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Treat yourself to a taste of Italy with Pasta Fagioli con Prosciutto

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

My Italian friend invited me over for what she said was a new look at one of Italy’s most famous soups, Pasta Fagioli, or pasta and bean soup. She decided to add some ham to her recipe to make it a more filling supper. It was a great success. Here’s a quick version.I use acini di pepe, a very small round pasta, for the soup. In Italy they use the last bits of pasta left from opened boxes — a great way to use leftover pasta.You can use canned Great Northern beans instead of cannellini beans.You can use four crushed garlic cloves instead of minced garlic.Prosciutto is the Italian name for ham. The recipe calls for smoked deli ham. Ask the deli to make 1/2-inch slices so you can cut them into cubes.TAG GOES HEREPasta Fagioli Con Proscuitto (Pasta and Bean Soup with Ham)INGREDIENTS1/2 pound deli smoked ham1 cup rinsed and drained reduced-sodium cannellini beans2 cups canned, reduced-sodium diced tomatoes, including their juice1 cup sliced celery2 teaspoons minced garlic2 cups reduced-so...

Brett Goldstein still scoring goals as ‘Ted Lasso’ returns to AppleTV+

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

Brett Goldstein is riding a virtual tsunami of international applause co-starring opposite Jason Sudeikis in AppleTV+’s surprising, Emmy-winning sensation, the sports comedy “Ted Lasso” whose third and final season launches Wednesday.Yet he’s not sure why.Goldstein, 42, plays Roy Kent, who when “Ted” began was a fading soccer play with an attitude — and an aptitude for virtually nonstop swearing.  This season he’s a coach as the team ascends into the Premier league.A two-time Emmy winner in the first two seasons, Goldstein, who began in standup and fringe theater, doubles as a writer – an executive writer on “Ted” and now also on “Shrinking,” another hit AppleTV+ series that stars Jason Segel and, in his very first TV series, Harrison Ford.And let us not forget Hercules. As in Goldstein’s fully costumed Marvel end-credits surprise appearance as the Roman god in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” which in true Marvel fashion he can’t comment on.Reasons for the phenomenal succe...

Double-baked sweet potatoes great marathon fuel

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

Like a lot of runners, I ate a lot of sweet potatoes back when I was training for distance events that required a diet full of healthy carbs and muscle-loving antioxidants. Even now that I don’t run so long or so far, I still love the orange-fleshed tubers because they’re so easy to prepare, play well with other ingredients and are a relatively inexpensive source of stuff that’s good for the body such as beta carotene and vitamin C.Usually, it’s enough to simple-slice them into fat wedges and then roast in a hot oven with a little salt and paprika. When I’m in the mood for something a little more filling but still vegetarian, I mash the insides after baking and slicing the potatoes in half, add some spices and other ingredients, and then spoon the mashed filling back inside the shells for a second bake.Maybe you’re training for the Boston Marathon event on April 17 or simply like the idea of eating vegetarian on occasion. This double-baked sweet p...

Classic sandwich gets vegan twist

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

The bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, commonly known as the BLT, is a classic. People who avoid meat for health or other reasons can enjoy the essence of a BLT in a wholesome sandwich full of tasty ingredients all their own. A Tempeh, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich (TLT)  is a worthy stand-in for the traditional BLT.Toasted bread and tempeh add bite to the sandwich and tangy mustard gives it an extra kick. Try this recipe, courtesy of “The Contented Vegan” (Head of Zeus) by Peggy Brusseau. Tempeh,TAG GOES HERETempeh, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich (TLT)INGREDIENTS1 tablespoon untoasted sesame oil3 1/2 ounces tempeh, cut into slices no more than 1/2 inch thick2 slices favorite bread1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil1 teaspoon favorite mustard2 lettuce leaves1 tomato, slicedDash of tamari and/or hot sauceDIRECTIONSHeat the oil in a frying pan (skillet) set over medium heat. Add the tempeh slices to the pan and cook for about 7 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown, ...

Cornerback Trayvon Mullen returning to Ravens on one-year deal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

Trayvon Mullen will be returning to the Ravens next season.The 25-year-old cornerback — who was claimed off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys in January and is a cousin of quarterback Lamar Jackson’s — has agreed to a one-year deal, his agent Kevin Conner confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. No other terms were disclosed.“Baltimore know what time it is, my journey not finished” Mullen tweeted Tuesday night.Mullen, a second-round draft pick out of Clemson by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019, did not appear in any games for Baltimore last season. He did, however, play in eight games for the Cardinals after being traded by the Raiders to Arizona before the season.The Cardinals released Mullen in December and he was claimed off waivers by the Cowboys, suiting up for Dallas in Week 18. He had a combined 16 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass defended between the two teams.Mullen, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound corner who was the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the 2019 Co...

