A little bit of everything goes a long way

Don't pity the poor antipasto. According to Lynne Rosetto Kaspar, author of "The Italian Country Table" (Scribner), even though its origins are in peasant cuisine, many of the dishes, developed from leftovers, have now become antipasti, often translated as appetizers. The word "appetizer," however, barely does justice to the long list of antipasti at restaurants in Italy or to their sumptuous display on plain white platters. Antipasti can be so varied and elaborate that they can be a meal in themselves. The possibilities are endless: tidbits of seafood tossed with olive oil, garlic, and parsley; prosciutto in swirls like petals; a humble bowl of white beans in a warm bath of garlic, olive oil, and parsley; a rainbow of grilled peppers; plates of silvery anchovies; mixed olives in spices; a hunk of parmesan cheese shaved and served over bitter arugula with a drizzling of balsamic vinegar. Regional specialties also are varied. One of northern Italy's most famous contributions to the antipasto table is mortadella, which has morphed into an American lunch meat named after Bologna, the region's largest city. A single platter of mortadella, the fully cooked sausage meat studded with squares of fat and special spices, can stand alone as an antipasto.

The magazine La Cucina Italiana (published by Editrice Quadratum SpA, available in English), devotes a section to antipasti. The recipes can be hot or cold, simple or elaborate. A simple one is the half loaf of bread left over from one meal that makes its way to the table the next night as the base of a bruschetta: toasted bread with olive oil and a rub of garlic, a tomato slice, and an anchovy filet.
In many Italian restaurants in America, a single platter with smatterings of the above are nestled atop a bed of greens, like a salad served family-style. In Italy, you may see the antipasti table as you enter and tell the waiter your choices, which are then brought to your table on small plates.

With all the heavy meals and rich foods available during the holiday season, an antipasti buffet can be a welcome alternative. Instead of laying out a large platter, try small plates with multiple offerings for a palette-like effect and a dazzling presentation. Don't shy away from prepared foods. High-quality canned goods like artichokes, tuna in oil, and beans can help keep cooking to a minimum.
For a dressing, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a twist of fresh black pepper on your selections. Let the food speak for itself. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread and a glass of red wine. The recipes here will serve 6-8. Buon apetito.

For dinner, too, eggs are a reliable comfort food

They're baaaack! Eggs that is. Denigrated for being high in cholesterol, eggs seem to be regaining their Grade A status. Sunnyside up or down, there is no more throwing away the yolk and making that pale substitute: an egg-white omelet. Diets like Atkins and South Beach tout protein, protein, and more protein.
We all know eggs are a good source of protein, but did you know the yolk is also an excellent source of lutein? Lutein is a caratenoid, often found in plants (carrots and tomatoes), and is famous for helping us maintain healthy eyes.

Scrambled, fried, and poached eggs are old friends at breakfast and brunch. Sometimes they show up for lunch as a salad -- or in a salad -- or at a party, deviled. But dinner?
For those of us who never fell out of love with eggs, there is nothing more comforting than a plate of scrambled eggs, day or night. When you just can't face making another meal, or when the cupboards are almost bare, how about having a backward day? Breakfast for dinner. You can elevate a humble plate of scrambled eggs to dinner fare by adding just a few ingredients.

In my Jewish family when I grew up, there was always a big, fat Hebrew National Kosher salami in the fridge -- and on Sunday mornings, a half-pound of lox wrapped in deli paper for the bagels. When my mother needed a break during the week, my dad would make my brothers and me salami and eggs, or lox, eggs, and onions for dinner. Shaking the pan back and forth over the heat, he loosened the half-cooked mixture and flipped it in the air, delighting us as it fell back in the pan perfectly whole.
Served with deli mustard and seeded rye toast, it was a real treat. It still is.


Eggs with lox and onions
Serves 4


1 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 pound smoked salmon slices
6-8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
Pepper to taste

1. In a large frying pan, melt the butter. Add the diced onions and saute for 5 minutes, until onions begin to get translucent.
2. Cut the lox into thread-like pieces, though not too thin. Add to the onion mixture and fry for about one minute, stirring constantly. The lox will begin to turn pale.
3. Beat eggs in a bowl and add pepper. Pour over lox mixture.
4. Here is where personal preference comes in: You can either toss the eggs about as though you are making scrambled eggs, or let the eggs set over the salmon mixture like a pancake and flip to just set the other side.
4. Serve with rye toast.



Salami and eggs
Serves 4.
Add a salad and you have a complete meal.

8-12 quarter-inch-thick slices of kosher salami, or any salami you like (preferably cut directly from the individual logs). Use as many slices as you need to fit them comfortably in a single layer in a large frying pan
6-8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (optional)
Salt and pepper
Scant tablespoon of oil

1. Beat 6 eggs in a bowl. Sprinkle in a little salt and pepper. To make the eggs fluffier, add the quarter cup of milk (omit the milk if you are kosher).
2. Drizzle oil into a large frying pan and heat for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the salami slices to the pan in concentric circles with the last piece in dead center.
4. Fry the salami for about one minute on each side until brown.
5. Pour the eggs over the salami slices, tilting the pan in circles until all the spaces are filled in with the eggs.
6. Cook the eggs until they begin to set. Run a metal spatula around the edges of the eggs and toward the center, loosening the round.
7. Carefully turn the salami and eggs over. If you don't think you can do it in one piece, cut it into quarters and turn each individually. Cook for an additional minute or two, depending on how firm you like your eggs.
8. Serve with deli mustard and rye toast.

Along with your cod, a side of controversy

The North Atlantic cod is the fish for which Boston is famous, the one after which the Cape is named, the main ingredient in our fish chowder. According to Mark Kurlansky, author of "Cod, a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World" (Penguin), the control of cod also has led to war and prosperity. Long before explorers from Northern Europe came looking for it in the 15th century, it was a dietary staple for Native Americans in this region.

These days, cod is again at the center of a clash, this time between scientists and fishermen; both want to preserve cod stocks, but they cannot agree yet on how to solve the problem. While some cod stocks are coming back, their numbers remain at or near historic lows.

Meanwhile, cod is still in fish markets and at seafood counters and is the all-purpose white fish. It's firm-fleshed and versatile, not "fishy" in flavor or smell, and stands up well to all methods of cooking. Even people who normally don't like fish like cod. Cod liver oil is high in Omega 3 fatty acids and natural Vitamin D, and is touted for its nutritional value. When salted and dried, it is known as salt cod or bacalao and is found in many Mediterranean cuisines. For example, a dish using salted cod is a Christmas tradition in Italy.

Marty Hagerty has been working around fish for a long time. His dad opened Fresh Pond Seafood, the unassuming fish store just off the rotary at Route 16 and Concord Avenue in Cambridge, more than 25 years ago. Weathered gray shingles and a sinking roof might make you think this store is closed, but Hagerty's large signs tell you otherwise.

His hands are red from cutting cold fish. He holds up a whole cod he picked up that morning at the fish auction on the Boston pier, a daily event.
"We cut most of the fish here," he says, as he deftly draws his filet knife along the spine, creating two long filets. He then slips the knife between skin and flesh, and scrapes as he removes the skin and cuts the filet into smaller hunks. The thicker end becomes a "hotel" cut good for baking. The thinner ends are good for broiling and chowder. "I like it with some breadcrumbs, buttered and baked," Hagerty says.

Then there is "scrod." According to Hagerty, any cod from 22 inches to 4 pounds is "scrod cod." Anything weighing 4 to 10 pounds is "market cod," and anything larger than 10 pounds is "large cod."
Max Harvey, seafood manager and buyer for Jasper White's Summer Shack, says "scrod could be haddock, cod, pollack, or hake," adding that "the very best cod is caught with long lines off Cape Cod."

Harvey likes the taste and texture of cod and enjoys roasting the smaller ones whole at home. He stuffs them with herbs and vegetables, or roasts the "loins" wrapped in bacon. Harvey says fresh cod will keep for two or three days, wrapped well and stored in the back of the refrigerator.
"If you want to get picky, put a plastic bag of ice on top of the fish," he instructs.

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

Cod simmered in fresh tomato sauce

1 pound cod, cut into 4 pieces
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
5 or 6 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped (no need to remove skins or seeds)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
red pepper flakes to taste
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and stem removed.

1. Sprinkle the pieces of cod with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. In a medium-size skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and basil, and a little salt and pepper. Saute until onions are soft.
3. Add the garlic, chopped tomatoes, sugar, parsley, and red pepper flakes, if using. Cook about 8 minutes on medium heat until the tomatoes are soft and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.
4. Nestle the pieces of cod into the tomato sauce, spooning sauce over the fish.
5. Cook 8-10 minutes until the fish is white.
6. Place spinach on top of the fish and cover. Cook until spinach has wilted over the cod, about 2 minutes.
7. Serve with slices of French or Italian bread, for soaking up the sauce.

Fish chowder

Like many chowders, this soup tastes even better the next day.
Serves 8.

5 slices bacon, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium onions or 1 large onion, chopped
4 medium potatoes cut into chunks
3-4 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons flour plus 3 tablespoons water
2 pounds thick cod, scrod, haddock fillets, cut into 3- or 4-inch chunks
2 cups light cream or milk (preferably not skim milk)
salt and pepper to taste
diced bacon and fresh parsley for garnish

1. Place bacon in a large pot and cook until almost crisp. You will have rendered about 2-3 tablespoons bacon fat.
2. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve.
3. Add the butter and chopped onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
4. Add enough water to cover the potatoes. Add the bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are just slightly undercooked.
5. Mix the flour and water in a jar and shake until well mixed. Slowly add to the stock and heat until stock begins to thicken, approximately 2 minutes.
6. Place the chunks of fish into the thickened stock and cook for about 8 minutes until the fish turns white.
7. Add the cream or milk and stir carefully so as not to break up the fish. Heat the soup until hot and steaming but do not bring to a boil. Turn off and let sit 15 minutes. Reheat until steam appears.
8. Divide into bowls and sprinkle with chopped parsley, bacon, and a few twists of fresh black pepper. Adapted from "50 Chowders" by Jasper White (Scribner).

