Lunch box specials 
By The Associated Press
Lunch shouldn’t be a chore and shouldn’t be boring, whether it’s for a back-to-school lunchbox, a brown-bagger’s menu or to eat on the spot at home in the kitchen.

•	How to lightly sweeten the deal

FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD
Let fresh foods do the work
By ROBIN LaBRUNERIE
The late 1960s and early 1970s made prominent some lasting concepts, not least whole foods and heartfelt song lyrics. One person keeping some of the better memories alive is Kim Phillips, the new co-owner with her sister Stacey of the Rocheport General Store. They are baking breads and cooking up lunches and snacks every day. They are also stocking specialty food items, as well as the basic essentials of life such as toothbrushes and Scharffen Berger Chocolates.

HOMEMADE IN MINUTES
Curl up with slice of cake
By JULIA HELVEY
Most of us are introduced to public libraries as children. My own boys had their own library cards by the time they were 2 years old and enjoyed going to story hour each week. Books, magazines, newspapers and later videos and audio books became very important in our house. My mother worked in our small town library from the time I started high school, so many hours were spent there doing homework and leisure reading.

FOOD SLEUTH
Grocery shopping with kids
By MELINDA HEMMELGARN
With news of terrorist plots, global warming and child abductions, parents have a lot to worry about today. But according to Patricia Schnitzer, Ph.D., R.N., national child injury-prevention specialist at the University of Missouri-Columbia, falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries among children up to the age of 15. Motor vehicle accidents rank No. 1 for fatal injuries.

COOKIN' WITH HOSS
Peanut butter not just for sack lunches anymore
By TRISH AND JIM KOETTING
School days, school days, dear old golden rule days. So the song went, back when reading and writing and arithmetic were taught to the tune of a hickory stick - or three-sided ruler at the school I attended! Long before the days of forbidden corporal punishment and the days of school lunches that were actually edible.

How the ice cream makers churn
By RENEE ENNA and LISA SCHUMACHER
The need for ice cream makers baffles many - "Another appliance in my kitchen?" they wail. But skeptical frozen-treat lovers might want to reconsider. These machines offer an excellent way to put seasonal fruit to work in luscious and creative frozen desserts.

FOR YOU... OR TWO
Humble lentils with rich flavor
By ROBIN MATHER JENKINS of the Chicago Tribune
I’ve never met a pulse I didn’t like. Beans of any type suit me fine.

KITCHEN NOTES

RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Inspiration from India
By JOE GRAY Chicago Tribune
A recipe for garam masala from "India with Passion" by Manju Malhi caught my eye recently. The traditional spice blend has many variations, "depending on the region and personal taste," he writes. Make a batch and keep it in the cupboard for inspiration.

WOLFGANG'S KITCHEN
Something new with summertime staple
By WOLFGANG PUCK
Right now, amateur gardeners and farmers market fans are enjoying summertime’s abundant crop of green beans. There are classic, plump string beans of the sort you really have to string, snapping off both ends and zipping away the fibers that run along their seams; varieties of the slender, stringless, tender little beans the French call haricots vert; and even Chinese long beans, which look like small bundles of slender green rope.