Quiet rooms for children on the autism spectrum are popping up at airports. Shannon Airport, which serves the southwestern region of Ireland, opened a “sensory room” for children and adults with neuro-developmental challenges, including autism, on March 29. The room is located off the airport’s departure lounge. It’s designed to be a soothing place, with […]

MIAMI When Ryan Bauhaus first experimented with faux meats, he fixated on recreating that taste of blood, settling on a tomato paste blend to mimic the acidic, iron flavor. For the fat, Bauhaus boiled down mushrooms until he got the desired texture similar to the fat cap on a roast. Calorie counting, gluten banning and […]

I recently spent half a day helping a friend prune her blueberries. Some rows hadn’t been tended to in a couple of years or more, and had gotten very bushy and overgrown. It is very satisfying work, knowing that bushes will produce better and be easier to pick once they have been pruned. The first […]

BOSTON People looking for the perfect family pet tend to choose a dog based on appearance or breed — but that’s barking up the wrong tree. “If you think they’re cute, you bring them home,” said Jodi Andersen, a dog trainer and author. That’s why Andersen, along with MaryAnn Zeman and Sharon Mosse, founded the […]

White bean soup with garlic is a classic comfort dish in the Mediterranean region. Usually, it’s loaded with heavy cream, which also loads up the fat and calories. My version uses no cream at all, getting its body from adding extra garlic plus a lone starchy potato, and then blending most of the soup itself […]

For decades, “outdoor decorating” meant arranging a few nice chairs and a table near a barbecue grill, then adding an umbrella to block the summer sun. But as patios and decks have morphed into “outdoor living rooms,” the bar has risen for outdoor style and comfort. “HGTV Design Star” judge Vern Yip says he knew […]

I wrote last week’s column just a few hours after my youngest son, Lindell, attended tryouts for Little League baseball. We did not know the results yet, and I was waiting with that painful, heavy anxiety that most mothers will recognize when we worry for our children. Lindell had not made the team last year, […]

Umami is the fifth flavor we humans can detect, along with sweet, sour, bitter and salty. It is much more difficult to describe or quantify than the four standard flavors because we haven’t been raised to recognize it. I call it the flavor of contentment. The Japanese translate it, roughly, as “deliciousness.” Scientists have determined […]

I developed this recipe to take advantage of strawberry season. Some of you are naturally scratching your head. “Strawberry season? Name a time of year that isn’t strawberry season.” And it certainly can feel that way. Strawberries are grown in all 50 states and, depending on the state, the season can be as short as […]

Clear the way for acrylics. Furniture makers are using the see-through material for everything from couch legs and bed posts to tables and footstools. It’s a way to add drama to a room without overloading it, said Sheila Schmitz, an editor with Houzz, an online source of interior design photos and decorating ideas. She said […]