Korean scallion pancakes a savory comfort food

Kyong Ok Lim pokes her head out the door of her shop, New York Oriental in Cambridge, and looks up at the darkening sky. She says it's on days like these that Korean families wish for scallion pancakes.
Rain or shine, however, on Saturdays Lim is in the kitchen in the back of the shop making her signature savory pancakes. A steady stream of devoted customers comes through the door welcomed by an enticing aroma and shouts of "Hello" in Korean.

Chung Lee, owner of a convenience store in Brookline, has made his way to Lim's kitchen. He picks at the hot, right-out-of-the-pan pancake cut for him by Lim's husband, Tae Pok, with a pair of long, stainless-steel chopsticks. "Mrs. Lim is the best Korean cook!" he says. "Just like my mother and grandmother. Her food is so natural, healthy, and traditional." Lim smiles shyly while her husband beams at the flood of compliments.

Her pancakes are made with mung beans that have been soaked and pureed, then mixed with rice flour and potato starch. Shredded ribbons of carrot, zucchini, and scallions are tossed into the batter, which is then fried in oil in a nonstick pan. She turns one pancake many times to achieve a crispy texture.
Mung bean pancakes are only one of many types of Korean pancakes. Others are made with one or a combination of flours. Most Korean housewives do not go to this kind of trouble, hence very good pancake mixes are available at the Lims' shop and at other Asian grocers. Add fresh vegetables, seafood, or kim chi (the fiery pickled Chinese cabbage salad) to make a wonderful pancake.

Scallion pancakes generally are served as a family snack. They are also available from street vendors in Korea. Americans have become familiar with scallion pancakes in recent years through the profusion of pan-Asian restaurants, many owned by Koreans. Here, scallion pancakes are a popular appetizer choice. Jackie Jung, co-owner with her husband, Yasu, of the restaurant Sushi Yasu in Waltham, suggests to her customers that this is like Korean pizza. Jung says the oil must be hot and the pancake cooked on medium heat. She serves perfectly cooked, platter-size pancakes, one chock full of seafood and scallions with crunchy edges, the other with vegetables and scallions with a tangy sauce.

These flavorful pancakes can be made easily at home. A dipping sauce with a base of soy sauce, minced scallions, sesame seeds, and sesame oil is a delicious accompaniment. Red pepper flakes, minced garlic, and vinegar can be added to give the sauce a bolder character.

Every Korean woman who came through the Lims' shop this recent day had a slightly different twist on the batter and fillings. All agreed, though, that just about anything goes.

New York Oriental, 355 Fresh Pond Parkway, Cambridge (617-868-9850); Sushi Yasu, 617 Main St., Waltham (781-894-9783).
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.


Recipes

Many recipes for scallion pancakes also include potato starch or rice flour. The addition of these aids in making the pancake crispy. We got good results without the use of either.
We also tested mixes which were very good. The texture is different from scallion pancakes at restaurants

Pa Jon - Home made scallion pancake - makes 2 large or 6 small pancakes

Adapted from The Korean Kitchen - Classic Recipes from the Land of the Morning Calm by Copeland Marks

1 cup flour
1 ¼ cups water
½ teaspoon salt
3-4 scallions, bottom and top quarter trimmed and cut in half and then into thin slices
½ red pepper, cut in thin strips
½ zucchini (skin on), cut into thin strips
2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1. Mix flour, salt and water together to make a thin batter.
2. Add the scallions, red pepper and zucchini to the batter and mix well.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat for about one minute.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan and let heat for about one minute until the oil is hot.
5. If you are making 2 large pancakes, ladle half the batter and vegetables into the hot oil. Distribute the batter and vegetables evenly around the pan. Fry for about three minutes before turning. Flip the pancake over and press the pancake flat with a spatula.
6. Fry for another 2-3 minutes. Flip again and fry an additional minute. Repeat with remaining batter. You can make smaller pancakes if you choose.
7. If you have one large pancake you can cut the pancake into several pieces and serve re-assembled into the pancake.
8. Serve hot with dipping sauce (see below).


Seafood Scallion Pancakes*

1 cup flour
1 cup water
½ teaspoon salt
3 scallions
6 - 8 shrimp, chopped
4 scallops chopped
(¾ cup squid /calamari rings - sautéed before adding to the batter)
(1/2 cup minced clams)
2-4 tablespoons oil

The amount and type of seafood should be used according to your taste. Do not overwhelm the batter with the seafood. You can find bags of frozen mixed seafood which is very convenient for this dish.

1. Mix the flour, salt and water into a batter.
2. Add the shrimp, scallops and scallions to the batter. If you use squid, sauté before adding to batter.
3. Heat skillet for about 2 minutes. Add oil and heat for another minute until hot.
4. If you are making 2 large pancakes, ladle half the batter and into the hot oil. Distribute the batter and vegetables evenly around the pan. Fry for about three minutes before turning. Flip the pancake over and press the pancake flat with a spatula.
5. Fry for another 2-3 minutes. Flip again and fry an additional minute. Repeat with remaining batter. You can make smaller pancakes if you choose.
6. If you have one large pancake you can cut the pancake into several pieces and serve re-assembled into one pancake.


Basic Dipping Sauce

¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
pepper to taste

1. Mix all of the ingredients. Serve in individual small serving bowls.

You can add the following according to taste:
One half scallion minced
1 clove garlic minced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes2 teaspoons vinegar

Zappin’ the Apple

Traditional methods for baking apples take almost an hour, but how about zapping an a apple for a simple dessert or a sweet start to your day with breakfast? A micro-waved apple takes only minutes -- a great impromptu treat during apple season. You can even make an individual serving of fresh warm applesauce - no peeling and no pureeing - right inside the apple. Not all apple varieties are good for baking. Macs are great for munching but have a high water content and practically disappear in the cooking process. Choose a pie-baking apple like Cortland or Granny Smith, which stand up well in the microwave. Zap your apples in individual cups and they will hold their shape. Choose one that will rest nicely in a ramekin or small pyrex glass bowl (about 3 inches in diameter). Top with a spoonful of milk or cream for a lovely old fashioned flavor. The crumb topping is optional.

Zapped Apple

Instructions are for making one apple at a time in the microwave. Increasing the number of apples, increases the cooking time.

Ingredients

4 medium to small baking apples - it is ideal if the apple fits snugly into the dish and sits just above the bottom of the bowl.
4 teaspoons maple syrup
fresh lemon juice

Crumb topping:

1/3 cup rolled old fashion oats
¼ cup flour
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
(sprinkle of nutmeg)

1. Combine oats, flour, sugars and spices.
2. Cut butter into pieces and add to mixture.
3. With the tips of your fingers work the butter into the oat mixture until it combines into small pebbles.
4. Cut the top inch off the apple. Core the apple.
5. Remove some of the flesh of the apple to form small cavity for the filling.
6. Drizzle in one teaspoon of maple syrup and a spritz of lemon juice.
7. Fill the cavity of the apple with a few spoonfuls of the topping and slightly mound the top of the apple with additional filling. Press down lightly.
8. With a sharp knife, make a few slits into the sides of the apple (to release the steam).
9. Take a small glass Pyrex dish (approx. 3 inches in diameter) or ceramic ramekin and add 1 tablespoon water into the bottom.
10. Set the apple into the bowl so it rests above the rim and is not touching the bottom.
11. Place in the microwave and heat for two minutes. Check the apple to see if it is soft enough to scoop out with a spoon. If it needs a little more time, heat for an additional 30 seconds. If you like an applesauce consistency heat for another 20 seconds. These times depend on your microwave.
12. Remove carefully from microwave as dish and apple are very hot. Spoon a little cream or ice cream over the top if desired.

Feeding on the many flavors of Stockholm

STOCKHOLM - Situated in an archipelago of thousands of islands, Stockholm is one of the most beautifully situated capitals in the world. After long winters, its frozen waterways are finally cleared of ice floes, and its tour boats ferry visitors in and out of its many harbors. By late March, it is warm enough to sit outside, and the city's streets and parks are crowded with diners bathed in the lengthening sunlight hours. By June and July, it never gets dark.

The waterways define the neighborhoods. Gamla Stan is the enchanting old town with cobble-stone streets, a royal palace, and low, colorful buildings hundreds of years old. Across the way stands the ''newer city'' where Victorian- and Edwardian-era buildings stand alongside their sleek and modern neighbors we've come to identify with Scandinavian design.

Stockholm may not be an obvious destination for an epicurean, but this sophisticated northern European city should be added to the list. The city's culinary status is on the rise. In addition to traditional Swedish fare, multiethnic restaurants are abundant now. You will find smorgasbords (the original all-you-can-eat buffet) and schnapps aplenty; or go for the homegrown and traditional fare: wonderfully varied herrings, great beer and cheeses, reindeer medallions, and cloudberries (a tart little yellow berry made into sauces and jams).

Swedes speak English nearly as well as we do, so you never have to worry about getting lost. Ask for directions and listen as the answer is punctuated by the intakes of breath characteristic of some Scandinavian languages.

You can walk everywhere in Stockholm, and it is easy to get around by train (Tunnelbana) and bus. But know where you are going and pay attention, for there is little warning as you approach stops, and there are few English announcements.

The large T signs everywhere would make Bostonians feel very much at home. Jump on bus number 46 at the Normalmstorg Plaza and ride with the locals for a 45-minute tour that costs just $2.50.

Sure, seek out the classic glassware of Georg Jensen, but don't miss poking around Stockholm's food markets for the perfect pickled herring. The Ostermalmshallen, located in the Ostermalm district off the Sture Plan (plaza), is Stockholm's premier gourmet food hall and market. Built in 1888, it's in an imposing brick building and has always been a gastro-hub. Its vaulted ceiling is braced by a cast-iron erector-set-like cage reminiscent of European train stations of the same era. At the main entrance, you are greeted by the mounted head of a large reindeer, smiling down on the deli stall selling his body parts.

Blue and yellow Swedish flags decorate the center aisle. Stalls throughout specialize in cheese, caviar, produce, cured meats, prepared foods, vinegared salads, and baked goods, while fishmongers dot the perimeter of the market.

