vibrant bunches of it recently at the local grocer.

Hitchhiking cat 'Mata Hairi' headed back home to Oregon

HELENA, Mont. — A well-traveled cat named "Mata Hairi" will soon be reunited with her owner after spending nearly 10 months traveling thousands of miles with a hitchhiker who rescued her from the rain.