HOW2 - What to do with old corks (Whole Foods)

'Cork Crafts' - Have you been saving wine corks in hopes of doing something fun with them? Repurposing ideas for corks are everywhere: here's how you can get in on that. This cork trivet will be the envy of your friends and takes just a few minutes, a screwdriver and less than two bucks!

FYI The Ultimate Guide to Starbucks' Secret Menu

A Zebra Mocha? A Grande Green Eye? A Captain Crunch Frappuccino? Say what? They may sound like a far cry from the standard drip cup or your simple Mocha Frappe, but these drinks are not Starbucks folklore. And really, considering that the coffee giant has in years past boasted offering some 87,000 different drink combinations, that such "secret" items exist should not be too surprising.

Read more >>>

COOKBOOK / ‘The Cuban Kitchen’ In more than 500 recipes, Raquel Rabade Roque presents ‘the basics plus the bells and whistles’ of ‘Cocina Cubana’

Raquel Rabade Roque

The Cuban Kitchen (Knopf, $20) is a cookbook that, despite its formidable size (432 pages, more than 500 recipes), is accessible and homey, written in a breezy, familial style.

As (author) Roque puts it: “You’re not afraid to get a stain on it.”

Part food memoir, part manual (there’s an explanation of how to clean pig’s feet), it blends the culinary traditions of 1950s Cuba with updated versions of favorite recipes from restaurants and from exiles who have settled abroad.

>>> for more info and some free recipes via the Miami Herald 

NEW / Energy Kitchen, a new chain of fast-food restaurants, boasts a menu with all items 500 calories or less.

SCENE The first Energy Kitchen outside Greater New York City opened on Friday in Pinecrest’s Sunniland Shopping Center....Fort Lauderdale gets it's first one in November on Federal Highway at Broward Boulevard,
MENU Breakfast - a Bison & Egg-White Omelet at $4.99 and 305 calories; a Whole-Grain Banana Muffin for $1.99 and 238 calories, and an Acai Berry Smoothie for $5.99 and 239 calories. Lunch/dinner menus - Ostrich Burger at $6.99 and 275 calories, a Sirloin Burger at $7.49 and 465 calories; a Grilled Salmon entrée for $13.99 and 272 calories

>>> read more from Fred Tasker FTASKER@MIAMIHERALD.COM