The cold waters of the Baltic Sea yield an incredible bounty. Herring, flounder, mussels, giant prawns, baby shrimp, salmon, pike, and sardines all cool on enormous beds of ice. Many of the fish markets also have restaurants, so you have an opportunity to taste what you see. Smoked, marinated, and fried herring with beer is a typical lunch. At the Melanders' Fisk stall, a big barrel-chested man slices Gravad lax (marinated raw salmon) in perfect sheets while chatting up customers at the takeout counter.

At lunchtime, the joint is jumping. Lisa Elmqvist is also a fish market with a great restaurant attached. If the line for the restaurant is long, try the more informal and communal bar. The menu in English may not reflect all the handwritten choices on the overhead blackboard. One sure way to get something interesting is to order what the Swedes around you are eating. A plate with a layer of bread piled high with a small mountain of baby shrimp and a tall cold beer is a winner. Baskets of bread, crackers, and an especially pure and creamy butter are shared with your fellow diners.

At the Lisbeth Janson stall, homey displays of herbs, fruits, and vegetables share space with jars of native lingonberry and cloudberry jams, mustards, and pickles. They make a lovely gift of local color. Taina and Sven Pettersen bought the shop several months ago, and the friendly couple speak reverently of the original owner and their desire to maintain her products' high quality.

Another market with a decidedly different flavor is the outdoor Hotorget (the old haymarket) located on the Kungsgatan, one of Stockholm's main shopping streets.

This marketplace has been around since the 17th century. The flagging market was revived when Sweden opened its doors to immigration in the 1970s. Greeks, Turks, Iraqis, Lebanese, and Italians opened restaurants and took over many of the stalls by catering first to the culinary tastes of their countrymen, eventually attracting back Stockholmers.

The large open market sprawls at the steps of the Konserthuset, an imposing recital hall where pigeons and people perch for a rest, a smoke, or a snack. The towering sculpture and fountain of Orpheus by Swedish sculptor Carle Milles is a dramatic anchor at its base.

Shouts of ''Hey, Hey, Willkommen'' (Hello! Hello! Welcome!) come at you from everywhere. Huge tables of fruit and vegetables make a colorful and edible quilt of fresh produce. ''Try my sweet grapes,'' a vendor appeals aggressively.

Older couples stroll arm in arm leisurely through the crowded aisles buying ingredients for their evening meal. Middle-aged women pinch, poke, and smell before they buy. Without knowing the language, you can still tell there is a lot of negotiating taking place.

The flower stalls are ringed with blasts of color and seasonal decorations. At Easter time, there are clouds of dyed, airy feathers tied to branches just beginning to bud.

There is also an indoor component to the Hotorget at the far end of the plaza where the atmosphere is slightly chaotic. Butcher shops, delis, and little markets stand chockablock along the walls. One glass case is stacked with ducks and other game birds, feathers and all. There are also fast-food restaurants and a state liquor shop. People shop with a purpose here.

Tooling around a local supermarket gives you an idea of what the Swedes consume day to day. There are aisles devoted only to crackers, which come in every shape and size in beautiful paper wrappings. Refrigerator cases are stacked with tubes of intriguing caviar spreads adorned with the faces of happy children. A box of unusual cumin rye crackers and a tube of salted fish roe make a unique and inexpensive gift.

Of course, there is more than food shopping in Stockholm. From large department stores to boutiques, shopping is an aesthetic experience. World-renowned ''Swedish design'' is everywhere evident in appealing displays of products and store appointments.

You may not be in the market for an undulating yellow plastic couch, but a visit to the Nordiska Galleriet will show you the latest in furniture and housewares design. Like a modern art museum but free, the showroom welcomes browsers. You might wind up wishing to replace every piece of furniture and flatware in your home.

For high-quality handmade products, try the shops run by the Svensk Hemslojd, Swedish Handcraft Association. Wooden and hand-wrought iron pieces, woven fabrics, clothing, intricately patterned knitted sweaters, and ornaments - there's something in everyone's price range.

Although Marimekko is a Finnish product, it has a beautiful shop off Normalmstorg. From fabrics to dresses and placemats, one is surrounded by happy colors, nostalgia, and high quality.

If you are game for a 30-minute train ride, the Skarholmens Flea Market is on the outskirts of the city. There you see a different side of Stockholm. The indoor market goes on forever, containing mostly knickknacks, old books, clothing, household items, secondhand electrical appliances, etc. Several antiques stalls have wooden furniture, dishes, and porcelains. While most of this is ubiquitous flea market fare, the atmosphere is interesting. Many of the stalls are owned by immigrants.

All of these offerings show that in between your visits to the museums and monuments, it's more than worthwhile to mingle in the markets and absorb the many flavors of Stockholm.

Debra Samuels is a freelance writer who lives in Lexington.

IF YOU GO ...

How to get there

Lowest round-trip airfare between Boston and Stockholm available at press time started at $945 on United Airlines, connecting through Chicago. From Arlanda Airport, a taxi is the quickest and most expensive (about $50) transportation to the city. Check before getting in the cab, because most companies have a fixed rate. There also are buses, Flygbussarna (45 minutes), and a train, Arlanda Express (20 minutes).

Where to stay

Birger Jarl Hotel
Tulegaten, 8
104 32 Stockholm
011-46-8-674-1800
http://www.birgerjarl.se/

Small 1970s hotel recently updated. All amenities (including free Internet access in the lobby). Quiet but convenient location, 20-minute walk to downtown.

Wonderful breakfast buffet includes smoked fish, cheeses, salads, hot food. Doubles from $256. Summer rates from $128.

Lady Hamilton Hotel
Storkyrkobrinken 5
S-111 28 Stockholm
011-46-8-506-401-00
http://www.lady-hamilton.se/

Located in the Old Town; built in 1470, the hotel has a townhouse feel, full of antiques, charming small rooms, and Swedish breakfast buffet included. Doubles from $307. Summer and weekend rates from $217.

First Hotel Reisen
Skeppsbron 12
SE-111 30 Stockholm
011-46-8-22-32-60
http://www.firsthotels.com/

Small luxury hotel with cozy atmosphere located on the water, with beautiful views. Also built in the 18th century. Fantastic sauna and pool built into a vault below the hotel. Doubles from $179, summer rates. Deluxe rooms and suites come with breakfast buffet.

Where to eat

Backfikan Cafe
Jacobs Torg 10
SE-11186 Stockholm
The Opera House
Karl XII:s torg
Stockholm
011-46-8-676-5800
http://www.operakallaren.se/

One of three Operakallaren restaurants. ''The Hip Pocket'' is small, with posters of opera stars in their roles lining the wall. Counter-style but elegant. Great beer choices, delicious home-style fresh food, generous portions. From $14.

Lisa Elmqvist
Ostermalmshallen (see address below)
Fish and seafood; bar menu on blackboard. Counter service and restaurant seating. From $12.

Fem Sma Hus
Gamla Stan
Nygrand 10
011-46-8-10-87-75

This cozy cellar restaurant is located in the Gamla Stan - Old Town. Updated, sophisticated Swedish cuisine. $38-$50.

Cafe Tranan
Karlsbergvagen 14
Odenplan Station
Traditional Swedish home cooking. Under $35.

Stadhuskallern
City Hall (see address below)
011-46-8-506-322-00
www.profilrestauranger.se

Elegant dining room. Visitors can call several weeks in advance and get a replica of the dinner of their favorite Nobel laureate or enjoy the regular menu.

Where to shop

High-quality traditional Swedish crafts:

Svensk Hemslojd
Sveagagen 44
Subway: Olof Palmes Gata
011-46-8-23-21-15

Svensk Slojd
Nybrogatan 23
011-46-8-663-66-50
Swedish crafts with a modern twist.

Nordiska Galleriet
Nybrogatan 11
Stockholm
011-46-8-442-83-60
www.nordiskagalleriet.se
Furniture, in style.

Lisbeth Janson
Ostermalmshallen
Stall number 49-52
Food gifts.

What to see

A good website on Stockholm: www.stockholmtown.com

Ostermalmshallen
Gourmet food hall and market
Humlegardsgatan 1-3
Subway: Ostermalmstorg
Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9:30 to 4 Saturday; 9:30 to 2 Saturdays in summer.

Hotorget
Kungsgatan
Subway: Hotorget
Outdoor food and flower market, some clothing and accessories. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m, Monday-Friday.; 7:30 to 4 Saturday; 10 to 5 Sunday.

Gamla Stan - Old Town
Royal Palace area
Winding cobble streets, plenty of little souvenir shops, and charming bars and restaurants. The Royal Palace is a must-see.

Vasamuseet
Galvarvet
Bus 44, 47
011-46-8-51-95-48-00
www.vasamuseet.se
Original Viking ship raised from Stockholm harbor. Great if you are with children. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, Wednesdays until 8; through Aug. 20: 9:30-7 daily.

Stadshuset (City Hall)
Hantverkargatan
Subway: Radhuset
Guided tours only. Check for times. Site of Nobel banquets, magnificently situated, gorgeous rooms, cafe, and restaurant.

Beauty secrets? Check the fridge -- Make skin cream and a snack, too

Sometimes it's OK to have egg on your face - or banana or yogurt or apricot or avocado. Just call it a food facial.

Facials at salons can be expensive, great for a birthday present for a friend, maybe, or a splurge for yourself. Instead, consider shopping for your salad and your beauty at the same time; think of it as an investment in good nutrition for both inside and outside your body.

Drugstore and department store shelves are lined with products like oatmeal face scrub, apricot facial mask, orange and grapefruit-infused cleansers, cucumber-like slices for your eyes, relaxing milk and mustard baths. Things we normally eat are in products sold to rub into our skin. But why?

Tammi Baxter, a licensed esthetician and spa director at Le Pli in Harvard Square, says avocados are rich in fat and oil, and therefore are good for dry skin. They also contain vitamins A and E, often used in lotions and skin products. Oatmeal softens skin and apricots are rich in Vitamin A. Acids, present in strawberries, lemons, and grapes, help cleanse the skin and soften it.

Dairy products contain lactic acids that also help soften skin and eliminate dead cells, called exfoliating. Apple slices, tea bags, and chilled cucumbers soothe tired and swollen eyes. The coldness of the cukes and the tannins in the tea bags and apples slices help reduce swelling. Cucumbers are also a good astringent that helps close pores.