Moore: Death taxes are immoral – and they don’t work

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

“I have no respect for the passion of equality,” Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., one of America’s great jurists, once declared, “which seems to me merely idealizing envy.”But envy, and its sister vice, greed, are very much back in fashion today when it comes to the progressive Left. Just listen to President Joe Biden, who wants $2 trillion of new taxes, mostly paid by millionaires, so that the rich will “pay their fair share.” In seven blue states, including California, Illinois and New York, new wealth taxes and higher income tax rates on people such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Taylor Swift have been proposed by liberal lawmakers.Biden said billionaires aren’t “paying their fair share” and shouldn’t be paying a lower tax rate than a firefighter. That’s a ridiculous claim. The richest 1% of Americans pay 42% of the income taxes in America. That’s near an all-time record high.The Tax Foundation reports tha...

Silverglate: A proposal for simple, effective police reform

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

The current avalanche of proposals for police reform, in the wake of tragic deaths of civilians, often racial minorities, at the hands of law enforcement officers got me thinking back to a proposal that I devised during the Vietnam War (1955-75).Back then, I represented many conscientious objectors – those who refused induction into the military (at that time there was military conscription, or “the draft”) on a ground not recognized as supporting an exemption from service, ordinarily granted only to religiously-based conscientious objectors. That exemption was later broadened, but it never covered mere political objections to a particular war. Those refusing induction without a qualifying exemption were indicted.When it came time for sentencing, most federal judges were hesitant to incarcerate these men. I, and other defense lawyers, kept many of our clients out of prison by proposing to judges that, in lieu of military service, and instead of incarceration, our clients be sentence...

Editorial: Another minimum wage hike bad for biz

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

Raising the minimum wage is either a great idea or a terrible one, depending on which side of the paycheck you’re on.For workers and their advocates, the minimum wage can’t be high enough. As State House News reported,  polling suggests statewide support for another minimum wage hike. A whopping 59% of Bay State voters said they would support raising the minimum wage here to $20 an hour compared to 33% who are opposed and 7% who are undecided, according to the results of a new poll shared first with MASSterList.Considering that the current minimum wage in Massachusetts is $15 an hour (the fourth-highest in the country), that’s a 33% raise. Who wouldn’t want that, especially as costs are rising?It takes nearly $18 as of November 2022 to buy what $15 bought in June 2018, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.You know who’s also impacted by rising costs? Businesses, especially small ones, restaurants, and virtually anyone who has payroll cost...

Dear Abby: A reminder for parents – words matter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

Dear Abby: While shopping at the mall, I have seen too many stressed-out parents ignore or yell at their children. It certainly isn’t helpful. It isn’t how I was raised or how I raised mine. Years ago, I saw a poem in your column that addressed the ramifications of bad parenting versus good parenting. From what I’ve been seeing, you should print it again. Thank you. — Janet F. in MinnesotaDear Janet:  I know the poem you are referring to and I agree it sends an important message for parents. It’s one of many profound poems and essays included in my “Keepers” booklet, which was compiled because so many readers requested reprints of their favorites. Read on:Children Learn What They LiveBy Dorothy Law NolteIf a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemnIf a child lives with hostility, he learns to fightIf a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shyIf a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guiltyIf a child lives with tolerance, h...

Honduras will seek ties with China, spurning Taiwan

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Honduras President Xiomara Castro announced Tuesday that her government will seek to establish diplomatic relations with China, which would imply severing relations with Taiwan. The switch would leave Taiwan recognized by only 13 countries as China spends billions to win recognition for its “One China” policy.Castro said on her Twitter account that she instructed Honduran Foreign Affairs Minister Eduardo Reina to start negotiations with China and that her intention is “expand frontiers freely in concert with the nations of the world.”Castro said during her presidential campaign in 2021 that she would look for ties with China if elected, but once in power, her government backtracked on those comments. In January 2022, the foreign affairs minister told The Associated Press that Honduras would continue strengthening ties with Taiwan and that establishing a diplomatic relationship with China was not a priority for Castro.Reina, the Foreign Affairs Minister, ...