Then there is the chocolate body treatment fad. Chocolate is one of the identifiable villains in the Battle of the Bulge, but Baxter says anti-oxidants in chocolate and caffeine in coffee help the anti-aging battle when applied to your skin. Le Pli doesn't offer a chocolate bath yet, but Baxter offers a yogurt and yeast body treatment.


''It's cool and soothing, and the lactic acid in the yogurt makes your skin very soft,'' she says. As good as home remedies sound, however, Baxter makes the case for a professional facial when you can afford it.

''It's like going to the dentist for teeth cleaning,'' she says. ''They do a more thorough job.'' Between visits, keeping your skin clean and moisturized should be a priority. She suggests weekly masks and daily cleansing, toning, and moisturizing, adding that sunscreen is a must even on cloudy days when damaging ultraviolet rays still get through.

Adrienne McCann of Portland, Maine, a licensed cosmetologist, says a sweet way to get rid of dead skin on chapped lips is to rub sugar over them, which acts as an exfoliant. Kristen Lopez, a licensed cosmetologist at Image Creators Salon in Lexington, suggests making a paste of yogurt and sugar and using it on your face once a week for the same purpose.

It's not only your face that can benefit from raiding the kitchen. Many of us with ''dirty blonde'' hair remember going to the beach with lemons and squeezing on the juice for blonde highlights. Brunettes say they were doing rinses with rosemary. McCann has another tip for giving your hair some bright highlights: ''While you are working on your tan, put cranberry juice in a spray bottle and wet your hair.''

Rubbing food all over your face feels weird at first. The mash is mushy and tends to drip. When the drips drop, flick your tongue and lick. Seriously - why waste it?

I smoothed several concoctions over my face - one made with avocado, one with banana, and one with apricot - taking care to swirl and cover every surface, just like icing a cake. The nose was a bit tough, so I ''painted'' it with a pastry brush. With cucumber slices on my eyes, I lay back for the 20 minutes of forced relaxation. Soon I could hear the birds and smell the light fragrance of apricots. It's aromatherapy, too. Fortunately, the doorbell did not ring. When the time was up (too soon), I stood over the sink and wiped away the mask with a damp washcloth. My skin felt wonderful and smooth, and a friend said my skin was glowing. Mind over matter?

Having some leftover mashed avocado in the fridge, I added chopped tomatoes and made guacamole. I folded whipped cream and some gelatin into the apricot and skim milk powder mix, and had mousse for dessert. Alas, there were no infants around to slurp the bananas and oatmeal cereal, but if there had been they surely would have loved it.

It's a mixture of folklore and science for sure, but what a delicious way to pamper yourself. (One thing to remember, of course: If you have sensitive skin or food allergies, check with a dermatologist first. )

Here are a few more tips from Baxter:

Whip egg whites into soft peaks and paint your face. Let it sit and dry for about 15 minutes for an instant, if short-lived, face lift.

Sea salt, sugar, and grape seed oil make a good exfoliant for your body.

Recipes

Avocado mask

1/2 avocado, peeled, pit removed
1. Mash the avocado until smooth. Apply to entire face. Let set for 20 minutes.
2. Gently wipe off with damp wash cloth.

Apricot face mask

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, soaked in water until softened
1 to 2tablespoons skim
milk powder
1. Puree softened apricots and powdered milk in food processor until well blended.
2. Apply to face and let sit for 15 minutes. Gently wipe off with damp wash cloth.
Adapted from Rachel Paxton at www.gottabemegirl.com/facial

Banana oatmeal mask

1/2 banana
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoons oatmeal
1. Mash half a banana with honey and sour cream.
2. Add oatmeal one tablespoon at a time until you have a soft paste.
3. Apply to face and let set for 10 minutes. Gently wipe off with damp wash cloth.

Load up your plate with regional Italian delicacies at a 'sagra'

MAGLIANO, Italy - There you are, dining al fresco on a warm summer's eve in the Italian countryside. Plates of the ''gastronomia tipica'' (local dish) are splayed out before you, and a pitcher of hearty wine is being passed your way. You are engulfed in a lively, informal atmosphere. The flow of food and conversation is constant. Friends and family greet one another with kisses on both cheeks and refrains of ''Ciao, Ciao.'' The aroma of grilled meats fills the air. And you know the bill will be incredibly inexpensive.

This is an Italian ''sagra, '' one of the traditional regional food festivals that take place in villages all over Italy, especially in the summer. You will find no better way to experience local Italian cuisine short of
having your own ''nonna'' (grandmother) in the kitchen.

Sagras are sponsored by community groups, parishes, town governments, or political parties, and all proceeds go to a local project, such as fixing the library or resurfacing the soccer field. These festivals can last from three days to a month, depending on the village. There is no need for reservations or dressing up if you want to go sagra hopping, but bring a car and a sense of adventure.

A sagra is like a giant block party or church supper. All the cooking is done by adults who volunteer, the wait staff is made up of enthusiastic local youths, and the food and wine comes from the town's butchers, bakers, farmers, and vintners. The long tables are covered with paper, the dinnerware is plastic, and grills and rotisseries are usually working at capacity to churn out aromatic rosemary-flavored roast chickens, mouthwatering sausages, and cuts of pork or beef.

But that is just the half of it. Sagras are meant to highlight a local delicacy: ''aquacotta'' (bread soup), ''baccala'' (salted cod), polenta, ''cinghiale'' (wild boar), ''fagioli'' (beans), or ''funghi'' (mushrooms); there is even one that showcases ''rane'' (frogs).

Then there are all the options for pastas and side dishes. After you review a posted menu, the townies write down your choices and take your euros (cash only). An Italian food dictionary and a paper and pencil are helpful, but there are bound to be plenty of folks there who speak some English. In any case,
this is Italy, so you can't go wrong with your selections, and at these prices (main dishes are usually $4-$7), you wouldn't care much if you did.

With a few exceptions, the sagras are held outdoors, at a town soccer field or just off the main piazza. Large extended families fill tables. Children are urged to eat, and teenagers check out other teenagers. Some sagras provide entertainment with local talent or carnival rides. When the children are finished, they play nearby. The adults are left to polish off another pitcher of wine and watch the night sky begin to sparkle.

Signs announcing the dates and featured foods of the sagras dot roadways and are posted on stone walls in and around towns. Even if you cannot read Italian, it is easy to muddle through a local paper's list of events.

Last August, we stayed in a house in the tiny town of Magliano, about two hours north of Rome in the southwest region of Tuscany known as the Maremma. The Maremma has it all but without the crowds: Etruscan ruins, the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, and dramatic hilltop towns inland. Tourists here are mainly Italians and other Europeans.

Magliano holds a monthlong sagra just off the main square under a tent that highlights the local aquacotta. Walk through the one main street of this medieval town and pass a sprinkling of shops. Wander through the piazza, bordered by the church. By the time you reach the end of the street, the smells of roasting meats and the magnetic sound of laughter draw you to the tent. Here is the ''Sagra dell' Aquacotta.''

It always takes Americans awhile to adjust to the Italian dining schedule: We would arrive at the tent at 7 p.m., which is way too early, when not even 5-year-olds would eat (Italians generally start eating after 8).
After perusing the menu, we take a seat at a table, where a patient elderly man takes our order: Bread soup, ''salsicce'' (sausages), half a roasted chicken, marinated white beans, and a pitcher of local sangiovese red wine. At under $20, a feast for a pittance.

A handsome boy of 12, tanned and earnest, showed up moments after we were seated, his eyes fixed on the glasses, wine, and bread balanced on the tray he was carrying. ''Prego,'' he said, with the pride of a youngster at his first job.

Aquacotta was once a poor man's soup, but now has star billing. This wonderful soup has hunks of bread soaking in a delicious broth with carrots and celery and the sunny burst of an egg cooked from the heat of the soup. As we were leaving, the tent was filling with the buzz of a happy, hungry crowd. We would return again and again during our three-week stay in Magliano.

Once we figured out the rhythms of the town, we were able to stay up late and join the ''passeggiata'' (evening stroll). We enjoyed gelato in the main square and watched girls with hula hoops and boys chase one another with the unfettered joy of a summer evening and no set bedtime. With the clock approaching
11 p.m., it was way past ours.

We explored the towns nearby: San Andrea, Montiano, Capalbio, and Scansano, each with a sagra of its own. We would see a sign by day and return that evening. Or we would just set out at around 6 p.m. with no set plan, certain that somewhere in those hills or near the sea would be a sagra.

And by heading toward bright lights in the distance - indicating something was happening on a playing field - we were never disappointed. Once we located a sagra, if it was too early, we would explore the surrounding area and return at a more fashionable hour - like one minute after it opened. That is how we discovered the Montiano sagra and its delicious polenta with mushroom sauce.

In Scansano, perched dramatically on a hillside, the sagra was in the basement of an ancient building, featuring ''zuppa di funghi'' (mushroom soup). We sat next to a toothless old man who told stories of World War II and offered us glasses of Morellino di Scansano, the pride of the area. His wife insisted we finish the bread they left. The experience couldn't have been more memorable had we eaten at a three-star restaurant.

On another evening in the beach town of Albinia, with six people in tow, we ate heartily for under $70, including two bottles of wine. But beware the biting bugs of the Maremma lowlands: The mosquitoes ate as well as we did, and strangers were spritzing one another from a lone bottle of bug spray.

Afterward, we crossed the street to an outdoor flea market with live music. That same night, driving back toward Magliano, we happened upon a traveling Dutch one-ring circus, and $5 each bought us two hours of hilarity.

Going to a sagra, we discovered, is more than having a meal. It is a date with serendipity.

Debra Samuels is a freelance writer who lives in Lexington.

IF YOU GO ...

How to get there
This is an expensive time to go to Europe: Lowest upcoming round-trip fares between Boston and Rome available at press time started at $850 on Air France, connecting through Paris. From Rome, the Maremma is about 60 miles north. Take the Auto Strada north toward Grosseto and Livorno. At the end, in Civitavecchia, after about 30 miles, take SS 1 Via Aurelia toward Grosseto for about another 30 miles to the Maremma. The following towns are all off SS 1. A good map of the province of Grosseto is recommended. For a rental car, try Europcar (www.europcar.com), where a weeklong rental in August from Rome's Fiumicino Airport recently listed for about $58 a day.

What to do
Check the local tourist board for sagras. If you are staying at a hotel or pension, ask the concierge about local sagras.

Albinia
Seaside town. Aug. 25-30: Festa di Fine Estate (end of summer sagra) with typical Maremma food. July and August: musical evenings on the square. Aug. 18-19: arts and crafts exhibition and market.

Orbetello
Large town with region's main train station. It is also the gateway to Monte Argentario, with wonderful seaports and restaurants. From Orbetello you can get a ferry to Isola del Giglio, a beautiful park and nature preserve. July 17-21: La Maremma a tavola (Maremma's table), sagra with typical local wines and food. Aug. 13-17: Antiques, arts and crafts exhibit.

Magliano in Toscana
Aug. 1-25: Sagra dell' acquacotta (bread soup). Aug. 22-25: ''Vinellando,'' tasting of local Morellino di Scansano.

San Andrea
August (dates to be determined): Sagra del baccala (salt cod).

Montiano
August (dates to be determined): Sagra del caciucco (fish soup).

Sorano
Aug. 9-17: Sagra del prosciutto. During the same period, the town hosts an antiques and crafts market.

Capalbio
Sept. 10-14: Sagra del cinghiale (wild boar).

The open-faced sandwich: a savory slice of Danish culture

Somewhere between the canape and the sandwich lies smorrebrod, an icon of Danish cuisine. Literally ''bread and butter,'' the smorrebrod is crowned with all manner of fish, meats, cheese, vegetables, spreads, and edible garnishes.

Open-faced sandwiches are popular all over Scandinavia, but the Danes have taken them to high art.
Where the canape is eaten in one bite and a regular sandwich is hearty enough to be a meal, the smorrebrod is always eaten with a fork and knife, and is somewhere in between. Each has just a single slice of bread, and several constitute lunch.

Danes choose from three to five different kinds of smorrebrod along with a beer. A Danish friend says if you don't have to go back to work, it is customary to also have a glass of ''snaps.'' This Scandinavian akvavit, a potent spirit (40 to 45 proof), is made from fermented potato or grain mash.
Kirsten Larsen, known as the ''Dame of Sandwich,'' immigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1959, eventually settling in Minnesota. ''Only One Slice, Danish Sandwiches, Smorrebrod,'' her cookbook, is now in its eighth printing.

Larsen explains that some Danish food, such as herring and smoked eel, can be heavy and oily; the snaps helps absorb that oil. ''It is also an opportunity to look your friends in the eye and say `skal,''' she adds.
Some time after she came here, Larsen attended a Danish Day Celebration where smorrebrod were being served. ''They don't look Danish anymore,'' she thought. ''Like foods from other cultures that assimilate into American society, this one had changed, and from that moment I decided to make an effort to teach how to make the traditional smorrebrod,'' she said.

Today, Larsen teaches Danish sandwich making and gives demonstrations at Scandinavian festivals all over the Midwest. She says that smorrebrod are served in a particular order: First come the fish, then the meats, and finally sandwiches made with cheese. The smorrebrod come both hot and cold.

To construct a sandwich, Larsen says, start with a thin slice of good, dense rye or dark bread (use German-style breads). You can also use sourdough or French baguettes.

Butter the bread - this seals the slices and prevents them from getting soggy later. Then place lettuces (Boston or leaf lettuce work well) directly on the buttered surface. The next layer is the featured element - shrimp, egg, or liver, for instance. Finally, add a garnish such as olives or anchovies and a sauce (the creamy, mayonnaise-based remoulade is popular) to enhance flavors.

A favorite sandwich among Danish children is the ''Hans Christian Andersen,'' made with liver paste (yes, kids in Denmark love liver), bacon, tomato, jellied aspic, and horseradish. That sandwich would be a tough sell here. Larsen's personal favorite is gravlax (sugar and salt-cured salmon) on rye with a dill mustard sauce.

A smorrebrod buffet is a good way to entertain on a hot summer night. Position yourself in front of a fan and begin layering. Make three per person (plus extras of smoked salmon or sliced pork or lamb) and arrange them on trays. Just add small glasses of akvavit or lots of cold beer.

''Only One Slice, Danish Sandwiches, Smorrebrod,'' by Kirsten Larsen, and ''Aebleskiver and More: A Sampling of Danish Recipes,'' by Lisa Steen Riggs, which has a good sandwich section, are available from the Danish Windmill (call 800-451-7960 or go to www.danishwindmill.com).

This story ran on page E3 of the Boston Globe on 7/9/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

Basics of a Smorrebrod Buffet

Pumpernickel bread
Sourdough or French baguette
Rye and multigrain bread
Danish havarti and Danish blue cheese
Thin slices of rare roast beef
Thin slices of roast pork or lamb
Hard-cooked and scrambled eggs
Cooked baby shrimp
Herring(creamed,smoked, marinated or in a salad)
Smoked salmon
Smoked trout
Liver pate
Cucumber slices
Radish slices(keep in ice water until ready to use)
Baby whloe pickles such as French cornichons
Lemon triangles(thinly sliced from a whole lemon)
Finely chopped red onion
Sliced cherry tomatoes
Red grapes
Black olives
Sprigs of parsley
Dill
Boston or leaf lettuce
Chopped chives
Lumpfish red or black caviar
Remoulade sauce(see recipe)
Unsalted butter
Dijon mustard
Bottled horseradish sauce
Mayonnaise

Combinations

Smoked Salmon with sour cream and caviar
Roast beef with remoulade sauce, cornichon pickle and olive
Pickled herring with lemon
Red potatoes and egg with anchovies
Havarti cheese with butter, sliced cucumbers, and chopped chives
Roast pork or lamb with tomatoes and remoulade sauce
SLiced hard-cooked eggs with anchovies
Baby shrimp on Boston lettuce with lemon triangles
Liver pate with lettuce and horseradish sauce
Red potatoes and chopped red onion with remoulade sauce and chopped chives
Smoked trout with scrambled egg and chopped chives
Danish blue cheese with grapes

DANISH RECIPE

Cucumber salad
Compiled By Globe Staff, 7/9/2003

3 cucumbers, peeled, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Black pepper, to taste

1. In a bowl, layer the cucumbers, onion, and salt. Set them aside for 15 minutes.
2. In another bowl, combine the sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, and pepper.
3. Rinse the cucumbers and onion and shake them to remove the excess liquid, pressing the mixture with your hand.
4. In a serving bowl, combine onions, cucumbers, and sour cream mixture. Stir, cover, and chill for 1 hour before serving.
Adapted from ''Aebleskiver and More''
This story ran on page E3 of the Boston Globe on 7/9/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.


DANISH RECIPE
Remoulade sauce
Compiled By Globe Staff, 7/9/2003

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped capers
2 tablespoon chopped parsley or chives

1. In a bowl stir the mayonnaise until it is smooth.
2. Add relish, mustard, capers, and parsley or chives. Stir well, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours so the flavors mellow.
3. Use as a spread in place of butter or use a dollop to garnish sandwiches.
Adapted from ''Just One Slice''

Time to step out of the box and make your own crispy crackersThey won't steal limelight from spreads

Munching away happily on a variety of crackers gathered in a basket, a friend was incredulous when informed they were all homemade. ''Get outta town!'' she exclaimed. ''These are awesome!''

If you can make cookies, why not crackers?

According to Merriam Webster, a cracker is ''a dried, thin, crispy baked bread product that may be leavened or unleavened.'' Easier to make than cookies or bread - and with far fewer ingredients - crackers are simple to put together and a snap if you have a food processor. The dough is like a well-behaved pie crust that is easy to handle. You can roll the dough directly on a floured baking sheet. That light-brown color and the crunch comes from baking at high temperatures for short periods of time.

Like the child who should be seen but not heard, we expect so much of crackers. They should hold moist spreads without getting soggy, stand up to cheeses without over-powering them, provide a backdrop that is both attractive and has texture. They should be the perfect partner, but never the star.

Often, crackers share the limelight in the cookie aisle of the supermarket. Many crackers that are popular with Americans are salty, fat-laden, contain some form of sugar, and often are flavor-enhanced. No wonder they are placed next to cookies.

However, crackers made with whole grains, little if any fat, and no preservatives are gaining in popularity. An excellent source of fiber and low in calories, many of these brands, including Wasa, Kavli, and Ryvita, are from Europe. They have body, taste, and texture and are a great size for holding a slice of cheese or a smear of peanut butter. They are also a dieter's delight at about 25-30 calories per significant slice.

Supermarket shelves reflect the culinary passions of the host population. Like aisles of pasta in Italy or rice in Japan, aisles in a Scandanavian country are filled with knackebrod, or crisp breads. The packages are works of art. Twelve-inch wheels of rye crackers stacked five deep are wrapped in paper with beautiful folk art. Stacks of rectangular packages with whole wheat, rye, graham, and oat flours are but a few of the staggering number of combinations available. Used for lunch and snacks, these crackers need to stand up to a host of strong flavors like smoked and vinegared herrings, codfish roe and liver pastes, and pungent cheeses. And they do. They share equal billing with these toppings.

Knackebrod, also known as hardtack, comes in a variety of shapes. The large, circular, dimpled rounds with holes in the center were originally made by Swedish farm wives only a few times a year. They never worried that these hard, air-dried crackers would get stale. The knackebrod was hung from poles or broomstick handles in the home. The family shared a round by breaking it up and serving it with butter. These hardtacks also were a staple for sailors on long sea journeys.

The dimples were created by using a special tool with multiple tines in a circular pattern. The dough was pricked all over. Carl Hansen of Bedford has the wooden tool his grandmother, Johanna Hoyer, brought with her when she left her parents' farm in Sweden to become a house maid in South Dakota in the late 1800s. With 16 hobnails densely set into a thick wooden circular platform with a handle, it is the perfect tool for the job.

When asked what the tool was called, Signe Hansen, Carl's wife, joked, ''a knacke-pricker of course!'' The tines of a fork will also work but is not nearly as much fun to use or say.

You do have to look hard for recipes for homemade crackers, but they are around. Some recipes use only flour, salt, and water. Other will have yeast or butter.

Experimenting with various flours produced a variety of results. In making the Swedish knackebrod, all rye flour was used. The dough was soft and set to rise once, producing a dense, crispy, flavorful cracker. A large pie plate served as a pattern for the circle and a shot glass made the hole in the center. The knacke-pricker made short work of piercing the dough. At another try, the tines of the fork performed admirably.

A shortbread-like rye and white flour cracker, as well as a cheddar sesame cracker, were some of the simplest doughs I have ever made. The process took less than 15 minutes and the crackers were rich and delicious. They are perfect on their own, and just great with a glass of red wine. A cracker with a white flour base and a minimal amount of butter was made special by concocting a multi-seed topping I rolled into the dough.

To make the crackers a little fancier, you can pre-cut them with a ruffle-edge pastry wheel. Some well-placed tine punctures and a watchful eye on the oven will produce some special results. It will be an ''I can't believe I made these'' moment.

Recipes

Rye crackers with cumin seeds
This is a rich buttery cracker with the surprise complement of cumin seeds.

Yields about four dozen.

1 cup rye flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons whole cumin seed
1 egg white, beaten for the glaze

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flours and salt. Pulse for a few seconds.
2. Add the cut-up butter and pulse several times until the mixture is pebbly.
3. With the machine running, add the milk through the feed tube. Mix until dough forms a ball.
4. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Add a little white flour and knead into a ball. Dough should not stick to your hands. Flatten and wrap with foil. Refrigerate for several hours.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
6. Remove dough to a buttered baking sheet (with no sides is best) and flatten with the palm of your hand into a circle.
7. Sprinkle flour over the dough and roll into a rectangle to about 1/4 inch.
8. Sprinkle cumin seeds evenly over the surface of the dough. Press the seeds into the dough by lightly drawing the rolling pin over the surface.
9. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork. With a pizza wheel or pastry wheel, make 4-5 vertical cuts and 7 or 8 horizontal cuts.
10. Brush dough with egg white.
11. Bake crackers about 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned.
12. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store in airtight container.

Adapted from ''The Way We Cook'' by Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven

Multiseeded crackers

Yields about 20.

1 cup all-purpose white flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and butter.
2. Pulse for 30 seconds until mixture looks pebbly.
3. With motor running, pour the water through the feed tube, just until the mixture forms a ball. Add more water by tablespoonful if necessary.
4. Flour the top of a surface and roll dough into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick.
5. Sprinkle seed mixture on top of dough and, with rolling pin, roll the mixture lightly into the dough.
6. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with oil. Sprinkle on flour.
7. With a spatula, slide rectangle onto baking sheet.
8. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, and light pressure, make about four vertical cuts and five horizontal cuts, giving you about 20 crackers.
9. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crackers begin to brown.
1 0. As crackers bake, they will separate. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Store in airtight container.

Note: Try substituting 1/2 cup of whole-wheat flour or add 1/4 cup wheat germ.

Seed mixture
This makes more than needed for recipe. Keep in airtight jar and use on breads.

2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon onion flakes
1 tablespoon caraway seeds


1. Mix together in a bowl. Store in airtight jar.

Adapted from ''How to Cook Everything'' by Mark Bittman

Cheddar sesame crackers

Yields at least three dozen.

3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
2. In bowl of food processor, place flour, pepper, and butter. Pulse until mixture resembles pebbles.
3. Add grated cheese and Worcestershire sauce. Pulse until dough forms a ball.
4. Remove and flatten slightly. Wrap in foil and chill for 1 hour.
5. On a well-floured board, roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. With a shot glass, cut out cheddar rounds and place on cookie sheet.
6. Sprinkle sesame seeds on each cracker and lightly press into dough with fingertip.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.

Note: You can also pull off pieces of dough and roll snake-like between the palm of your hands. Roll in sesame seeds or multi-seed mix. Store in airtight container.

Adapted from ''The Joy of Cooking''

A pumped-up energy-drink industry flexes its muscles

''Party like a rock star.'' ''For energy that lasts.'' ''Xapp your mind, Xapp your muscles.'' ''Vitalizes body and mind.'' Amp, Monster, Adrenaline Rush, Red Bull, XAPP: Are we talking about heavy metal bands here?

No, these are the latest entries in the exploding energy-drink market, replete with fan clubs. What their devotees are cheering about are the caffeinated sodas with added vitamins, caffeine, herb extracts, supplements, and a large dose of hype.

No matter that they have a chemical sweetness and an aftertaste. Red Bull tastes like liquid bubble gum; Xapp, a ''protein energy drink'' whose second ingredient is whey protein powder (which is hard to disguise), is barely palatable. Popular among teenagers and ''20-somethings,'' these citrusy and lightly carbonated drinks are sometimes consumed before a workout, but also before tests, at parties, and even in bars (sometimes mixed with alcohol).

These companies know their target audience. A call to the company that produces Monster Energy Drink to ask about the ingredient listed as ''energy blend'' was met with this message: ''Hey Dudes, we're down in the lab mixing up the wicked brew. Leave your name and number and we'll call back. Party on!'' For the record, we called twice and they didn't call back.

A lot goes into this legal quick-fix. Besides caffeine, other ingredients include guarana extract, a natural caffeine-like stimulant derived from a Brazilian plant; taurine, an amino acid that aids the body in times of stress; and B vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine, and pantothenic acid, which are also found in fruit and help produce energy.

But is the ''buzz'' about the power drinks really due to these added stimulants?

Joyce Dendy of Watertown, a dietitian and certified personal trainer, believes the value of these ingredients has not been proven scientifically. She wonders aloud if the drinks' success is more a matter of ''the placebo effect'' and marketing. Simply put, is it mind over matter?

Red Bull was distributed to a team of 12-year-old boys during halftime at a soccer game recently. Someone must have read the package about increased endurance and improved performance. With 80 milligrams of caffeine in an 8-ounce serving, Bull has less caffeine than an 8-ounce cup of coffee(135-250 milligrams, depending on the brand) but more than twice as much as colas, which contain about 45 milligrams of caffeine in 12 ounces. Caffeine is a diuretic that can contribute to dehydration, clearly not desirable during a sporting event.

When water went out of fashion in the mid-1960s, Gatorade was the first sports drink on the market. Propel and Powerade have since joined a long list of similar hydrating drinks that contain no caffeine. These sports drinks provide the athlete with energy and replace electrolytes lost during strenuous activity. Dendy feels there is a place for these drinks.

''Glucose and/or sucrose are often the second ingredient after water,'' she said. ''These are added to give the body the type of sugar that can be absorbed to help provide energy. Both of these sugars are absorbed quickly through the lining of the stomach and into the blood stream. It is sugars like fructose and corn syrup that have a slower absorption rate and thus stay in the stomach longer. If consumed during exercise, they can cause cramping.''

Loss of electrolytes like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium can be an issue for endurance athletes. Electrolytes are important as they carry nerve impulses and aid in muscle contractions. According to Joan Buchbinder of Brookline, however, a dietitian and sports nutritionist, the average person doing a 60-minute workout in the gym is not in danger.

''Take some water and add a splash of your favorite juice,'' Buchbinder said. ''This will keep your blood sugar up.'' When asked if adding a little salt would be helpful, she responded that it is unnecessary as Americans already have too much salt in their diets.

Now that water is back in fashion, even juice and water companies have jumped in with their own enhanced drinks. Water sold with vitamins in products like Vitaminwater and in Fruit2O Plus contains fruit juice, electrolytes, vitamins, and calories. When asked about the value of these vitamin waters, Dr. Robert Stacks, head of pediatrics at Faulkner Hospital in Boston, chuckled, then asked: ''What ever happened to water?''

He explained the body needs only a certain amount of these vitamins. When it gets what it needs, it expels the rest. ''I bet a lot of people have some very strong urine,'' he said. ''Now, if only the urine could pump the iron.''

Speaking of pumping iron, a whole slew of other drinks is sold at places like GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe. Rip Force and Speed Stacks are designed to be taken before a workout and are sold as performance enhancers. Luke Thompson, a 23-year-old college student from Arlington, says these help him have a better workout. This was echoed by several buff sales guys at these two shops. One did acknowledge that the effect lasts just a short while, ''and then you crash.''

Drinks like Rip Force and Speed Stack also contain mah huang, a Chinese herb known commonly as ephedra, the dietary supplement used as a stimulant in weight loss and energy improvement that recently was banned by minor league baseball. Ephedra, which increases the heart rate and is also a diuretic, is sold legally only to those 18 or older. Sales clerks at a GNC store in the Burlington Mall said the company is beginning to take these drinks off the market due to recent bad press surrounding ephedra.

Dendy insists one cannot underestimate the importance of good nutrition, adequate hydration, and rest in performance and recovery.

''If you are not sure about a certain ingredient, find out about it on the Internet,'' she said. ''You can also consult with a dietitian.''

Kevin Russo, wrestling coach at Watertown High School, agrees. He said Americans are looking for a ''quick fix,'' when fitness is really a matter of hard work and good nutrition.

The beverage industry has a website, http://www.bevnet.com/, that rates each of these drinks and gives nutrition information.

Aebleskiver, Denmark's answer to the doughnut

COPENHAGEN -- Ask any Dane or Danish-American about aebleskivers, and you'll be treated to broad smiles. Aebleskiver --literally ''apple slice'' -- is a pancake puffball that rarely contains the apple tidbit originally tucked into its center as a sweet surprise.

But the name, pronounced ay-bla-skeever, has stuck. Gone in two bites, this traditional Danish dessert, sprinkled with powdered sugar and served with raspberry jam during the holidays, is made in a cast iron pan that resembles an egg poacher, with seven round depressions. It is placed directly atop a flame.

The batter bubbles, the puffs are turned with a knitting needle, and soon the aebleskivers are rolling from the pan. Eaten warm, they are downed before the powdered sugar dust has a chance to settle.

Most Danes have their own aebleskiver pans. In the houseware section of Ilum's, a department store on Copenhagen's main shopping street, Heidi Hansen showed me the latest in nonstick aebleskiver pans. ''When I was a child,'' she said, ''we visited my grandfather in the country. He made the best aebleskivers for me and my sisters. I remember setting the table and having a very cozy, warm, familiar feeling.''

The following day, by arrangement, Hansen brought her mother's batter-stained cookbook with her aebleskiver recipe translated into English. ''If we had time, I would make you some,'' she said.That evening I asked friends about aebleskivers, which are only available during the Christmas holidays, and if they knew where I could get the pancakes out of season. Geir Helgesen, a political analyst, told me about a restaurant 20 miles outside of Copenhagen that is famous for serving aebleskivers year round. A day trip along the Danish coast could, he assured me, conclude with tea and aebleskivers at the Malerklemmen Restaurant in the tiny town of Borup, a speck on the map. The Malerklemmen website (www.malerklemmen.dk) said that the restaurant is open 12 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. My husband and I found ourselves happily but hopelessly lost in the tidy Danish countryside, where our maps weren't helpful. A kind soul led us to the restaurant. It was 4:10 p.m. Thankfully, we thought, there still was plenty of time.

We entered the centuries-old building with its thick thatched roof and the waitress informed us that the kitchen had closed 10 minutes ago. The owner, Michael Strand, heard me pleading with the waitress and came out from the kitchen.

He showed us two huge, multiholed pans: ''On some Sundays I make over 2,500 aebleskivers,'' he said, adding that he carefully turns each with a knitting needle. Strand arranged some warm aebleskivers on a plate with a bowl of jam. Sitting at a wooden table in a converted tenant farmer's home beneath antique aebleskiver pans, we would finally taste one.

It looked like a very puffy doughnut hole, and its texture was a cross between a doughnut and a pancake. It was not overly sweet, but just right with a dab of jam and a cup of late afternoon coffee or tea -- well worth the long trip.Danish-Americans don't save aebleskivers for the holidays but eat them year round whenever families get together. At breakfast, they are most like pancakes, enjoyed with syrup and sausages. According to Lisa Rigg of the Danish Windmill Museum in Elk Horn, Iowa, this drives some Danes to distraction:
''As Danes assimilated into American society, breakfast seemed the natural spot in the American meal for aebleskivers.'' When the museum holds its annual Tivoli Fest on Memorial Day weekend, ''folks come from all over for our aebleskivers,'' Rigg says. Elsewhere in the Midwest, and wherever else Danes settled, aebleskivers are sold at church fund-raisers. There are aebleskiver festivals and aebleskiver cookbooks, and in Solvang, Calif., named for a town in Denmark, aebleskivers are sold on the street to summer tourists.

Brookline resident Ingrid Finstuen is learning to make aebleskivers. Her Norwegian-American husband, Andrew, said, ''I remember being intrigued by the pan my mother used and the way she turned them with a poker.'' Andrew Finstuen's mother, Kappy, recalled how her Danish neighbor in Oregon, Lucille Stubkjaer, made hundreds of them for her wedding breakfast. Kappy Finstuen coached her daughter-in-law in the art of rotating an aebleskiver last summer. ''I love them with fresh raspberries and sour cream,'' says Ingrid Finstuen.

Making aebleskivers at home isn't difficult. The batter is a little thinner than for ordinary American pancakes. Getting the pan to the right temperature is important, as is greasing the little holes, for which you use melted margarine or butter.

Turning the pancakes is tricky, but with a little wrist action and confidence, you'll be on your way. That just leaves the pan, also known as munk pans in Germany. You can find seven-holed cast iron pans in Chinatown (Vietnamese cooks make banh khoc, savory pancakes that use the same pans), and you can use knitting needles from your own collection.

Now say ''aebleskiver'' three times fast.

Super 88 and the Ming Market have seven-hole cast iron pans
($6.95). Look in the pots and pans aisle. Or go to
www.fantes.com/aebleskiver.htm; http://www.cookscorner.com/, or
http://www.danishwindmill.com/.

For vegetarians, creativity and nutrition knowledge are key

''My favorite food used to be Chinese spareribs,'' says Reuben Solomon, 13, of Lexington. ''That is, until I realized I had ribs, too. I think I was 9 and I haven't eaten any meat since then.''

Reuben does drink milk and eat eggs. That makes him an ovolactovegetarian.

When someone says, ''I'm a vegetarian but I eat fish,'' they are ''semi-vegetarian,'' according to Reed Mangel, an Amherst-based dietician advisor to the Vegetarian Resource Group and mother of two vegan daughters. Vegans eat a totally plant-based diet and do not include dairy products, eggs, or honey. Some vegetarians also avoid using animal products such as leather in their daily life.

When children are vegetarians, it adds another layer of concern.

''Parents need to respect the choices their children make, for whatever reason they have chosen a vegetarian diet,'' said Dina Aronson, a dietician specializing in vegetarian nutrition. Still, many parents are concerned about where their young vegetarians will get important vitamins and nutrients, such as calcium and protein.

Aronson says the nutritional challenges of vegetarians and nonvegetarians are about the same. She says soy products, fortified foods, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts can provide almost all of one's nutritional needs. If one consumes enough calories (about 2,000 a day), protein deficiency is not a problem. The problem, Aronson says, comes when a child's diet is ''almost entirely refined junk food.'' That, of course, is not limited to just vegetarians.

So, what to do if your 15-year-old comes home and announces she is a vegetarian?

Mangel suggests you find out more about their decision and work with them on a meal plan that is sound and viable within your family.

''Make your meals vegetarian-friendly,'' she said.

Sometimes, one or two sessions with a dietician can provide the objective authority a young person needs and the reassurance parents require.

Aronson asks her clients to keep a three-day food intake record that she analyzes against the Daily Reference Intake established by the National Academy of Sciences. She then advises accordingly, adding, ''The number-one issue is to accept it and not try to force a change.'' She urges parents to have their children choose from among three healthy food choices, thus including them in the decision-making process. Done correctly, Aronson insists, the result is a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Harvey Zarren, a cardiologist, could not agree more. He gave up his successful, 27-year practice of trying to fix the damaging effects of Americans' bad eating habits (clogged arteries) and now works on prevention with teenagers in public high schools.

''We should be eating a diet of plant-based foods,'' he said. ''If you do eat an animal, it should come from the water.''

These professionals agree that a variety of food, exercise, and eliminating or limiting animal sources of protein from the diet are important elements to a healthier diet.

Would that it were so simple. Reuben's idea of a great meal is three or four slices of pizza. He will also include a handful of grapes, cucumber slices, and carrots. Sybil, his mom, is concerned that he not limit his diet to carbohydrates. Reuben knows he has to eat what is put on his plate and Sybil knows he has great negotiating skills. On the positive side, Reuben is very aware of nutritional issues; he scans food labels and ingredient lists carefully.

When kindergartner Charlie Ramsland of Stowe became a vegetarian in December, it changed his mom, Sharlet's, life, too. They had visited a farm in Sherborn.

''I picked up a book and saw animals who were alive in the beginning and dead at the end,'' said Charlie. ''I felt very sorry for them.''

''He hasn't eaten meat since then,'' said Sharlet, ''and neither have I. It was a very powerful experience for us both.''

Charlie said that his mom lets him pick out his own food; his favorites are macaroni and cheese, and all fruits. For vegetables, he said emphatically, ''carrots and corn, that's it!''

As with any extreme change in diet, a good idea is to consult a health professional. There is much controversy and conflicting information regarding vegetarianism.

Many folks claim to be vegetarians, but haven't met a vegetable they like. Getting enough Vitamin B12 is important for the health of cells and is a concern for those vegetarians, particularly children, who do not eat any dairy or eggs. This is usually addressed through supplements and fortified foods. There are many resources available to help anyone be well-informed and well-fed.

Here are some resources for vegetarians:

Vegetarian Resource Group (publications and website); Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203; 410-366-8343; www. vrg@vrg.org

Boston Vegetarian Society (local events, newsletter, website); 617-424-8846; www.bostonveg.org

Dina Aronson(dietician specializing in vegetarian nutrition); www.nutrawiz.com

Sprouts(vegan family support and playgroup); vegsprouts@hotmail.com

Dr. Harvey Zarren(physician); presentations to PTO's and organizations on healthy diets and lifestyle

Connected Healing Institute; 781-599-4718

Recipes

African stew
Makes 6 cups

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock or water
2 cups peeled, diced sweet potatoes or yams
1 cup cooked or canned chick peas
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups chopped collard greens or kale ( stems removed)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Heat oil in a medium-size pot and saute onions for 5 minutes.
2. Add stock or water, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, rice, and salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, blend peanut butter with about half a cup of hot water. Stir peanut butter into stew along with kale and cook for five minutes.
4. Add lemon juice and pepper.
5. Turn off heat and cover. Let steam for about 10 minutes, before serving.

Adapted from ''Raising Vegetarian Children - A Guide to Good Health and Family Harmony'' by Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina (McGraw Hill)

Creamy corn noodles
Makes 6 cups

1/2 pound noodles
1 15-ounce can of cream of corn
1 10-ounce package frozen corn
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (available at health food stores)

Optional garnishes:
additional protein or yeast flakes mixed with parsley
chopped red peppers
chopped tomatoes

1. Cook noodles according to package.
2. Place cream of corn, frozen corn, onion flakes, and yeast flakes in a blender and process until smooth.
3. Place mixture in a saucepan and warm.
4. Drain cooked noodles and place in a large bowl. Add corn mixture to the noodles and toss gently. Sprinkle garnishes on top. You can also serve noodles and then spoon corn mixture over the top.

Roast vegetables

Asparagus spears, trimmed
Sweet potato
Kale
Sesame seeds
Olive oil
Sprinkling of salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
3. Place asparagus in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus and mix until well-coated.
4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5. Place asparagus in a single row on the baking sheet and place in oven. Roast for about 8 minutes. Remove to plate and sprinkle with salt.
6. Slice sweet potatoes very thin and toss in bowl with some olive oil.
7. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and spread the potatoes out in a layer. Bake for 5 minutes.
8. Do the same with the kale: Remove the center ''spine,'' toss with olive oil, and place on baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes but check after 3.
9. Place both vegetables on a plate, sprinkle with a little salt, and you have a crunchy stack of Vitamin A, iron, and calcium.

Consuming more than one serving a common diet buster

In your cache of kitchen gadgets do you have a scale for weighing food? Are your measuring cups and spoons ever-handy for dishing out those suggested serving sizes on the nutrition label? For example, the one that says two tablespoons of salad dressing equals 1 serving?

We know that the amount of food we eat has a direct effect on our health and weight. Obesity has become a critical health issue for Americans. It's hard not to over-eat these days, though, as huge portions are busting the last notch on our collective belts and we confuse volume with value.

The one thing nutritionists, foodies, and diet gurus seem to agree on is that no matter what we eat, no matter which regimen we're following, it's how much that can make the difference between losing those 10 pounds or gaining them. Even here, however, things can be confusing.

''There is a difference between a serving size and a portion,'' said Randi Beranbaum, dietician at Tufts University. ''A portion is the amount you put on your plate. A serving is a measured amount for reporting nutrients.''

This matters, she and other professionals say, because typically, we put more on our plate than we need.

Serving sizes are not created equal. Federal agencies, professional associations, and food establishments have somewhat differing guidelines. The Nutrition Facts Label on your breakfast cereal, for example, was developed by the US Food and Drug Administration to help consumers balance important nutrients in a daily, 2,000-calorie diet. The FDA label is based on ''reference amounts,'' the volume of food consumed at one sitting as determined by FDA food surveys. Weights and volumes are expressed in standard household measures like tablespoons, cups, and slices, and the labels are designed to let consumers compare information about similar food products.

Within these guidelines, manufacturers still have considerable latitude in deciding what a serving is. The regulations say that ''if a unit weighs more than 50 percent, but less than 200 percent, of the reference amount, the serving size can be one unit.'' (Read all the regulations at www.fda.gov. Go to Reference Room, click on Code of Federal Regulations, then type ''nutrition labeling'' in Full Text Search.)

For example, look at the label on a can of Coca Cola. The reference amount for carbonated beverages is 8 ounces, according to the regulations, but the can says 12 ounces is one serving. Now, look at the 20-ounce Coca Cola bottle and the label will say it contains 2.5 servings: One serving is now only 8 ounces.

The United States Department of Agriculture goes about this differently. Its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, last revised in 2000, are depicted graphically in the Food Guide Pyramid. The guidelines put ''nutrient standards into food groups based on advice for a healthful diet.'' The controversial food pyramid is slated for updating in 2005. John Webster, of the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, said, ''The Food Guide Pyramid was designed as a teaching tool, because people usually do not weigh their food and think of foods as items.'' In re-assessing the Food Guide Pyramid, Webster said ''it has become evident that consumers don't know what a serving consists of.''

Meanwhile, restaurants and bakeries get to determine their own serving sizes. We have all been to steak houses where individual, 12- to 16-ounce steaks are on the menu, or to restaurants where plates of piled-high pasta are offered as one serving. Doggie bags are part of the plan, but many people manage to down the entire platter. Depending on who is counting, the customer could have consumed three to six servings of meat or as much as 10 servings of pasta in one sitting in these establishments.

Then there are unpackaged items like bagels and donuts that vary wildly in serving size. A 4-ounce Bruegger's bagel, often purchased as a single serving, would be two servings according to the FDA, and four servings according to the USDA. Do we really have to do the math for a 670-calorie, 61/2-ounce coffee cake muffin that is considered one serving at Dunkin' Donuts?

People should learn to ''visualize a real serving,'' said Denise Barra, a licensed nutritionist. She referred to the visual from the American Dietetic Association to imagine ''a bar of soap for a serving of meat, a computer mouse for a medium-sized potato, a hockey puck for a bagel, and a tennis ball as a serving of ice cream.'' She recommended learning about serving sizes at home because ''we are adapting to super-size portions. ... We need to re-learn what it feels like to eat moderate-sized portions.''

''You and I have different caloric and nutritional needs,'' she said, ''but a standard serving is a starting point.''

Lexington brothers Andy Olson, 22, who is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and 175 pounds, and Alex Olson, 23, who is 6 feet, 1 inch and 230 pounds, were refilling their breakfast cereal bowls recently. They ate three and four times the serving size stated on the box - three-quarters of a cup, an admittedly small amount for these big guys. Being active, they probably would burn off the 450 calories they consumed.

Breakfast cereals, however, have a wide range of serving sizes, and a fortified cereal like Total can give you too much of a good thing if you don't pay attention to serving sizes. The idea that if 100 percent is good, then 400 percent is better doesn't work with some nutrients. Barra cited iron as an example: Men can end up eating several times more iron than their body needs when eating fortified cereals.

''Women have a higher need for iron and get rid of the excess on a monthly basis,'' she said. ''Men don't. If extra iron gets stored, it could eventually lead to health problems.''

While one serving size does not fit all, there is general acceptance of the FDA guidelines. Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy for the independent watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, D.C., said, ''Serving sizes on the nutrition label are generally reasonable, and consumers have become familiar with them. However, serving sizes do need some tweaking.'' She used the example of ice cream, where the present serving size is an unrealistic one-half cup.

She cautioned that ''consumers should look at the serving size first. Most smaller bags of snacks, like chips or pretzels, are not single servings, and it is unreasonable to think people are sharing these items.''

Recently, Sean Martorano had his hand planted in a bag of microwave popcorn, while Greg Gibbons, his fellow service consultant at Boston Volkswagen in Allston, had hit bottom in a Cracker Jack bag. Both were aware that each bag contained more than three servings and conceded that, if forced, they would share. Still, pulling the Cracker Jack prize from the bottom of his bag, Gibbons said, ''If they intended 31/2 people to be eating this, wouldn't there be 31/2 prizes?''

These websites may be of further interest:

http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/ (US Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion)
http://www.fda.gov/ (US Food and Drug Administration)
http://www.eatright.org/ (American Dietetic Association)
http://www.dunkindonuts.com/ (nutrition information on all their products)
http://www.cspinet.org/ (Center for Science in the Public Interest)

In the Lime-light

MIAMI -- Ask any five people about Key lime pie and they will agree on one thing only -- it should never ever be green.

''Honey,'' said the slight waitress with weather-beaten skin at a little dive called the Crack'd Conch (where the choices for dessert were a slice of Doris's Key lime pie or the whole pie), ''if it's green, man made it green. One more thing,'' she added as she set the pie before us, ''you're never gonna find two Key lime pies that are the same.''

No kidding.

Whipped cream topping or meringue? Slathered over the top or a dollop? To bake or not to bake? Frozen or just chilled? If limes from the Florida Keys aren't available, will Persian lime juice, key lime juice concentrate, or key limes from Mexico do? The answers include ''absolutely!'' and ''absolutely not!'' What's a Northerner to do? The solution seems obvious: Taste all the pies you can.

The essential ingredient, of course, is Key lime, a tiny ping-pong ball that yields only a few teaspoons of juice. Sold in mesh sacks, Key limes are in season in Florida from April through November (but available year round from Mexico and Central America). When they're ripe, they're yellow, rather than green, and their tart juice can almost be sweet, making them perfect for baking pies.

Residents of the Keys insist there is something special in the coral rock and soil that gives their limes an especially astringent flavor and distinct aroma. In a blind taste test there was a difference.

Most Key lime pies have a pale yellow, almost white, custard filling made with lime juice (often a mixture of both Key limes and the more common Persian limes), egg yolks and condensed milk in a graham cracker crust. Some contain grated lime rind, others are made with milk, cream cheese, vanilla ice cream, or meringue. One lady, overhearing a request for a good pie recipe, offered her low-fat version made with yogurt, lime Jell-O, and (horrors!) green food coloring. Some folks add rum or chocolate chips or use a regular sweet pie crust.

Purists will argue endlessly over the ''classic'' pie. It's not unlike the thick versus thin clam chowder debate hereabouts. At The Key Lime Tree garden and gift shop in Key Largo, clerk Judy McGraw was mulling over a question about pies when all heads turned. McGraw whispered, ''you can start a war down here by asking about Key lime pie.''

Claims of ''best'' were dropping like ripe fruit from trees. Gift shop owner John McCarthy believes the petite citrus fruit contains detoxifying elements. He says ''old conchs'' (that's Southern for ''old salts'') will come into his shop, pop the top off a bottle of key lime juice, and gulp it down to cleanse their kidneys. Besides his pies, he also uses Key lime juice to make concentrate, shampoo, body lotions, and jellies.

Most Florida restaurants and bakeries have Key lime pie on the menu. The differences are often very subtle but when faced with a cloyingly sweet pie and fake whipped cream, you notice it. Miami Herald food editor Kathleen Martin says a good Key lime pie should balance sweet and tart ''just on the tart side of the meter.'' She thinks few palates could distinguish between a pie made with common Persian limes instead of Key limes, but her own pie is made with fresh Key lime juice, rather than bottled, when the fresh fruits are available.

One of the best pies -- one that has a creamy, light filling, just the right bite of fresh lime, and a dollop of real whipped cream in a thick graham cracker crust -- is made at Joe's Stone Crab Restaurant, Miami's big popular fish house, where an entire kitchen produces about 30,000 handmade pies a year. There, the bakers use both fresh Key and Persian limes.

If you have a hankering for a slice and don't want to leave your fireside, Joe's will ship one to you for $69 (a plane ride may be cheaper). While you're at it, get a mess of crab claws, too. The Blond Giraffe in Key West (a favorite of many Miamians) will also ship a pie for about the same price. Blond Giraffe pies have a high meringue topping and will stay frozen for several months.

Or, you can just start squeezing. Making Key lime pie is easy. It takes one-half to one cup of lime juice -- about 8 to 14 Key limes -- for a pie. If you find them, or some kind relative brings you some, get a few bags. You can freeze them whole and once thawed, the juice flows easily. Or, squeeze the whole lot and freeze the juice for 2 to 3 months. Putting together your own graham cracker crust is a snap and tastes better than the prepared variety. Key lime juice concentrate makes a fine pie (try ''Real Key Lime Juice'' from www.famousflorida.com).

Let the fresh lime smell make you dream of warmer days ahead, when the trees (never the pies) turn green.

Key limes are sometimes available at Wilson Farms, 10 Pleasant St., Lexington (781-862-3900). You can order them by the case. Most Bread & Circus stores carry Key limes. Products from Key Largo's The Key Lime Tree gift shop are available at http://www.keylimeproducts.com/. Search for Blond Giraffe pies at http://www.blogger.com/www.blondgiraffe.com, for Joe's Stone Crab pies at http://www.joesstonecrab.com/.